Bolivar (Cuba) Tubos No. 1

Lit and burned PERFECT. Draw was a but tight. The box I have is '03 and purchased in Cuba. As mentioned earlier I expect a little more oumph from a Bolivar. I have removed the remainder of the box from the tubes and placed them in a humidor. The box I have are all very attractive wrappers, all are nice, evenly coloured, and smooth; throghout the box. I expect better from these once they season in the proper enviornment (not a piece of aluminum!). In a pinch I would not hesitate to grab one to smoke, quite good for a Tubo. Very woody, white peppery, and a little leathery. Sweet Havana smell all the way through. I don't expect a tubo to be a fantastic cigar, its stored in a piece of aluminum for christ's sake!

Opened a '96 Tubo tonight. Not the most attractive cigar Bolivar makes as others have pointed out, and felt quite firm to the touch. The draw was perfect though, and it burned straight as a razor.

The flavor was good although missing something from what I think is the typical Boli profile. It was very one-dimensional for the most part, slightly spicy with burnt wood tones. Nothing I would be quick to go back to at MSRP.

Hmmm...what is with the bad reviews by some folks on these? I got one of these when on vacation and I loved it! It was a great burning, rich and oooooh soooo smooooooth.

I was able to inspect the cigar before buying though, which surprised me given it was tubed. The entire store was a humidor though, so breaking the seal did not matter one bit.

It was a bit ugly, but the pre-light aroma convinced me that I had a winner here.

I could see this cigar getting a poor rating if it was not well conditioned or otherwise taken care of. I would hesitate to blame the maker here, perhpas it was the seller's problem. Given the vast difference in the rating and the ALL-OR-NOTHING type of rating, I would think it likely.

Smoke on...

My last review on this cigar seems to have “vanished”. Never mind, it was that bad that I remember it like it was yesterday. It was a good job is was in a tube because when I pulled it out I realised that the roller must have sat on it. Nobody who’d seen this stick first would have paid for it. The favours were a nice, strong rustick tobacco, which I may have appreciated a lot more had I not spent most of my time touching it up, stripping off the loose wrapper and feeling sorry for myself for paying so much for such a piece of crap. The aroma was quite nice, but then that was probably from the loose wrapper burning like a newspaper whenever it was touched up.

Had a pair of these that my brother sent to settle a small debt. Inside the tubes are somewhat ugly cigars, veins, somewhat uneven color. Felt firm, one had very slight soft spot, they were snipped with a Palio and sacrificed within a few days of one another. The burn required some work, the ash was medium firm and dark gray, first third was surprisingly mild, but the flavors built up into the last third, which was excellent. I prefer the RyJ Tubos in this size.

Rich tobacco flavor coupled with a creamy, sweer quality, I loved this cigar. Smoked it to the nub!

My example was poor. Tight draw, uneven burn, problems staying lit. A full taste, though I gave up with it after about 1 1/2". Won't be heading this way again very quickly.

Such a smooth, yet strong taste. Delightfully enjoyable cigar from one of the mose revered makers in Habana. The taste ages well, yet never seems precocious!!!

Not a very pretty looking wrapper had sunspots and not very oily. Good draw and nice flavor buildup. Good and spicy very tasty smoke. Had that typical havana flavor not as strong as expected but still full-bodied.

STRONG

Slight bloom to wrapper, with a strong smooth
flavour, not usually a first choice amongst my
cigar smoking friends, but certainley one of my
personal favourites along with Cohiba and Monte Cristo.