Kazakh cigarettes Glamour
According to Google statistics, around 20% of all “CigsSpot” followers are women. Now, have mercy on me since over the year I haven’t done a single full-blown review for the female audience. Today we change that! I present to you a review of Glamour cigarettes by Kazakh JTI.
The brand was launched in the middle of 2000s on various markets at the same time. For example, the Russian, CIS and Europe markets. At the time, Gallaher Limited was the brand’s owner. Moreover, the cigarettes for the aforementioned markets were manufactured in Poland. By the middle of 2010-s, once a Japanese company JTI bought Gallaher, local production was in question.
We must also talk about the diversity of the pack design. However, I am afraid this article is getting too long and will be bigger than usual 😊 I’ll narrow it down to the main elements of design history. So, the first design was announced in 2005. A new limited edition “Fashion” was launched just three years later.
The “Urban Safari”, “Tribal Edition”, “Glitter Edition” and other limited editions followed, affecting all markets and varieties of the brand. There were more trial editions and regional limited editions. The now-familiar design appeared in 2014, preceded by an information series featuring elements of the old design imprinted on the protective film of the pack. And despite the variety of pack designs, the regular edition varieties are only four — Amber, Azure, Lilac and Menthol. “Regular because there were also trial varieties pulled out of the market for various reasons.
Now, before we get to taste test, I’ll say a few words about the authenticity of the cigarettes. Since they are made in Kazahstan, the excise stamps are designed according to the country’s standards.
Modern codes and production dates, as well as various batch codes. So, both packs are original.
Glamour Amber. All Glamour cigarettes are available in super slims format only, in slim cardboard packs to match the format. Glamour’s modern design is standardized and made up of a few simple and recognizable elements — a white pack background, a stylized flower with petals varying in colour according to the variety. In Amber the petals are yellow, and the cigarette brand is duplicated in a more conventional way, namely, by the inscription in a golden coloured rectangle. The central composition is a brand name inscription in company font. The front of the pack also features JTI’s much-loved LSS technology, the Smoke Odour Reduction System, intended to protect non-smokers. 😊
When opening the pack, there is another confirmation that the cigarettes are authentic — a unique batch code. The cigarettes in the pack are traditionally encased in foil on a thin paper base with a textured brand name.
The pack contains twenty skinny cigarettes with the usual acetate filter. The construction and quality of the cartridges is unmistakable. The design of the cigarettes is bright, memorable, really glamorous and consists of a ‘pearl’ filter paper with a double line of laser perforations almost down the middle of the filter, vertical, black lettering with the brand name in a branded font, the brand name and a separator ring in ‘gold’ on the rim paper.
The tobacco blends in cigarettes are poorly contrasted and consist of almost equal proportions of yellow and dark yellow particles. There is a much smaller amount of brown, light yellow and green-yellow fractions. The slicing is of fairly good quality and consists of narrow, long ribbons. No debris could be found in the filling of the cigarettes, no cut leaves or crumbled ribbons. Very clean, good slicing. Also, no surrogate leaf was visually detectable, but if so, it would reveal itself when smoked. So, let’s try it. Tar characteristics of the cigarette: 1mg tar, 0.1mg nicotine.
With this diameter you can physically feel the air being sucked through the perforations, really diluting the smoke and making it very difficult to identify the range of flavours. When you manage to catch the holes in the perforations, it is clear from one puff that the cigarette is of medium strength, as you can feel a slight throat hit. The taste is quite good, though faint, you can feel the sauce, but I never managed to grasp any specific notes — something like walnut and maybe a touch of maple syrup…
Quite a good product, nice flavour notes and by the way, no bitterness at all. I was surprised by the feeling of the strength of the smoke! I mean, I can feel it, but feels stronger than 0.1 mg. Another thing, apparently due to my habit of smoking classic cigarette format, the small diameter of the cigarette, a smaller volume of cigarette mixture and perforated filter did not allow me to get enough of these cigarettes. But that’s purely IMHO 😊
Glamour Azure. The design of this pack is similar to the previous one, except the ‘flower’ petals are in shades of blue and there is a dark blue rectangle with the name of the variety on it. The design is quite clever, not overloaded with elements, which makes it easy to distinguish the varieties from each other.
The pack also contains twenty super slims. The design and quality of the cartridges is still top notch. The design of the cigarettes also follows the same pattern and differs from Amber in the use of a light blue colour for the brand name and the separator strip.
At first glance, the blend looks the same as the Amber variety. However, in reality, there are far more dark yellow fractions. Although yellow particles are present, there are no more than a quarter of them. A slightly higher volume of green-yellow fractions, and brown remains in the amount of spice. The slicing is also quite clean and consists solely of narrow, long ribbons. No surrogate leaf was visually detected. Tar characteristics of the cigarette: 3 mg tar, 0.3 mg nicotine.
Although it is a little bit stronger, the smoke feels almost the same. I found Azure to be tarter and more straightforward. The sauce in the smoke is also detectable, but here it is less sweet and more herbaceous. The final cigarette also has a slight bitterness to it, but I couldn’t detect whether or not it’s surrogate.
When comparing between the chosen samples, I would probably prefer Amber. Of course, if they were in KS format =) All in all, pretty good cigarettes, with a nuanced flavour and, if not smoked often, probably will provide enough satiety.
