Cigar: 5 Vegas Series ‘A’ Archetype
Origin: Honduras
Wrapper: Costa Rican Maduro
Filler: Three Country Long Filler Blend
Size: Toro 6.0? x 50 ring
Drink: Margaritas on the rocks (I know, I am as surprised as you – nice weather, so the wife wanted me to make some, so I did)

*Yes, I really wanted to just get a pic of my new ashtray!

Pre-Light:

I had my mind made up (so I thought) to smoke a Man O War last night since I have never had one and heard a lot about them. When I was looking through my glass top humidor I noticed this gem right next to the Man O War (I have not tried this cigar yet either). I am admittedly a maduro fan, but this was still a very good looking cigar. I soon forgot about that other cigar and reached in to take the 5 Vegas out for closer inspection. The gold, black, and white thick band has a very classy look to it, which is bumped up a notch with the cedar wrap covering every bit of the cigar below the band. The wrapper that I could see was a very rich looking maduro with some marbling effect with multiple dark colors in it. That was it, the cedar was coming off and I was gonna smoke this cigar! With the cedar removed, I could really see the color marbling on the wrapper, which I find to be very attractive. There are no significant veins and the excellent construction results in a nice firm cigar from head to foot. The pre-light aroma was a nice strong clean farm smell with a hint of dark chocolate. After using my punch, I took a dry draw and found a firm but good draw with a nice flavor that was expected from the smell.

1st 3rd:

The cigar was very easy to light and kicked in with large amounts of thick smoke. I will have to say that this cigar jumped up and smacked me in the face on the first few draws, but settled into a nice smooth maduro full flavored smoke. I would say that this was the most full bodied cigar that I have had in a few weeks, so it took a while to get myself adjusted to the complex flavors that were flowing over my taste buds. I could definitely taste a sweet dark chocolate flavor, especially when I lick my lips. The cigar really settled into a nice smooth smoke with enough of a kick to hold your attention. To this point, I am loving this thing.

The ash is a nice thick ash that seems to hold on well.

2nd 3rd:
The second third started to wake up a few new flavors on top of the classic maduro chocolate flavor. I began to notice a more earthy, less sweet main flavor, but still smooth and enjoyable. A little later I could pick out some slight leathery flavors as well. I am still very much enjoying my time with this cigar, and it is making a run for my “Hit List” if it can maintain this level of enjoyment through the final third.

3rd 3rd:
Can this cigar keep up the pace? As I move into the final stretch, I am way beyond my initial expectations and I hope it stays on this path. The chocolate flavor seemed to make a bit of a return toward the end, and the leathery undertones came out a bit more. The overall flavor still meshed into a very enjoyable smoke up to the very end. I am very pleased with this cigar. It had not burn issues, stayed lit even when I went in for a few minutes to make another pitcher of margaritas. Good draw providing good thick smoke the whole time – lots of good smoke rings.

As you can see below, I smoked it pretty far down – didn’t want it to end… (although I did not bring out a tooth pick as some pros do notworthy )

Bottom Line:
Great cigar!!! This was my first 5 Vegas and I have to say that so far I am impressed! I have one more and will definitely buy more. No burn problems, great full complex flavor, good smoke, well constructed, wife liked the flavor, wife liked the smell, what else can I say. Definitely worth the money – maybe under priced IMHO. If you like maduros, then I highly recommend this cigar. I think it might have made it into my top 5 list – Cohiba Black still holds the #1 spot, but I may have to have a smoke off between these two.

Anyway, I liked it!!!