Review of Grand Marnier Cigare

The Grand Marnier 652 from Ted's Cigars is a torpedo shaped (6 x 52) cigar priced at $11. The cigar is seasoned (flavored) with Grand Marnier Liqueur and sealed in a glass tube. These cigars are made with a Corojo wrapper, Ecuadorian binder, and Dominican filler tobaccos. For more information about the cigars, visit grandmarniercigars.com.

Much like other Ted's Cigars that I have tried, the artificial flavor is subtle and does not overwhelm the taste of the tobacco, but compliments that flavor. You don't have to like Grand Marnier Liqueur to enjoy this cigar, but it would certainly help. The cigar is mild-to-medium, and would be suitable for any level of cigar smoker, including beginners.

Right from the start, the Grand Marnier cigar had an enjoyable mild and smooth tobacco flavor that was complimented by just a hint of orange with a subtle sweetness that was mostly in the background (not in your face). I puffed on the cigar for a few minutes before taking my first sip of Grand Marnier Liqueur, which really kicked the smoking/drinking experience up a notch. This cigar is tailor made to be enjoyed with Grand Marnier.

Although the cigar by itself was very good, when paired with Grand Marnier Liqueur, it was pretty close to excellent, as long as you like Grand Marnier Liqueur. After about 30 minutes, the cigar's taste dropped off a bit, which was easily remedied by increasing the dosage of Grand Marnier Liqueur. It took me 50 minutes to smoke the cigar down to 1½ inches remaining. During that time, the cigar held a long ash, had a great draw, even burn, and did not require any relights nor touch-ups.

Rating any flavored cigar can be problematic, since it depends on how much you like the artificial flavor as opposed to just the tobacco. However, the “seasoned” flavors in Ted's cigars are more subtle than in most other brands of flavored cigars. Anyway, if you like Grand Marnier Liqueur, the cigar deserves a 4-point rating, but only if you smoke it without pairing with Grand Marnier Liqueur. However, when paired with Grand Marnier, the total combined smoking and drinking experience gets 4.5 points on a 5-point scale, at least in my book. If you're not a big fan of Grand Marnier Liqueur, I still think that the cigar deserves close to a 4-point rating during the first 30 minutes, and at least 3½ points for the entire 50 minutes that it takes to smoke the cigar all the way down to the end.