I must admit, when I approached the home rollers on the BOTL web forum about a friendly contest, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I learned that coordinating a series of this type is a big logistical challenge for which I was unprepared. In the end, it was a good experience for me. I hope it was also a good experience for those who participated, and especially our readers.
We are very grateful to Don from Whole Leaf Tobacco (WLT), not only for his generosity with the prizes (1st = $200 WLT voucher, 2nd = $100 WLT voucher, 3rd = $50 WLT voucher), but also in the wealth of knowledge that he provided as I was preparing the first article for the series. If you find yourself interested in trying your hand at rolling your own cigars after reading this series, be sure to look to WLT when you are ready to get started.
Without further ado, here are the top three finishers and prize winners in the Blind Review Home Roll Contest.
1st Place: BLIND CIGAR REVIEW: HOME ROLL | BRAZILIAN VILLAIN (Submitted by Brendon S.) Score = 89
Review Excerpt:
“I really enjoyed this cigar from start to finish. While the draw was very tight the flavors and complexity were great. I really enjoyed how the cedar and cream mixed together. The spice increased slowly throughout the cigar which I loved.” –David F. (dfafjf)
Second Place: BLIND CIGAR REVIEW: HOME ROLL | DBL PRESS NO. 1157 (Submitted by Marc L.) Score = 88
Review Excerpt:
“I really loved this cigar and the smoking experience it gave me. I liked the feel, the draw, the construction and the flavors. I would buy a box for sure. I could smoke this any time of the day and get a great experience. This was a light cigar with a very full flavor mix. Not too much of anything but enough of everything to make it well balanced and very tasty. I had such a nice nutty after taste when I was done. I would be recommend this cigar to all levels of experienced cigar smokers.” –Diana (ArmyRN)
Third Place: BLIND CIGAR REVIEW: HOME ROLL | HR104 JIM D. (Submitted by Jim D.) ***Score = 86
Review Excerpt:
“In totality this was one damn fine smoke. When broken into portions the ending was a bit of a let down but I believe it was due to being under filled versus being inferior tobacco. My overall perception is that the tobacco has some significant age and honestly I’d love to smoke another one right now. This was an interesting cigar that I feel is worth a shot in your trial rotation.” –Jason H. (Jokey Smurf)
*** In the series, we had 2 cigars score 86. The tiebreaker for third place was the highest combined Overall Experience score from all of the reviewers of each cigar. That gave the third place spot to Jim D.
Congratulations to our winners, and thanks to everyone who participated!