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Cigar Review: Alec Bradley Tempus
By Jesse | May 29, 2008 |
Company: Alec Bradley
Line: Tempus
Vitola: Robusto 5 X 50
Origin: Honduras (Raices Cubanas)
Wrapper: Honduras
Binder: Indonesia
Filler: Nicaragua, Honduras
Flavor: Full
Strength: Full
Price: $6.25 to $8.50 Each
The Tempus is the new premium cigar from Alec Bradley Cigars. Alan Rubin discovered the wrapper in 2001 at a small farm in Honduras. Since 2001 they’ve been aging tobacco and perfecting the blend. Tempus is Latin for time and because of the time it took to perfect this blend they thought the name suited the cigar. I was excited to get my hands on these seeing that Cigar Insider gave it a 94 rating.
Construction: The wrapper has a unique look to it. It is dark brown with a slight reddish hue, with a touch of toothiness to it. The one I photographed from the review had some tiny darker spots all over it. The other one I had they weren’t as noticeable. Definitely well made, the cigar is firm throughout and had a good draw to it.
Burn: The Tempus burns fairly slow, I was surprised how long the cigar lasted. The burn line was pretty good and the ash a dark gray. My only problem is the cigar would occasionally go out on me. I was probably neglecting it a bit though.
Flavor: Right off the bat you can tell this cigar isn’t for someone who hasn’t smoked many cigars. It hits you with some definite pepper before some coffee and a rich robust earthiness comes out. Around the second third the spice mellows out a touch and I was able to pick out a bit of nuttiness. I also noticed that distinctive Corojo flavor I really enjoy. The final third really starts to put on the heat with some more spice until I finally set it down. The cigar never got overly harsh; it was the strength that really made me sit down with just over an inch to go.
Verdict: The Alec Bradley Tempus is going to be one of the hotter cigars this year. It is reasonably priced under $10, which is pretty good for a premium cigar. Don’t smoke it on an empty stomach, the Tempus creeps up on you. I didn’t really notice the strength until about midway through and by the end of the smoke I was pretty light headed. I’d probably compare this cigar to the Camacho Corojo Diploma or the Camacho Corojo 10th Anniversary in flavor and strength.
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Tags: Alan Rubin, Alec Bradley Cigars, Cigar Reviews, Strong Cigars
Topics: Cigar Reviews |
May 29th, 2008 at 10:30 am
Sounds like something I’d like to try. I’ll have to see if I can get my hands on one of these.
May 29th, 2008 at 10:38 am
It looks like it could be a hard find. I can’t find anyone selling them online yet.
May 29th, 2008 at 10:55 am
Jesse, this one looks like an Alex Bradley that I will enjoy. Hopefully, the local shop will be able to get a box or two! CD
May 29th, 2008 at 10:59 am
Hey CeeDee,
It reminds me an awful lot of a a Camacho so if you like those you’ll enjoy these.
May 31st, 2008 at 8:22 am
[...] Alec Bradley Tempus - Cigar Jack [...]
May 31st, 2008 at 4:21 pm
I was fortunate enough to get my hands on one of these. WOW! What a cigar. I would say it is the best new cigar on the market, hands down. The last 1/3 of this cigar was as good as any cigar I have ever had.
June 2nd, 2008 at 1:13 pm
[...] We were able to get our hands on the Tempus so please be sure to check out our Alec Bradley Tempus Cigar Review. [...]
June 15th, 2008 at 10:22 am
I definitely got some hints of earthy chocolate when I checked it out.
One thing I noticed about the wrapper: It appeared to be so shiny, it sparkled. Loved it!
June 15th, 2008 at 2:27 pm
I’m really kicking myself for giving my last ones away, but I wanted to have my local tobacconist try them.
June 15th, 2008 at 9:45 pm
Hey CigarJack,
Saw your inlaws Joe and Faye at Le Target in Milford today. My wife Donna is a cousin of Joe’s, once removed or something, I can never figure those things out. When Joe saw me wearing my cigar emblazoned tee he said I should check out your website. Looks great, very professional.
My personal faves lately are the Tatuaje Zona del Este and Camacho Diplomat. Hope they resume making the East Coast because I only have a half dozen left.
I hope to have time to explore more of your reviews during the next few days/weeks.
I had one of Jim Cronin’s Pepin Garcia made private label torps tonight. It has gotten a lot better with a few months in the humi, or it was just a good night for it, whichever.
Best wishes,
Lee
June 27th, 2008 at 10:07 am
I tried the lonsdale last night, some similar characteristic. A mild smoke that burned long. Took a while to open up but the last quarter kicked in nicely.
June 27th, 2008 at 6:21 pm
I smoked this cigar a couple weeks ago and put my initial thoughts up on my review blog, I have to say there’s nothing special about it, and it certainly didn’t deserve a 94 from CI, And this is coming from someone who likes smoking the darker maduro cigars :/
June 27th, 2008 at 7:08 pm
I read your review. Sounds like you had a completely different cigar than I had. Mine had some definite flavor to it. I’d say give it another shot you may have gotten a bad one. I’ve also had nights where my tastes were off and I didn’t realize it.
June 27th, 2008 at 8:41 pm
that very well may be, like I said, the actual review is going to be saved till later when I can try it again
June 27th, 2008 at 8:45 pm
Hope you have better luck with that one. I like the site always glad to find more reviewers out there!
July 15th, 2008 at 2:50 am
[...] I got a moment to talk with Alan Rubin at Alec Bradley and they are pushing the Tempus. [...]
July 15th, 2008 at 2:35 pm
I just smoked a Alec Bradley Tempus this weekend actually smoked 3 of them and all smoked wonderfully, great flavor and even burn. Alec Bradley is back, this time with a great stick, some of his other ones were not so great but he went to work on this one,sorry some of you guys didn’t get the same results but i have smoked every Bradley cigar and this one other than Trilogy Corojo (triangle style)puts him back in the game.
July 15th, 2008 at 8:16 pm
This cigar was recommended to me by Alan at my local cigar shop, Smokin Joe’s. I am relatively new to the cigar world, but Al knows my tastes. This has been an extremely pleasant smoke, with all the characteristics listed in the review, although I would say the pepper was slight. More emphasis on the coffee and nutty tastes. A very smooth cigar with a full taste. I will definitely be getting more of these for the humidore!
August 9th, 2008 at 12:31 pm
I also had this line recommended for its complexities. I am a fan of the La Gloria Natural Series R…this was not near the cigar. I was actually somewhat disappointed. It did not live up to the hype. It was just OK, but so are many other smokes. It burned uneven, had a loose draw and was not near as complex as I would have assumed. On the plus side, it did have some “premium” cigar characteristics like a nice label. Don’t expect much and maybe you’ll like it. I think I’ll pass next time and stick with Series R Naturals.
August 14th, 2008 at 4:21 pm
It is my nomination for worst cigar of the year. Sorry…Different smokes for different folks.
The only thing going for this smoke was it’s flavor. It could not hold an ash. It hallowed out. It was not enjoyable and for eight bucks I want a little more.
August 19th, 2008 at 11:44 am
How many did you get a chance to try? At eight bucks I sometimes find it difficult to grab two or three to smoke.
August 29th, 2008 at 6:23 am
[...] resurrect it for one of my favorite new cigars to come out this year. Originally I got to try the Alec Bradley Tempus just before it was released and really enjoyed it. My local shop recently picked up the Tempus and [...]
October 2nd, 2008 at 11:51 am
[...] winner of the box of Alex Bradley Tempus [...]
December 2nd, 2008 at 7:09 am
I had the opportunity to pick up a few of these last night. I lit up the Robusto, but honestly was not very impressed. It was a bit too mild for my taste and like another reader the stick hallowed out on me. I won’t go as far as to say it wasn’t enjoyable, but I felt a bit let down.
January 12th, 2009 at 1:00 pm
Not bad, not great. Had no burn or ash problems, but earthy flavor was too dominant and it got boring. It never really opened up for me like it did for some of the other reviewers. I would try another, but not at $7.80.
January 14th, 2009 at 2:34 pm
Alright, I would like to point out something I’ve noticed about these cigars since the release. The first shipment of the Alec Bradley Tempus robusto’s had a VERY different wrapper, Where I would classify the later shipments as Maduro, the first shipment had an almost Connetticuit wrapper, And the flavor profiles between the two were completely different, as I said before the first one was something akin to pigweed, but the second one was fairly good, still not my favorite smoke, but palleteble, Incase anyone else came across the bullscrotum variety, go back and look for a darker wrappered one, and tell your tobacconist he’s retarded for not noticing that the lancero’s and robusto’s had different wrappers, I know I Did!!
January 28th, 2009 at 1:18 pm
if you want a cigar that is boring……… dry and not much to talk about then waste ur money on this stick… what a dog rocket…I smoked one last week hearing all the reviews..but man I got wonder about the source… It’s more marketing than flavor…From now on I will rely on independent sourcees for recommendations.., not from magazines that get under the table money for good reviews…
February 15th, 2009 at 7:58 pm
I tried one of these this weekend as my local shop just got them in. Easy smoke, great flavor and overall really enjoyable. I’m glad I tried it and will add a few to my collection.
May 2nd, 2009 at 3:16 pm
I just smoked one this afternoon that I bought for $9.75 here in South Beach. The wrapper was stunning: a dark reddish color, sleek and oily, and very even in texture. I would’ve tried this cigar solely based on that wrapper! The cigar burned a bit haphazardly at the beginning but then evened out. The taste was indeed somewhat limited: there wasn’t much complexity. Yes, the usual flavor notes were present — espresso, a bit of roasted almonds — but an earthy tone certainly predominated. I wouldn’t characterize this as mild, but it wasn’t as robust as I expected either. I will try another one that I bought elsewhere just to make sure I didn’t get a bad stick but, based on many of the reviews I’ve read, I’m not necessarily expecting much difference.
May 27th, 2009 at 9:10 pm
I’m hard to please. I’ve smoked probably 75 different cigars … ONCE. It reminds me of my dating years. If she wasn’t a keeper, first and last date. My Tempus didn’t start out so well. I generally don’t care for a loose draw and, while the draw was only a tad loose, I figured we got off on the wrong foot. I was wrong. I paid 5.50, which is cheaper than box price off the Internet. I felt like an idiot when I told my wife the smoke was delicious! What a girl. Anyway, I enjoyed my Bradley nearly to the final 1/2 inch. It was spectacular. My store offers a 10% discount off stick price for box, so I’m buying me a box at 5.00 each. Rich, clean, just a beautiful cigar. I’ve smoked cigars to 40.00 and I’ve never enjoyed one more.