Cigar Review: Xing

Cigar: Xing
Size: AI-52 (5×52)
Wrapper: San Andreas Maduro
Binder: San Andreas Maduro
Filler: Nicaragua & Panama
Price: $6.49 per stick or $109.90 per box of 20 from Two Guys Smoke Shop
Purchased a box of Xing while Two Guys had them on sale for $30 per box back in November

Also among a small number of cigars that I did not get to reviewing at the end of last year was this next stick simply called Xing. I didn’t know it at the time of purchase, but these are made by George Rico in Danli, Honduras and purchased only from Two Guys Smoke Shop. This is coming from Barry Stein, friend of Leaf Enthusiast and employee of Two Guys Cigar Shop. If memory serves, I saw a tweet from Barry stating that Two Guys was having a sale on boxes and the Xing (among a few others) came from that purchase. I had never heard of the cigar before seeing it on the website and figured the cost was worth my time in checking them out.

No construction issues were found on the cigar. Light aromas of dried fruit and florals were noticed before lighting. The one thing I did not catch until smoking likely half the box was the fortune on the back side of the band, which I thought was actually pretty clever. My first tasting notes after the punch and light found mild coffee and woody flavors. The Xing is the embodiment of medium bodied and it really didn’t deviate from that profile. It took getting into the last quarter of the cigar before I felt anything in the flavor notes or strength changed. Heavier wood notes came upon the palette at that point, plus a very mild spice along the back of the throat and light leathery flavors. The strength of the Xing crept up slightly but not enough to get out of medium bodied. Final smoking time for the Xing was 1:00.

I may have had to relight this once or twice but I encountered zero problems in smoking the Xing.

By-The-Numbers
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 3.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 8.5/10

To recap the Xing:

• This is another great example of a true ‘anytime’ cigar. It’s got enough strength and flavor to make the veterans happy but light enough to give out to friends who don’t smoke often or to new smokers.
• It’s a good cigar for sure and between my wife and I, we have smoked almost the entire box. With that being said however, there isn’t enough here to make the Xing stand out.
• Priced at $6.49, the Xing is a nice value for sure… but if you can catch these at the sale price I got them for, buy a box or two as quickly as you can, as you’ll have an enjoyable ‘anytime’ cigar for a fantastic price.

As always, thank you very much for reading and I look forward to the next time I can share my thoughts with you.