Opinions on Bolivar?

[jeff]

Ok, it is going to cost me a mint, but if everything works out I will be the proud owner of a box of Bolivar Churchill's come next week. Anyone had one of these? I know that you shouldn't buy a box without trying one first, but the opportunity doesn't present itself everyday. It might end up being Cohibas if the Bolivars aren't readily available. Any opinions?

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Jeff I'd deffinately go with the Cohibas over the Bolivars. I've purchased a few single sticks of Bolivar and have yet to find one that I like. For my money I'd look elsewhere. I have smoked a Havana Cohiba that was excellent. - Linn

[century451]

I assume your not talking one of Lew Rothmans cigars here...The Bolivar is an excellent smoke but its pretty full flavored and full bodied. If your not used to that kind of profile then go with a Cohiba

[Aahzz]

I adore Bolis - particularly the Belicoso and Petite Corona - prefer them to most of the Cohibas I've tried. I've not tried the Churchill, as I'm not much for Churchills in general - I rarely have that much time to enjoy a smoke.

[jeff]

I've got some chuchills and robustos, but sadly everytime I think I'll get the opportunity to try one it either rains or there is a family emergency of some kind. Had planned to have one with my brother-in-law after my neices birthday party, but just didn't seem right with here in the hospital

[racer]

Hey Jeff,
Yeah, the problem with cubans is that they are hard to get and there are many fakes out there. Even in a reatuarant in Havana, you might be sold fakes. It's really sick, but that's how it is. Reliable trustworthy sources are few and dogmatically guarded, unless is Castros' Habanos SA. Don't search the net for a source either. People are being ripped off all over the place. It's sad! Even when travelling abroad a friend or boss can happily return with a box of fakes. The only way to tell is to smoke cubans and know a bad cigar. You know even in a Habanos SA, it's nothing for a dishonest manager to sell a box of fakes and keep the profits! It doesn't occur often, but greed is everywhere!
mark h.

[racer]

With all said above, Bolivar is one of the fullest if not the fullest bodied smoke from cuba. While smoking the royal corona tonight, I think there are fuller bodied non-cuban smokes available. If you can handle the Punch Corojo, you can handle the Bolivars. For something similar to the royal carona, try the Hoyo De Monterrey(honduran). Those, who can't get cubans aren't really missing much, with the improvements in cigar production around the world. Remember the cubans do not mix tobaccos, while everyone else usually does. There's more complexity. No wonder the cubans are messing about with their cigar factories.

mark h.

[jeff]

I'm hoping that since my boss knows cuban cigars, and that this is an assortment of different sizes and brands, I won't be smoking any fakes. I still haven't tried any of these, as the perfect situation has yet to present itself. Short of being handed a Cohiba by Fidel himself, I'll have to trust that these are legit.

[jeff]

Well, I had my first Cuban Bolivar this weekend. Overall it was a decent smoke, but this baby was rolled up tight. Almost went blue-in-the-face trying to get a puff. I did improve about half-way through, but never to my liking. The flavor was a nice full-bodied woodsy flavor. Some earthy notes showed up as well. I have a couple more of these that I hope are better constructed. The Punch "Punch" is next on my list.

[82AirBornHooah]

Hey Jeff! I'm new to the board, so Hi!

Anywho, to give me .02 whatever it's worth...

Boli's are excellent smokes and the Boli Belicoso Fino is one of my favorites from the line. The Chuchills are good as well, what year are they from?

I feel Cohibas are more consistent smokes than Boli's, so if you got the extra $$$ (Cohibas will generally run you more $$$ than Boli's) then go for the Cohiba Robustos. They are my #1 favorite Robusto...I just finished a handful I had from 1998!

-Brian