Cupido Criollo Doble

Size: 5.5 x 50 (perfecto)

Tobacco: Nicaraguan Puro

Price: $3.68 (online)

I have a love-hate relationship with all cigars from Cuban Crafters.  I love the way they taste: 

•         Tio Pepe - Earthy, floral flavors
•          Medina 1959 - Mild, nutty corn puff flavors
•          Don Kiki Green - Mint/ginger/cinnamon aromas
•          Don Kiki Brown - Heady, rich earth flavors

The Don Kiki Red was sort of an exception; their flavors were inconsistent from stick to stick. 

But construction problems seem to be endemic to these cigars:  plugged, tight draw, loose draw, canoes, and flaky ash. 

 

The Cupido Criollo Doble was no exception.  It featured dark, shiny, glossy wrappers.  Several cigars had alternating sweet-and-spicy flavors that I sometimes get from a really high-end criollo leaf.  Aromas and draw were nice.

But I couldn't keep one of these things lit to save my life.  The leaves were rolled very loose, which caused flaky ash and fast burn.  I would often have to relight up to 3 or 4 times to touch up canoes or because the thing would lose its cherry in the time it took me sip my bourbon or turn the page in a book.

Maybe the problem was the perfecto shape, which I've heard tell can only be accomplished by the most skillful of rollers.  If I ever try this brand again, I'll go with a larger vitola (to compensate for the loose draw and fast burn)  and I'll avoid the perfecto shape