Cigar Weekly

Published Monday, September 03, 2001

Designed to enchant the most passionate "Aficionados", Neptune cigars are fashioned in the traditional manner from Cuban-seed Tobacco naturally fermented and aged. After several months in a cedar aging room, the cigars are carefully deposited in a Humidor box to keep the richness of their flavor. Neptune comes in two different blends: Neptune Original, a mild-to-medium bodied cigar; and Neptune Force 2, a medium-to-full bodied cigar.

The robusto-sized Neptune Force 2 Naiades reviewed here features an Ecuadorian wrapper with a blend of Dominican Piloto Cubano and Nicaraguan filler tobaccos. The Naiades retails for $99.60 for a box of 24 and ships in a beautiful box complete with a small humidification device and cutter right in the box. Neptune cigars are available directly from the manufacturer at http://www.neptunecigar.com

Cigar Weekly reviews are blind taste tests conducted by our readers. Reviewers are sent three samples with all identifying marks removed. Reviewers are chosen randomly from the list of everyone that has signed the Cigar Weekly Guest Book. Their comments are below.

Pre-Smoke Comments

Bill Orlando (ÞShadow): Cigar was brown, 4 1/2 inches by 48 ring gauge. Wrapper was smooth with no veins and a smooth cap. Nice aroma with a good draw. The burn was even with no need of corrections. Ash was gray with some flaking.

Gary Higgins (GarH): The wrapper was medium brown on both cigars. The first was slightly oily with a couple of small veins. The second was dryer with slightly larger veins. The texture on both was smooth with very little tooth. The bunch on the first was firm with no soft spots. The bunch on the second was just on the soft side of firm with one small soft spot. The caps were smooth. The burn was even, absolutly no problems. The ash was solid and light gray. I smoked almost half of the first cigar before I knocked the ash off. The draw was easy, with lots of smoke. The aroma was pleasant.

Jackie Kylander (Smokin_VI): Very nice looking medium brown robusto. Cap was exceptionally well done and only one of the samples had a single large vein in the wrapper. The bunch was rather firm and the pre-light draw gave a slight sweetness and slight tingle on the lips.

Mike McCarty (smoke1): Cigar #172 is a very attractive looking Robusto with a fine, smooth, deep brown wrapper with a slightly oily sheen. There a few small veins noticeable, but the overall impression is one of distinction. The cap has been applied evenly. The bunch indicates impeccable rolling - the feel is somewhat firm and very even without any soft spots. It has a nice cedary pre-light aroma. After clipping the draw is easy. From an aesthetic point of view I already like this cigar very much.

Randy Monelli (Toro650): Cigar #172 was a robusto sized 5 x 50, straight sided parejo. Both samples varied greatly. The first one was loosely bunched, lumpy, poor cap, with a slight mixed reddish brown wrapper. The second was firmly bunched, smooth construction, nicely finished cap, with a very nice consistent reddish brown hue. Both samples had pronounced veins that detracted from the appearance. Both samples were oily with a nice sheen. The wrapper may be Ecuadorian. Had the look of a nice corojo or natural rosado.

Terry Mahan (Lux): Both samples had smooth, light brown wrappers marred by several fairly coarse veins. Both appeared evenly filled, one so much so that it was hard as a rock.

Thomas Bender (TommyBB): A pretty robusto arrived at my door. It had a slightly veiny wrapper which appeared to be Cameroon. There was a sweetness to the aroma eminating from the ziplock bag in which the cigars were mailed. The bunch felt firm, yet it also seemed to be well humidified, showing no ill-effects from travel; this nearly tempted me to smoke one of them the day they arrived.

Smoke Comments

Bill Orlando (ÞShadow): The flavor was very one-sided. With medium flavor and quite bitter throughout the cigar with the aftertaste the same. The aroma was faint.

Gary Higgins (GarH): The cigars started slighly on the milder side of medium and progressed to the stronger side of medium. The flavor was complex enough to keep it interesting, somewhat earthy with a slight cinnamon flavor and some woodiness. I was trying to figure out what it reminded me of and I kept coming up with a cross between and Montecruz Sungrown and a Padron, if you can imagine that. Another thought was what a cigar by Nestor Plasencia would be like with a Nicaraguan wrapper. I'll be very suprised if I find out the wrapper isn't Nicaraguan and there isn't some of the filler or binder that is Nicaraguan. I would consider this cigar to be medium bodied. It had a pleasant woody aftertaste.

Jackie Kylander (Smokin_VI): There was some variability in the 2 samples but both had that lovely, glossy burn-edge which indicates properly fermented and aged tobacco. One burned razor sharp, the other had a bit of raggedness which didn't require a touch up. There was a bit of that DR bite to this one, but not to the point of being objectionable to me. The sample that drew well had nice body and both had a mild to medium strength that will appeal to most. Faint herbal and leather hints were evident and the aroma was brief along with a good balance. Only a faint saltiness. A nice short finish for those that don't like lingering aftertaste.

Mike McCarty (smoke1): After lighting it had an easy draw that produced large mouthfuls of smoke. Burn was very even and the firm grey ash had a few flakes. It finally fell at about 2.5 inches and a perfectly shaped cone coal was revealed. The flavor started out mild, but built nicely to a medium body and strength. Well-balanced and generous elements of earth, wood, leather, and hints of a spicy vanilla-tinged peat predominated. There was no bitterness or burn on the tongue until I had smoked it down to about 3/4".

Randy Monelli (Toro650): The first sample had a very loose draw, produced a lot of smoke, but burned fast and hot. This I believe, was due to the loose bunch. The cigar had grassy herbal overtones. Left a very bitter taste in my mouth, that I could only describe as metallic. It burned very even and the ash was very flaky. The second sample had great pre-smoke draw, and produced very large amounts of smoke. The draw was perfect and burned very even. Ash was a nice gray, and held firm without falling. The flavor profile on this one was very nice. Slightly less than medium bodied, woody and earthy. I also picked up a very nice spicy sweet taste that appealled to me very much. The aftertaste lingered a very long time. The aroma of the smoke was also very pleasing.

Terry Mahan (Lux): Uh-oh, worst fears realized on the firm one, plugged. Probably light-able but not worth the trouble and hey, I've got two of these things. Second stick couldn't have been more different, draw was loose, almost too loose, but smoke volume was excellent and not at all hot. Must press on. Very nice tasting smoke, well rounded spicy flavor, yet well balanced. Started out mild stength wise, but thats Ok, I just don't enjoy a good ash-kicking the way I did as a youth. Flavor was med-full from the get go. Taste flattened out a bit briefly an inch in, but overall was fairly consistant. I nubbed the second one, and it managed to deal out a little punishment stength-wise toward the end.

Thomas Bender (TommyBB): I found the smoke to be medium-bodied with a pleasant woody, almost earthy flavor. Sadly, though, it finished with a slightly bitter, charred taste. This was mitigated by the accompanying beverages, however.

Summary Comments

Bill Orlando (ÞShadow): This is a nice looking cigar with a good burn. I was looking forward to this cigar by its look and pre-light aroma, but that was all I liked about it. I really can't recommend this cigar because of the bitterness.

Gary Higgins (GarH): I enjoyed this cigar. I'm anxious to find out what it is, so I can put some away for six months to a year. I think this is a cigar that would age well. I would recommend someone who enjoys fuller flavored Nicaraguans give it a try. It's not going to knock you over like a Camacho Corojo, but it has enough strength and flavor to be interesting. It's not going to replace my top 10 favorite cigars, but it will find a place in my coolers. Overall, I'd rank it somewhere between good and great, probably closer to good.

Jackie Kylander (Smokin_VI): A little lighter than normal smoke for me, but this well aged, well constructed stick would be on my 'recommend' list for a morning smoke or my friends who like lighter smokes if the price is right. From the construction details, though, this one may be in the 'primo' category. The inconsistancy between the two samples hurt it a bit, but the one that drew well gave mouthfulls of smoke with good overall flavor and short finish. The wrapper was beautiful--smooth, well fit and the cap was better than most. Give it a try!

Mike McCarty (smoke1): This cigar looked, burned, and tasted very good. I'd guess Dominican all the way (Ashton?). I had 2 very satisfying smoking experiences. What more can one ask of a cigar? I rate this as 'excellent' and would feel comfortable giving it to both the novice and experienced smoker. Not too strong for a newbie, but with sufficient flavor richness to satisfy the aficionado. The only thing holding it back from a higher, outstanding score, is that I would have liked it to have just a bit more oomph

Randy Monelli (Toro650): I tried to combine these two samples into one, but could not do it. I could not believe that they were the same smoke. I must of had a bad one on the first sample. Based on the second sample, I found this cigar a very pleasing, slightly less than medium bodied smoke, that produced lots of flavor and tons of smoke. I am still craving the aftertaste on this one. I am curious to find out what it is. Taste is subjective, and it goes to show, that you cannot judge a cigar or brand by smoking just one. If I had, I would never buy this smoke based on the first sample. I am glad that I had another to smoke. I hope whatever it is, that the consistency and flavor of the second sample is typical, as I would definately get some to smoke again.

Terry Mahan (Lux): I had to mark this stick down a bit do to the one plugged sample, but after smoking the second one I may have to dig out the skewer and go after the first one again. Even burn, firm white ash, abundant smoke volume, and yummy. If these are $3 or less I'll take a flyer on a box now. If more, I'll probably pick up a few singles to make sure the plugged one was just an exception, if so, I think I can fit these into my rotation.

Thomas Bender (TommyBB): Sample #172 was a pleasant, enjoyable cigar. It was medium-bodied, at least to me, with an agreeable flavor, but it has a rather disappointing aftertaste. I liked this, in spite of the finish. It paired well with lemon-flavored beverages--iced tea, and a cola with lemon. It would make a fine everyday cigar, but not a special occasion choice. It was quite well constucted and performed like a champion.

Scores

Review Results
Final Score: 36.1 out of 50

4 Star -- Excellent

This week's reviewers seemed to enjoy Neptune Force 2 Naiades and most described it as "medium", which surprisingly enough, is also how the company describes it. The construction is excellent with a gorgeous Ecudaorian wrapper. Flavor nuances mentioned include wood, leather and some spice. Some occasional bitterness was noted. All in all, an excellent first showing from Neptune and defintely worth trying.