The Edge by Rocky Patel
Size: 6.0 x 52
Tobacco: ?? (Rocky keeps it a secret! I smoked the corojo wrapper, not the maduro)
Price: $5.65

On my last night in Columbia, SC I wanted to try a cigar at the Tobacco Merchant I had never tried before. I narrowed it down to Ashton VSG versus The Edge. I don't know why I chose this one. The store had two huge chests full of them-- and they were all very ugly cigars with veins and wrinkles all over. Maybe I chose them because I could buy two Edge for the price of a single Ashton VSG.

However, it is not an exaggeration to say this cigar ranks up there with the Fuente Hemingway as one of the best non-Cuban cigars I've ever smoked. I'd classify it as medium-to-full body with loads of that pepper/spice taste that I like so much. The cigar was slightly drier than I'm used to; it yielded mouthfuls of white smoke. Easily the "spiciest" cigar I've ever had-- although not as heavy as a Comacho Coroylar or a Montecruz.

If I were to list my Top 5 favorite non-Cuban cigars in no particular order (& off the top of my head, without looking at past notes): Fuente Hemingway, The Edge, Gurkha Master Select, Padron 1924, CAO Black.

(Note to self: Beware the Edge maduros. Many people on ClubStogie.com claim they are not maduros at all, but natural wrappers that were chemically dyed to make them look black.)