Cigar Geeks Geek Critique
87
Cigar Geeks Rating
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Welcome to a Geek Critique of a cigar generously provided to us by David at https://www.egars.com/" target="_blank">egars.com. This year marks 19 years of Camacho Liberty, a series that is one of the most highly-anticipated annual releases for collectors and aficionados of bold, full-frontal cigars. Launched ahead of the July 4th holiday to celebrate and honor the birth and history of the United States, this special series is like no other. The blend in this series has been comprised from tobaccos of a variety of regions and vintages, making it a knockout cigar for Camacho. The 2021 Liberty Series blend captures the strength and character of four distinct regions. Our blenders have harnessed these daring qualities into the classic Churchill format. It's bold and explosive, yet also balanced in its depth. Only 1,500 boxes available nationally. Special thanks goes out to David at https://www.egars.com/" target="_blank">egars.com for providing the cigars and to Wescat (Kevin) for coordinating this!
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This cigar was enjoyed with Coffee
Pre-Light: 10 Points of 10 Possible
What a beautiful looking cigar. It has a satin sheen to it that creates a great deal of anticipation for me to fire this puppy up. It's a well packed stick with good heft to it. Thinking it will take a while to smoke. Aroma is heavy cedar and a little morning toast. There are no large veins. Seams are tight and hard to find. Just for giggles, I stood the cigar on its foot like you might an ISOM. It never wavered. The cap is nicely applied and smooth. No ragged edges here. I'm very optimistic of what this cigar will deliver.
Lighting and Burn: 14 Points of 15 Possible
I fired this cigar up with my torch and it lit easily. Definitely going to be a slow burner, but the smoke output is outstanding. Draw is spot on and effortless. The ash did split in the first 3/4" so I had to flick it, but after that, it held on in solid 1"+ chunks. I generally don't play games seeing how long an ash I can generate because they generally end up in my lap, but if that's your thing, go for it! This cigar for the most part burned straight as an arrow. I had one issue in the final third where it suddenly went out and I had to relight. Thinking it may have been a humidity situation. Very humid morning. I'm not going to hold that against it. The burn, draw and smoke output were fantastic throughout.
Construction: 28 Points of 30 Possible
This is a beautifully constructed cigar. I can't say enough about how perfect the draw was. The draw is so crucial in my book, as well as smoke output. This cigar hit both notes. The chocolate brown wrapper never cracked, tunneled or split. As mentioned earlier, it did go out on me briefly in the final third, but I think that's picking nits considering the heat and humidity.
Flavor and Aroma: 35 Points of 45 Possible
1st Third:
As is my routine, I wet the tip a little prior to cutting. I often will get a sugary sweetness from this. In this case, I got a touch of salt. That's new for me. Not sure what it means but very distinctive. The cigar starts out medium in body with some mild wet earthy undertones. There is some mild black pepper on the retro that I really like. Nothing too strong. Earthy flavors are very consistent here with not a great deal of complexity or flavor shifts.
2nd Third:
Some subtle sweetness is now entering the mix and the cigar is a bit more full, but not overpowering. Again, the flavor profile is very consistent, dare I say one dimensional. I'd hoped for a bit more complexity. That said, it is a very enjoyable earthy, sweet flavor profile.
Final 3rd:
Not much change in flavor here. Still earthy/leathery. It is a bit more full and I do start to get a mild nicotine buzz towards the end. Had to put it down with about an inch and a half left.
Summary
All in all, this was real pleasure to smoke. The performance of the cigar itself overcame the lack of complexity in flavor by a goodly margin. I'm anxious to try another one after dinner to see how different it might taste. It did turn out to be a slow smoker. It took me an hour and 45 minutes to smoke which is a really long time for me. I generally smoke fast. From a value standpoint, it is a bit pricey. I would hope for more complexity at this price point but it does smoke like dream! Thanks so much to Wescat, and David at Egars for coordinating this critique!
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