Blind Man’s Bluff by Caldwell Cigar Company | Cigar Review

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
Binder: Honduran Criollo
Filler: Dominican Viso (San Vincente), Honduran Criollo “Generoso” Ligero Sol
Size: 6 x 52 “Toro”
Body: Medium
Price: $8.50 MSRP

Today we take a look at the new Blind Man’s Bluff by Caldwell Cigar Company.
I received two five packs from SBC. One of the above and the second was the Futuro Selección Suprema by Warped Cigars & Casa Fernández. The beneficent donor remains anonymous.

Photo courtesy of Small Batch Cigar

BACKGROUND:
Factory: Davidoff’s Agroindustrias Laepe S.A. in Danli, Honduras.
From the Cigar Aficionado web site:
“Caldwell Cigar Co. is expanding operations. The cigar company, founded by Robert Caldwell in early 2014, is finishing construction on a new factory in the Dominican Republic that is opening this week and preparing to launch four new cigar lines. Three of the lines, Sevillana Reserva, Gibraltar Extra and Murcias Especial, will be rolled at the new factory, appropriately named the Caldwell Cigar Factory. The fourth line is called Blind Man’s Bluff, and is made at Agroindustrias Laepe S.A. in Honduras, the same factory where Camachos are produced.

“The core lines in Caldwell’s cigar portfolio are currently made at Tabacalera William Ventura, a small cigar factory in Tamboril, Dominican Republic. This week, those brands move to their new home at the Caldwell Cigar Factory, about a mile away from Tabacalera William Ventura. The Ventura family will still play a major role in Caldwell’s cigar production process.

“Blind Man’s Bluff features an Ecuadoran Habano wrapper, a Criollo binder from Honduras, and fillers composed of San Vicente viso from the Dominican Republic and Criollo ligero and what Caldwell calls Generoso ligero sol from Honduras.

DESCRIPTION:
The Blind Man’s Bluff by Caldwell Cigar Company is a sturdy looking stick. But while it is 90% solid, I can feel some soft spots in various sections of the cigar.
The wrapper is an oily, reddish brown. With lots of veins but virtually no seams. The triple cap is a bit sloppy but secure.
The cigar band has a whole backstory that you can find on Cigar Coop or Halfwheel.
I’ve reviewed the Murcias, Long Live the King, Eastern Standard, and The King is Dead.

SIZES AND PRICING:
Robusto: 5 x 50 $7.50 MSRP
Toro: 6 x 52 $8.50 MSRP
660: 6 x 60 $9.50 MSRP

AROMAS AND COLD DRAW NOTES:
From the shaft, I can smell dark cocoa, barnyard, floral notes, spice, sweetness, cinnamon, and something that smells like real shit. This is a first. LOL.
The clipped cap and the foot smell of dark cocoa, barnyard, spice, strong wood notes, and more cinnamon.
The cold draw presents flavors of chocolate, sweetness, wood, cinnamon, and raisins.

FIRST THIRD:
The draw is so good that smoke fills the room like a bang grenade.
Chocolate steps up to the plate first followed by creaminess. Smack, smack..some cedar, sweetness,
Tasty notes of cedar, bread, and sweet spice. Then comes the hot pepper. Wham Bam.

I read the two or three other reviews of this cigar. All they provide is chocolate, spice, and wood. That’s it. Then go on to give it high ratings. I don’t understand 2 minute drill reviews. Sort of like tweaked out spider monkeys on speed. Get it done as quickly as possible.

Me? I like to jabber on like a gorilla on heroin. “Yeaaaaaahhh, maaaaannn. Fooookin’ gureat ceegar, maaaaannn…”
Where was I? I have no fucking idea.

Right. Blind Man’s Bluff by Caldwell Cigar Company.
I may have to eat my words. I’m over an inch in and all I taste is chocolate, creaminess, spice, wood, cedar, and sweetness.
The strength is medium body.

For me, Caldwell cigars have not quite achieved super star status. They have proven themselves a good cigar. But I don’t feel they have found their way yet with a ball hit out of the park. Maybe the Blind Man’s Bluff is it? Well, not according to the other reviews.

One must remember, especially me, that this is a $7.50 stick. Not a $15.00 stick. Not that twice as expensive means twice as good. It doesn’t. But these days, you generally don’t see an exquisite blend til you hit the $9.00-$10.00 price point. That is a huge generality.

Flavors begin to become complex. Balance is better. Now it has a long finish.
We have a new flavor. But it is confusing to me as it is either caramel or toffee. Also, some doughy rye bread.
And the malts arrive. Huzzah. We have Pale Ale Malt, Flaked Rye Malt, and Chocolate Malt. (See Malt Chart).
The combination of the chocolate and creaminess is pulling this flavor profile up the mountain. Both are super strong and delectable. Very rich and fatty.

SECOND THIRD:
Smoke time is 25 minutes. The Blind Man’s Bluff by Caldwell Cigar Company is smoking quickly; belying its big size.
The complexity is really pedal to the metal. Chocolate, creaminess, spice, malt, rye bread, caramel, cedar, dried fruit, and cinnamon.

Yeah, it tastes very French dessert-like. But there is nothing outstanding. It tastes like a good $8.50 cigar blend. And what I expect from one in that price range. Blind taste test? It could be one of hundreds of good boutique cigars.

I may have found a solution to my lousy photography skills due to tremors in my hands. I dug around the basement and found my daughter Katie’s arm sling from back in 2003 when she broke her arm. I now use the sling to steady my arm which keeps the camera from shaking. How am I doing? Still need some improvement? Yeah, I know.
It was a pain in the ass taking all those photos much earlier, but now…Oy Gevalt.

I found another Jewish reviewer. Kaplowitz. He is extremely funny like I used to be. You need to check him out. He has three times the Likes on FB than me so he must be doing something right. But then my days of seeing how many friends I could accumulate are long gone. I only have people I know not just a big list that impresses no one.

The Blind Man’s Bluff by Caldwell Cigar Company is a good cigar. 10% off at our favorite online stores gets you the stick for $7.65. A deal.
But this is not the stick that is going to propel Caldwell Cigar Co into the stratosphere. By now, with 7 blends under their belt, they should be super stars by now. But you gotta hand it to these folks because their blends are all in the $7-$8 range. Not greedy S.O.B.’s like most of the boutique brands.
The Blind Man’s Bluff by Caldwell Cigar Company’s construction is top notch. The char line is near perfect. This is a well-made cigar.

It is so chocolaty that it almost tastes like an infused cigar like DE’s Java. Or RP’s. Whatever.
How the hell do they do that naturally? I’ve asked countless manufacturers how do they get all these foody factors into the blend? Silence on their ends.
Know what this cigar is missing? Transitions. It’s not moving Over Under Sideways Down.
Maybe the second half will see that issue improve.

HALFWAY POINT:
Smoke time is 35 minutes.
Still no transitions. It is a simple, delicious cigar but it could have been a contender.

Chocolate, creaminess, spice, malt, rye bread, caramel, cedar, dried fruit, and cinnamon. No change.
As prices rise, I need to update my Katman lists of good cigars. Boutiques will be $7.00-$11.00. Every day regular production cigars will be $5.00-$8.00. Gotta keep up with the greed.

And then it happens….the complexity is raised a couple notches. Transitions begin. Now we’re talkin’.
The chocolate and the malts are zooming.
The spiciness has been ratcheted up. So has the creaminess.

A local TV station plays The Three Stooges on Saturday morning. Early. So I tape the hour and watch it later. Love those guys. Women don’t get it. Of course the best ones were with the original Curly. Shemp was great too.
I’m confused.

Oh yeah, the cigar. The Blind Man’s Bluff by Caldwell Cigar Company is absolutely delightful. It is not a blend that will tax your brain seeking out all the mysterious flavors but it does really well with what it has.
It’s definitely a completely different blend than the other Caldwell blends. I choose this over the Java. The Java is treacly sweet. Too sweet. A woman’s cigar.

Strength is medium/full.
Nicotine makes its entrance.
The Blind Man’s Bluff by Caldwell Cigar Company needs its first major touch up as it begins to canoe on me.

LAST THIRD:
Smoke time is 50 minutes.
I would have preferred the cigar in the Robusto size for review. Toros just take up too much time. And I tire easily. I get very confused with the mechanics of typing and taking photos.

Again, no change to the flavor profile. Those short reviews I read got it right. Transitions seem to have stopped in its tracks.

The strength tamps down a bit by being just a strong medium instead of medium/full.

I’m waiting for Caldwell to really surprise me with an award winning blend. There are three tiers of boutique blends.
The top tier includes Ezra Zion, Paul Stulac, Dante, Maya Selva, and Warped.
The middle tier is Arandoza, Caldwell, Cabal, D’Crossier, and Guayacan.
The bottom tier is 262, Fratello, Tarazona, BLTC, and Room 101.
Just my opinion folks. This was just a sampling. Please. No fire bombs on my porch.

With 1-1/2” to go, I’m bored.
I don’t have the interest to keep on keeping on.
I can recommend this cigar with reservations. A deeper set of flavors would have been nice. Better transitions. Steady complexity. And more joie de vivre.
At these prices, you can afford to make your own decision.

RATING: 86

PRICE POINT:
Spot on. Even better with 10% off.

SUMMATION:
I believe I’ve said it all.

Some news and updates:
I received a lot of information yesterday…maybe more than I wanted. It came in waves like a tsunami.

First, it’s Frontotemporal Degeneration Dementia (FTD). This is not good. It is rare and untreatable.
I may have as long as 6 years or less than a year. Since there is no treatment aside from antidepressants and antipsychotics, it follows its own path.

Their best guess is that I have a mild to moderate severity of the disease. I can still function but the third stage is total looney tunes and death.

My Go Fund Me campaign, while it had some very generous donors, didn’t pan out as I had hoped. I guess that’s what happens when you piss people off.

I also got a phone call from the health care service where my doctors are located. I didn’t make October’s minimum payment so no more treatment for your Uncle Katman.

The diagnosis, from the neurologist, included this: “Interpersonally, Mr. Kohn tends to be authoritative and others may view him as overbearing at times. He is likely uncomfortable with the prospect of appearing weak or passive.” I thought you would like that. LOL But this is a common symptom of the disease. So, that’s my excuse. And I’m sticking to it.

I spoke to a straight shooting doctor yesterday. A heart surgeon not associated with Aurora Health Care. He told me what I’ve thought all along. Doctors, labs, and hospitals hate Medicare patients. Medicare pays only pennies on the dollar. Who wouldn’t hate that? But no one put a gun to Aurora and said they had to take Medicare patients. Probably has something to do with government grants for accepting Medicare.

I emailed my 7 page diagnosis to this doc and he laughed. He told me most of it was a template; a boiler plate. With me inserted here and there.

I called Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. I was told they have an excellent program for TFD. Which of course is beyond my financial means.

I feel like the kid that died from leukemia in the movie, “The Rainmaker” with Matt Damon.
I can’t tell my daughter about any of this. She will freak out something awful. I told Charlotte last night and she lost it.

The good news, for my loyal readers, is that you get to have the Katman as long as he can function. Writing my reviews every day is great therapy. The doc told me to do it every day and it may actually elongate my place on the planet a little longer.

So I appreciate all the wonderful readers that have sent me cigars for review and for my personal pleasure. Too many to name. And some don’t want to be named. LOL.

I got a package from Atlantic Cigars yesterday. No invoice inside so I have no idea who sent the package. And since Atlantic hates me so much that they won’t even let me purchase cigars from them; I know it wasn’t from them as a company. So thank you dear reader for your generosity.
There were two great cigars, in the package, I haven’t reviewed yet.

I have to admit, I’m scared. I spoke to a good man that lost his mother to the same disease. She was given a year to a year and a half and she lasted 3 years. This good man told me that they spent a fortune to keep mom alive. She had Medicare and they had to go outside the system. Well, God bless them.

Charlotte and I are poor. But make too much dough for any outside help. We are in the netherworld of living above the poverty line. Even Charlotte’s Obamacare was doubled. There is nothing we can do about that. She must have health insurance. Plus, we are trying to save for my daughter’s wedding so the timing is really terrible. I plan to let the Cosmic Muffin decide my fate and just go with it.

Since I can no longer receive treatment, I will never get an accurate prediction of my demise. And I don’t need antidepressants because, believe it or not, I’m not depressed. I’m frustrated, full of anxiety, and a little lost. I know what depression is. I don’t feel things are hopeless. It’s just life.

Unfortunately, I cannot afford to buy cigars for reviews. So I depend on the kind donations of cigars. And I will try to keep going as long as I can. I have every day cigars you’ve probably smoked for years that I can review which is selfish on my part; but it keeps me writing.

Typing is getting harder and harder to do. Taking photos is becoming a real chore. I get so confused so much of the time.
I did buy an Ezra Zion Blending Sessions 20 count pack. I used the fee from one of my sponsors to do so. Charlotte saw how happy these sticks made me and allowed this purchase. That’s how good they are.

So I shall be very positive and continue with the madness of my reviews. I apologize ahead of time if some of what I write makes no sense. Or stuff I think is funny; but is not.

The diagnosis said that I am functioning on a severely low intellectual level. But you knew that. LOL.
Cheers and nothing but good thoughts!