Initial Thoughts:
Not every cigar shop has house blends, but some do. So when Bradley Reith over at Zeal Cigars in Phoenix, Arizona asked me to review some of his house blend cigars, I said, “I'm in!”
Today's smoke is a blend Bradley made himself. It's the Zeal Cigars Got Your Six Gordo, and it's a somewhat rustic-looking cigar with a barber pole wrapper made up of three different tobaccos. The initial flavors after cutting are very nice and the draw started off great.
CigarScore:
Brand: Zeal Cigars House Blend
Line: Got Your Six
Size: 6 x 60
Cut: Guillotine
Light: Torch
Price: $8
Wrapper: Cameroon Maduro, Ecuadorian Connecticut, Habano
Binder: Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Peru, Honduras
Filler: Dominican Republic
Final Thoughts:
Where some house blend cigars leave a lot to be desired, often falling short in areas of flavor, construction quality, premium look and feel, the Zeal Cigars Got Your Six Gordo does not. This cigar stands apart from other non-name-brand sticks.
But, does the Got Your Six belong with the premium cigars on the shelf?
The first third of the smoke had flavors that were mild to medium, and the flavors from the Habano wrapper seemed to have been muted. That is until the final third which is when the cigar developed a little bit of a kick and the notes of vanilla transition to pepper. However, there were some slight construction issues with the Cameroon and Connecticut wrappers.
In the end, I would smoke this cigar again. Thought it had a couple of minor issues (which could also be because of temperature fluctuations in my humidor) the Got Your Six performed well, and it earns a CigarScore 3.
