Originally published at Tiki Bar Online
Size: Churchill
Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: Bundle of 20 for $25.00 at Cigars International
As many of you know, cigars can be an expensive enjoyment. And expensive is a subjective term; what is expensive for me may not be a lot of money for you and vice versa. Whenever I have friends over to hang out, I am always more than happy to share a cigar or two with them. But when they only smoke half of a cigar that can run anywhere from $8–10 a piece, I quietly cringe. If I have a quiet few weeks away from heavy music gigs, my evenings are usually spent with my wife, more often than not having a cigar. Going through a box of $8–10 cigars in a few weeks can get very expensive, no matter how much you enjoy them. This is why as a cigar smoker you need to have a counted-on, economical cigar that doesn’t taste like one. The Dark Shark can be one of those cigars.
The Dark Shark is not going to win any awards on its looks. The Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, while it has that attractive maduro-type wrapper that usually draws me in, can sometimes look a bit faded and beat up. The cigar band has a cartoonish, cheezy-looking shark on it; that probably doesn’t give it much serious credit.
While I have never detected any construction issues pre-light in these cigars, I have had one or two that have ended up having a few burn issues (cracking, wrapper coming loose). I do get a slight mocha scent from the cigar pre-light but nothing else. I have used both a punch and a standard cutter with this cigar; I prefer the punch because there is going to be less chance of loose tobacco coming out from the draw.
Giving it a punch and a light, the Dark Shark greeted me with an even draw and flavors of mocha, wood and a slight hint of spice. I would classify the strength of the cigar as medium bodied, maybe even one step stronger than that. This is a cigar that my wife will enjoy, so it can be enjoyed by the majority of cigar smokers. The spice only with a cigar for a few minutes then fades into the background, leaving the hints of wood and mocha flavors for the rest of the 1:45:00 smoking time. It does mellow a bit at the halfway point, but not to the point you are without flavor. It did seem to have a longer finish than other cigars that I normally smoke, so bear that in mind if you are going to smoke multiple cigars in a night and want to enjoy the flavors of each to their fullest.
I have already mentioned the burn issues that I have encountered smoking this cigar. I would also say to keep an eye on the ash as it is a bit flaky and will end up in your lap if you are not careful. I am usually unluckly when it comes to ash but I wouldn’t be using this cigar in any long ash competitions. The Dark Shark also only comes in one size (Churchill), so bear that in mind if you prefer other vitolas.
To recap the Dark Shark:
- A medium bodied cigar that has a couple flavor points of mocha, wood and spice that would be appealing to both new and experienced cigar smokers.
- It’s a very economical cigar, coming in at $1.25 a stick.
- This cigar is not going to win on its looks and you will probably have a couple in the bundle that will have a few issues, but I think this is more than acceptable for what you are paying per bundle.
- The Dark Shark is now one of my favorite go-to economical cigars. In fact, I just received my second bundle of them on Tuesday.
As always, thank you very much for reading and I look forward to the next time I can share my thoughts with you.
I’ve heard that these do very well with some age on them.
Another budget stick you may want to look at that I feel surpasses the value of its low cost is the Iron Horse available as a bundle cigar at Famous.