Marlboro Special Blend Lights Review

Marlboro's Special Blend line is an interesting one. I've personally had both the Special Blend Lights and the Special Blend Reds before (haven't tried the "blacks" or menthol yet) and today we're going to be taking a look at the lights. Regular old Marlboro lights certainly aren't one of my favorite cigarettes. I don't smoke them a lot and haven't smoked them a lot but the few I have had didn't stand out to me in any way. However, that didn't hold me back from trying a Special Blend Light for the first time about a year ago. Anyway, enough rambling and let's take a look the pack design, taste, and burn of Marlboro Special Blend Lights.
The Pack:
Any smoker knows that Marlboro packs are all nearly identical to each other with the exception of color. It's for this reason that various Marlboro's are referred to as "reds", "golds", and so forth. As for the design of this particular Marlboro pack, not surprisingly it looks pretty similar to a pack of Marlboro Lights. The exception here is the orange that wraps around the gold portion of the pack. Pretty obviously, the pack also says "Special Blend" on it. Other than that, the pack makes no mention of taste or anything. But, it does fit in nicely with the other Marlboro packs and does a decent job of distinguishing itself from Marlboro Lights. As for the actual cigarette, it has a white filter like most lights. There's a gold band on it and it says "Marlboro" in gold letters. Not too exciting, but it get's the job done.

The Taste:
I must say, for a brief period of time I smoked light cigarettes more than full flavors. It was about a year back, I just felt the need to take a little break from stronger smokes. Anyway, that's when I first tried these. Honestly, I remember first comparing the taste of these to pocket lint. I mean, I don't eat pocket lint and never have but that's the kind of taste I got from these when I first had them way back when. Supposedly, Marlboro's Special Blend line is supposed to be a more natural taste as opposed to having a chemcial taste. However I find these to have a somewhat noticeable chemical taste that I didn't enjoy at all. If you like lights, you'll probably like these though, They're not that bad and I've certainly had worse. They don't have as prominent of a taste as regular Marlboro Lights do and they certainly won't get the highest rating for taste but I was able to smoke a pack of them with no trouble. If you like lights, pick up a pack and enjoy.

The Burn:
These burn fast. Not Newport or Maverick fast, but certainly not Natural American Spirit slow either. They seem to burn a little between drags, it's not that noticeable however and unless you're by yourself and really paying attention to your cigarette as you smoke (as I often am), you won't care. I certainly wouldn't say that the fact that these burn a bit fast are a reason to not pick these up.

Well, these are alright. If you like lights, these should provide a nice decently priced smoke for you. Otherwise, I don't really recommend these. If you hate lights, you'll hate these, plain and simple. I kind of like them, but I don't know if I'll buy them again on my own will.

Pack: 3.5/5
Taste: 3/5
Burn: 3.5

Winston Full Flavor Review

Winston's are a fine example of a classic cigarette brand. In the 1960's, they were very, very popular. These days, they're really nothing more than another cigarette brand. I mean, they surprisingly don't hold the same nostalgia with people that brands such as Marlboro or Camel do. Still, they're fairly cheap and around me (Midwest, USA) they usually run about $5-$5.50 a pack. In most places they're cheaper than Marlboro's and cost about the same as Camels. Anyway, let's take a nice trip down memory lane and see what RJ Reynold's Winston brand has to offer in the categories of pack design, taste and burn.

The Pack:

Like a lot of brands, the Winston design has changed throughout the years. The design in the picture above is obviously the current design and has been around for some time now. The "Winston" text wraps around the box and the box also says "Naturally Smooth" on it. Winston's used to be additive free just like Natural American Spirits, but they can't make that claim anymore supposedly since FSC (Fire safe cigarettes) came out. All in all, the pack doesn't look that "modern" or "hip", I think Winston's are geared more towards older smokers and the pack reflects that. The pack doesn't maintain the same simplicity as a good ole' pack of Marlboro Reds but it still doesn't look bad. I like the pack and it looks nice. It's also a two-way pack, so you can open it like a soft or hard pack if you want. As for the cigarette, it consists of a filter with no extra white paper extending off the front of it (think Camel Blues, the part of the filter where the blue camel is). The paper says Winston near the end of it and it's just a nice, simple looking cigarette.

The Taste:

I must say, Winston's pack a very unique taste. Is it prominent? Fairly. I mean, it's not the strongest taste but I can easily pick it out. It's somewhat "nutty", but it's nothing like any other full flavor I've had. It sort of just tastes "raw", a nice and basic taste. As for the smoothness, these are somehow harsh yet smooth at the same time. I know that's hard to explain, when you first take a drag they are a bit hard on the throat but they do enter the lungs smoothly and I was able to take nice, full drags off of my Winston with no problem. I found the taste of these enjoyable, through packs I've noticed that some taste stronger than others, but I've never had one that tasted exceptionally bad. If you enjoy full flavors, you'll like Winston's.

The Burn:

Having smoked a lot of different cigarettes I can safely say that RJ Reynolds cigarettes burn exceptionally slower than Philip Morris' do. Maybe it's something with the paper, but to me it seems like Philip Morris' smokes seem to burn a lot between drags. Since Winston's are made by RJ Reynolds, they're really no exception. For the most part, they burn pretty slow, sometimes they burn about average but they never seem to burn fast. Overall, the length of how long it burns is enough to satisfy just about anybody and you shouldn't really have a problem with your smoke burning too fast.

Ok, Winston Full Flavors definitely get a passing grade in my book. They're not that expensive, the taste should be enjoyed by any full flavor smoker and they burn fairly nice. I recommend these if you're a full flavor smoker looking for a change of pace or if you just want to try something new.

Pack: 4/5
Taste: 4.5/5
Burn: 4/5