Arts & Architecture magazine enlisted up and coming people in archetecture to build a compliation of affordable homes for the Post World War II generation from 1945 until 1966. 26 comes were actually build and most were in LA. Archetects included Richard Neutra, Charles and Ray Eames, Pierre Koenig and Eero Saarinen. These now famous homes were created with minimalist yet modern design and have been present in many movies, ad campaigns and photo essays. The VenturaCase Study series pays tribute to this project with cigar blends numbered from 1 to 26. Each blend has few vitolas that have been blended by some of the most well-known Master Blenders in the business. Names of the blenders and some of the blend info is undisclosed, but the factories offer a good hint. The first cigar in this series for review is the Ventura | Case Study CS/01 Churchill.
This cigar was reviewed blind (no bands) by a panel of at least 4 reviewers. They did not know what they were smoking beforehand. The scores are an average of all the reviewers' scores with outliers removed. All of our cigars reviewed are shipped to the panelists with Boveda packs to ensure optimal smoking experience.
The CS/01 is rolled at Davidoff‘s Occidental factory and comes in three vitolas: Robusto 5 X 50, Corona Gorda 6 1/2 X 46, Churchill 7 1/4 X 50. It uses an Ecuador Habano wrapper, Semilla 192 binder and has multi-country filler.
Vital Stats:
Vitola: Churchill Length: 7 1/4 ” Ring Gauge: 50 Country of Origin: Dominican Republic Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano Binder: Semilla 192 Filler: Undisclosed Factory: Occidental Cigar Factory Blender: Undisclosed Number of reviewers: 5 – Daniel S. (Daniel S.) Isaac M. (The Nothing) John I. (John I.) Wes (SosaCub4Life) Diana (ArmyRN)
Price: $14.00 Age: 7 Months Release Date: July 2017 Contributed by: Ventura Cigars
Initial Impressions
Appearance: 91
“This cigar came across a bit ominous with a decent heft, large size and dark wrapper. ” –Isaac M. (The Nothing)
Aroma: 89
“Tangy notes of fermentation and straight up tobacco. Most pronounced at the foot.” –John I. (John I.)
Flavor: 89 Strength: Medium Body/Complexity: Medium
“Opens with a good deal of potency and pepper. Leaves quite an impression on the retrohale, I’m all a tingle. This is generating some big chewy smoke and as it develops there are some nice sweet background notes. About a half hour in, and there’s not much new happening, but I’m awfully happy with whats going on. Strength has eased into medium, and the sweetness has picked up a bit. Everything’s all sweet leathery goodness with a peppery tingle. Straight up sugary sweetness, no molasses or caramel, but really really pleasant. It’s not generating as much smoke as it did initially, but it’s output is definitely generous. ” –John I. (John I.)
“Right off the bat on the first 5-6 puffs this cigar packed a big pepper spice bomb. Especially on the retro and then my throat and mouth began to tingle. After a while the spice calmed some but still maintained to be the predominate note. The cigar is producing lots of smoke and so far has a razor sharp burn.” –Wes (SosaCub4Life)
Flavor: 91 Strength: Medium Body/Complexity: Medium-Full
“The burn and draw battle continues. I’m making some headway but I’m still struggling to keep the cigar burning fairly even and the hold in the filler is getting less but still there. The draw is a little easier and I think my cheeks can finally get a little rest but not much. The mix of leather, floral and cocoa are the main themes that I get and I really like it. I think a nice steak marinated in mesquite with a little brown sugar added would go nicely with this cigar. It is a surprisingly tasty smoke and excites my palette.” –Diana (ArmyRN)
“Flavors are still very subtle, the sweetness flavor is coming through more. The musty flavor is now coming through on the draw. White pepper is stronger and is starting to play off the sweetness. The flavors I am getting are nice, getting a sugary flavor that tastes really good along side of the white pepper. Still getting the musty hay flavor on the retro. Even though I am getting some flavors now, they seem muted because the draw is not the best.” –Daniel S. (Daniel S.)
“This is still a whole lot of fun an hour in. Sweetness has diminished and transitioned into a rich, roasted coffee flavors with an underlying earthiness. A great finish after the mid smoke dessert aromas, and all the sweetness prevalent earlier in this cigar.” –John I. (John I.)
“During the last third the cigar became more creamy and seemed to finally find that perfect balance of spicy and creamy. Can’t complain at all.” –Wes (SosaCub4Life)
“This was a tough cigar. I had problems right from the start and couldn’t enjoy the cigar until the last third. Whatever it gained in flavor it lost in draw and enjoyment. When I stopped to try and correct the problems it was an effort to get the cigar smoking again. It seems as if the filler was not consistent and caused undue hardship for this smoker. ” –Diana (ArmyRN)
Burn: 92
“This cigar kept nearly razor tight from the beginning to the end, with the ash falling regularly at about 3/4 inch. ” –Isaac M. (The Nothing)
“The overall construction was excellent. Great burn, held a good ash, excellent draw… at the end the wrapper cracked a bit, but I also was smoking where it was cold so that can happen. No complaints overall.” –Wes (SosaCub4Life)
Overall Strength: Medium Overall Body/Complexity: Medium-Full Experience Overall: 89
“For me the draw is very important part of enjoying the cigar. When I have to work harder to get smoke and flavor of a cigar, than I did at work earlier in the day. So working hard to fix the draw, makes it hard to relax and enjoy the cigar I am smoking. I did get some good flavor but I could tell I was not getting the full potential due to the cigar.” –Daniel S. (Daniel S.)
“The question comes to be: how would this cigar have behaved if it had a better draw? With the dramatic change in the final third, I was left to wonder if the first two thirds were mild because of the draw problems, with the final third being much more representative of what the cigar was supposed to be. If this is, in fact, the case, then I feel ripped off. If not, then this cigar is great for the people that like a mostly super-mellow cigar without a note of spice.” –Isaac M. (The Nothing)
“I tend toward fuller bodied cigars generally, and much smaller vitolas as a rule, but I enjoyed the hell out of this beast for the full ride. This was lit late on a Saturday morning, and it paired wonderfully with a couple extra cups of dark roasted coffee well into the early afternoon. I’d strongly suggest that you do likewise. ” –John I. (John I.)
“Overall this was a fantastic cigar that I enjoyed from beginning to end. Started off with a blast of strong pepper spice and then mellowed out before finding its sweet spot in the final 3rd. I am extremely interested in finding out what it is!” –Wes (SosaCub4Life)
“I truly enjoyed the leather, floral, cocoa and nuts. This could be a great cigar if the construction problems were overcome. It would pair nicely with some red wine or more peaty bourbon. Age will probably enhance the flavors but it certainly won’t improve the construction issues. A+ for flavor and D- for construction.” -Diana (ArmyRN)
Smoking Time (in minutes): 109
Reviewer
Apr
Aro
1/3
2/3
3/3
Draw
Burn
Const
Ovr
All
Daniel S.
90
88
85
88
88
83
88
83
85
Isaac M.
92
90
88
88
90
83
92
92
88
John I.
92
90
95
95
95
97
97
97
97
Wes
95
88
97
95
95
97
97
92
95
Diana
90
88
88
90
90
85
85
85
88
To view the complete scores and notes, click here.
Blind Cigar Review: Ventura | Case Study CS/01 Churchill
Summary
"I tend toward fuller bodied cigars generally, and much smaller vitolas as a rule, but I enjoyed the hell out of this beast for the full ride. I lit this late on a Saturday morning, and it paired wonderfully with a couple extra cups of dark roasted coffee well into the early afternoon. I'd strongly suggest that you do likewise. " -John I. (John I.)
Arts & Architecture magazine enlisted up and coming people in archetecture to build a compliation of affordable homes for the Post World War II generation from 1945 until 1966. 26 comes were actually build and most were in LA. Archetects included Richard Neutra, Charles and Ray Eames, Pierre Koenig and Eero Saarinen. These now famous homes were created with minimalist yet modern design and have been present in many movies, ad campaigns and photo essays. The Ventura Case Study series pays tribute to this project with cigar blends numbered from 1 to 26. Each blend has few vitolas that have been blended by some of the most well-known Master Blenders in the business. Names of the blenders and some of the blend info is undisclosed, but the factories offer a good hint. The first cigar in this series for review is the Ventura | Case Study CS/01 Churchill.
