ONYX

Last weekend I made the trip out to upstate New York to see some old friends from College. In fact, they were gracious enough to invite the whole crew over. It was great to see everyone all together for the weekend but of course when you take Josh and me, throw in the college crew, and even add mild mannered Eric to the mix, you're basically in for a weekend of abusing your body with the wonderful gifts of alcohol and tobacco.

Naturally, I bought a few sticks as I correctly predicted that I would be craving a smoke after drinking some delicious ales and stouts all day and night. The local liquor store had little to offer in cigars but I managed to find one I had actually not tried yet. So I did the only logical thing possible. I bought 4 of those cigars, passed them around, and completed the first group effort rating of the humidor. The cigar selected for the evening was ONYX.

Onyx cigars are made in the Dominican Republic with Dominican and Nicaraguan tobaccos, a Nicaraguan binder, and a Connecticut Broadleaf maduro wrapper. The size of the one I bought is called No. 4. It's 5 inches. 44 ring. $4.00 apiece.

The smokers taking part in the review were Myself, Eric, Jon, and Ryan all old friends but only Eric really has any experience in the cigar department. I didn't take too many notes for this smoke. Rather we just sat outside and threw out opinions as they came to us and tried to ultimately agree on a final rating.

Appearance: The ONYX is a particularly dark cigar. It's not exactly a set rule, but often times a dark color suggests a bolder spicier flavor. Eric agrees with me on this. Jon exclaims that it's much bigger than a cigarette. Ryan complains that he can't get the cigar out of it's plastic wrapper.

Cut & Light: Overall, everyone seemed to have a pretty smooth cut as well as no problem lighting their cigars. They burned evenly and the ash stayed on for a nice amount. Eric mentioned that having to relight cigars is a big pet peeve of his and I completely agree. Nothing can tamper with a flavor more than a stick that can't keep burning. Jon pointed out that cigarettes never go out then quickly followed that up with making it clear that he does not smoke cigarettes.

Draw and Fullness: Both were pretty average for this smoke. The draw did get a little tighter toward the end of the smoke but that's the only complain I heard. The fullness was good enough that we got enough smoke in the mouth to experience the bolder flavors we were meant to. All in all, it was a pretty well constructed stick. Especially considering the price.

Flavor: As we had expected, the tastes were more on the bold side. The prominent flavor was definitely leather. Eric said that you can taste it even more when smoked through the nose. His friend mentioned this as well in a recent post but I'm still working on that technique without killing my lungs in the process. After a while, there was some slight spice detected in the smoke but it certainly remained in the backseat to the leather notes. I can't remember having a cigar before that relied so heavily on spicy leather tastes but given the fact that this one was a quick smoke, I think it worked out nicely. Ryan said he tasted a lot of smoke while Jon took a sip of Bud Lite to get the taste out of his mouth. Did I mention these cigars were $4.00 apiece?

Finish: I feel like the spice notes picked up a notch in the final part of the cigar and the leather somewhat faded out. Eric nodded in agreement for one final puff before his wife snatched it out of his mouth. Ryan ended up successfully losing his cigar in the bushes while Jon got tied up in a heated game of beer pong.

Overall, Eric and I agreed on a score in the high 70's. There was no complexity to the cigar but the flavors present were good enough to make up for that. Also, the draw and smokability of the cigar added some points as well. It's not exactly something we're ready to label a favorite but still one we'd probably smoke again for a quick inexpensive and enjoyable smoke.

Overall Rating: 77