This cigar was enjoyed with Coffee & Water
Pre-Light: 9 Points of 10 Possible
The wrapper has a deep mahogany / reddish hue to it, darker than your standard Rosado wrapper, but definitely redder than a maduro. Two medium veins combine to run the length of the cigar wrapper, which has a medium toothiness and a light oily sheen.
Pre-Light Aroma of the wrapper is barnyard, and the foot has notes of both barnyard and cedar. Pre-Light taste has dried dark fruit notes and unsweetened cocoa powder.
Pre-light draw is a firm medium plus, but no adjustment needed.
Lighting and Burn: 15 Points of 15 Possible
Cigar was straight cut with a guillotine, and lit with a triple torch butane lighter.
Solid medium grey to dark grey ash that seemed to hang on forever - I finally tapped the ash at 2 inches, but I suspect I could have gotten it to go longer. had I been a little braver Ash had no flakes, except for a single curl occasionally from the vein.
Cigar burned like a champ, no tunneling, canoeing, relights or touchups needed. The burn line wavered once or twice briefly, but remained straight as an arrow down to a 3/4" nub.
The cigar produced a very respectable amount of smoke volume, with hardly any side stream smoke.
Construction: 28 Points of 30 Possible
The cigar was solidly rolled, firm from head to foot. There were no voids, hard spots or uneven areas. I had thought I may need to use my draw tool, based on how firm the roll was, but after cutting the draw was firm but unhindered, and that remained the case down to the nub.
The wrapper was firmly applied, giving it a slight uneven surface, but no splits or tears occurred during smoking.
Double cap, well applied, but not perfect as it was slightly uneven at the tip of the head.
Flavor and Aroma: 40 Points of 45 Possible
1st Third: The cigar opened with notes of cedar and espresso, and a blast of black pepper on the retrohale that quickly faded. Body came across as medium+ and the strength showed up early making its presence known, solid medium-strong. Espresso became more dark chocolate like, and I tasted a distinct nuttiness somewhere in between brazil nut and almond. As the black pepper faded, baking spice and floral notes (honeysuckle mostly) were detectable in the retrohale. The aroma of the smoke also had similar floral notes among the sweet tobacco that dominated.
2nd Third: As the 2nd third got going, chocolate and cedar gave way to deep and rich leather notes, in the background coffee, nuts and black tea were detectable. Floral notes completely gone at this point. Throughout the 2nd third, leather dominated, and sweeter cocoa notes began appear in the background. The retrohale also had strong leather with cedar and white pepper spice. Body remained solidly medium+, and the strength, medium-strong.
Final third: As the cigar progressed into the final third, the leather notes that had dominated the 2nd, retreated into the background as the cocoa sweetness increased. Shortly after, notes of dark dried fruit (prunes) and dark toast filled in the back ground. Black pepper spice was detectable both on the roof of the mouth as well as the retrohale. As I smoked into the nub at 1", dark black coffee bitterness and chalky mineral notes dominated the flavor, and the black pepper spice faded from the retrohale, briefly replaced by a woodiness - reminiscent of sandalwood. Body edged slightly higher into medium-full territory by the end, the strength stayed solidly in the medium-strong.
Summary
Thanks to @appollo for setting up this month's blind review. I was stoked when my cigar arrived over a month and a half ago. I could tell right away how well it was rolled, as the slightly toothy and oily wrapper hinted at what I hoped would be and interesting smoke. I was excited to give it a try after a little nap in my humidor.
After I finally lit it up, I was not disappointed. It burned evenly the whole time, never got hot, and didn't need relighting. Plus, the smoke production was great. The flavors were also interesting and changed a lot as I smoked it. The first third had strong notes of cedar and coffee, while the final third brought out some sweet notes of chocolate and spice. The second third was a little less interesting, though, leather seemed to be a little too aggressive. It just wasn't as dynamic as the first and last thirds.
The second third aside, this cigar smoked like a high dollar stick. It ticked all of my boxes for a repeat candidate. Overall, this was a great cigar that smoked well and had no major flaws. I'd definitely smoke another one, or several. I just hope they're not too expensive!
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