As promised, I got the opportunity to enjoy this fantastic cigar this afternoon. I'm pretty-well stumped on what brand this is, but it was enjoyable to smoke and even a little fun trying to come up with the brand itself. I'll keep thinking about it while writing the review, and try to come up with something by the end.
The pre-light inspection showed a beautiful dark brown and smooth maduro wrapper. The tobacco was wound really tightly inside. There was one elevated vien that ran down the middle of the wrapper, from the foot to about the halfway point of the cigar. The aroma coming wafting off the stick was of light chocolate, cocoa, vanilla and a little bit of oak. The cut was smooth and clean, and the flavors teased at a little cocoa and pepper. The draw a bit on the tight side, though. The light extremely easy and even. The burn was slow and steady throughout the entire smoke. The burn line began as straight as an arrow. But once it reached that elevated vein on the wrapper, the line got thrown off and it started burning a little unevenly. The draw started off tight, but after the first ash fell off, the draw opened up and allowed for more smoke to be enjoyed. The aroma featured tones of lightly toasted bread, tree bark, leather, earth and oak. The flavors were really complex and delicious, with notes of dark roasted coffee, cream, light leather, earth, dry red grapes, black cherries and rye bread. About halfway through the smoke, some milkier chocolate hints developed, along with a little more sweetness. Overall, this is a really great cigar! It really took off after the slow start. The flavors really developed and got complex and really delicious. The body was really smooth and enjoable. This cigar delivered a lot of character and flavor without being overbearing or too powerful. If I were rating this in our database, I would have a tough time deciding to go with 4 stars or even a 4.5.
Thanks Eddie for including me in this Bomb/Blind Taste Test. This cigar has some real familiar characteristics to it. On one hand, it seems like I have smoked this before, but on another, it has some unique flavors that I don't think I've experienced. Unfortuantely, I don't think I'm going to be able to take much of a guess. I'll think about it for a little while and try and put somewhat of a semi-educated guess together. Thanks again!