It was on a whim I grabbed this little stick while browsing the humidor at my local B&M. I thought the price was a typo at first, just $3.09. The name, Cuban Rejects, also caught my attention. It was an unassuming cigar, no band, just sitting there in a non-descript box. I thought, what the hell, for three bucks I'll give it a shot.

So, tonight I sat outside and fired it up. The color was good and it had a light, tobacco smell with a hint of sweetness. The wrapper wasn't quite as tight as you see on higher end cigars and I suppose this could lend some credence to rumors about the making of this stick.

There's no doubt that it is hand-rolled, but it's not a Cuban and most likely not a reject. A plausible explanation is that it is rolled by an inexperienced roller who is basically practicing. They give them this tobacco and set them to fine-tuning the art of cigar rolling. Instead of tossing them for lack of quality, they box them up without a band, slap a cute name on them, and sell 'em for cheap.

Fine by me. All in all - especially considering the price point - it was a surprisingly good smoke.

On the first light, the initial burn was a little wonky, but straightened itself out in a hurry. The draw was good, a little on the loose side, but no trouble. My first impression on taste was that it was a really mild tobacco flavor, nothing special about it.

The smell was pleasant and it was an easy smoke. My one knock against it was that I seemed to get a lot of errant tobacco flakes in my mouth on each draw. Not a biggie, but that can be annoying at times. (This is likely due to the fact that these use short filler, i.e. the leftover bits of long filler that are then chopped up into tinier pieces and used on these inexpensive cigars)

As I got into the first 10 minutes the flavor profile really didn't change much at all. As you can see by the photo, it had a nice even burn and didn't go too quickly. I estimated I'd get at a least an hour out of it.

As I got into the first 10 minutes the flavor profile really didn't change much at all. As you can see by the photo, it had a nice even burn and didn't go too quickly. I estimated I'd get at a least an hour out of it.

Because the flavor doesn't develop you may be tempted to put this one down after just a few puffs, but I would encourage you to stick with it as you will see shortly.

About half way in, I had smoked it for a good 30 minutes. There wasn't much of a transition from the first third to the second third, but there was a subtle (very subtle) shift to more of a nutty flavor. I got a bit of hay as well, but it wasn't a dry hay taste like you get with some cigars. This flavor was so slight that it was barely perceptible on the draw, but more pronounced through the finish.

At this point, you'll have to excuse my photography here since it started getting dark, but at the 45-minute mark I noticed a much more pronounced shift in the flavor to that nutty taste I was getting in the second third. The last third was definitely more pronounced.

It was a nice change overall and I was happy that there were some transitions to the flavor profile. In a lot of cases, these cheaper cigars are very one-dimensional, but this Cuban Reject surprised me.

Finally, about one hour in I got down to the last little bit of the cigar when it started running hot really quickly. In fact, it seemed like one draw it was fine and literally the next draw it was almost too warm for my tastes. The nut profile and sweet hay stayed with it throughout the second third all the way down to the nub and intensified in flavor as cigars are wont to do.

This cigar was a mild smoke at most. I got absolutely no nicotine buzz at all from it and this is from a guy that general caps out on a medium to medium-full bodied cigar on a good day.

Bottom line, this was a decent cigar at a fantastic price. Is it something I would replace my go-tos with? Not likely, but the Cuban Rejects line is a cigar I could see having with a morning coffee or when you are in the mood for something lighter. And at $3 bucks a pop, it is easily something you could smoke everyday.

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