Welcome to another Member sponsored Geek Critique generously sponsored by our member appollo (Stephen). This was done as a blind review so there were no pre-concieved notions about what anyone was smoking. The cigar provided for this round is the http://www.cigargeeks.com/cigardb/default.asp?action=showcig&cigar_id=189159">Aging Room Quattro Nicaragua Maestro Torpedo.
The Aging Room Quattro Nicaragua blend is a Nicaraguan puro, utilizing AJ Fernandez's expertise of growing superior tobacco on his extensive Nicaraguan farms. The Aging Room Quattro Nicaragua cigar line delivers an explosion of flavor, complex, rich and memorable. A symphony of flavors all working together in perfect harmony in this full-bodied full-flavored Nicaraguan cigar which has earned the highest prize in the land, Cigar Aficionado's No. 1 spot as 2019's "Cigar of the Year!"
The wrapper is semi-dry and rustic looking, with a couple prominent veins, yet still smooth to the touch. The cap is well applied, and was easy to straight cut. Packing was solid, with no soft spots. Aroma off the foot was nice.
Lighting and Burn: 14 Points of 15 Possible
The burn was just about perfect, staying even almost through the entire smoke. The ash held solid, in half inch chunks. The color was a nice white, with grayish black striping. Burn was slow and steady, requiring no re-lights. Smoke volume was on the light side of medium.
Construction: 28 Points of 30 Possible
The draw had a bit more resistance than I like, but it did not take away from the enjoyment of the cigar. The wrapper was smooth, save for 2 prominent veins, which did not affect the performance in any way. The cap stayed intake after cutting, and held solid to the finish.
Flavor and Aroma: 39 Points of 45 Possible
The strength was medium plus, and very balanced. The beginning of the smoke had a really nice natural sweetness, along with a meaty chare to go along with some bitter black coffee notes. Further in, the sweetness dropped down but not out, and the richness of the tobacco really jumped up front. Light wisps of coffee continued to appear on occasion, and the meaty notes were still present. The cigar finished with the sweetness ticking back up, and paired well with the same flavors as the middle. The smoke was fairly smooth, with just a bit of bite. The aftertaste was on the dry side, but paired well with my beverage.
Summary
I really enjoyed this cigar. It was not overly complex, and the changes were minimal, but it was a nice smoke to enjoy while floating in the pool. I would definitely smoke this one again...whatever it is!! Thank you Stephen for allowing me to participate in this GC, and thanks to Bruce for overseeing all the GC's! Well done brothers!