This cigar was enjoyed with Water & Cadenhead's Classic Lowland Scotch
Pre-Light: 17 Points of 10 Possible
Cut (w/ guillotine cutter) went well. There are two medium veins in the wrapper and it is fairly easy to see where the wrapper was rolled, so we have to deduct a few points there, however the cap was nice and the stick is consistently dense, with no soft spots or abnormalities. The wrapper is a deep brown and the ring is very nice - simple and classy, but the silver wrapping on the stick was a bit much for me at least...
Lighting and Burn: 12 Points of 15 Possible
Lighting went smoothly (using my Lotus Man 'o War torch). Even red glow and a puff and we were on our way. Approaching the first third and the burn is even with only a slight wavering. The ash is a light gray, with a few dark streaks. The first ash did fall short, somewhere between 1/2 - 3/4" and it left a rather flat cherry, but the burn was still good, so I guess it's not all that bad. This can probably be attributed to the lighter denseness and therefore lighter draw.
Around the halfway point, the burn took to one half and I gave it a touch-up with the torch. That's another point knocked off there. The second and third ashes had been about the same as the first. After the touch-up, burn is good again. I did manage to lightly drop the stick on my chest as I switched from mouth to hand, but the cherry remained nice and steady.
Subsequent ash lengths and ash color remained consistent throughout the rest of the stick.
Construction: 29 Points of 30 Possible
Draw is almost a perfect medium - but slightly on the lighter side. But the smoke is absolutely amazing - full of creamy white smoke. I can't get enough of this smoke. Awesome. Wrapper and cap were mostly covered under the pre-light, so I'll focus mostly on the draw and smoke. Draw and smoke basically remained consistent throughout the entire cigar. With the lighter draw and the larger ring gauge, some folks may want to use a punch, but I always like to cut. I love big, creamy smoke and consistency so this stick scores high in this category for me.
The smoke was extremely creamy and thick at the end.
I typically measure length and ring gauge on all cigars before I smoke them and this one came in right at 6", but I couldn't check ring gauge tonight b/c apparently the battery in my caliper had died, but my guess is it's pretty close.
Flavor and Aroma: 28 Points of 45 Possible
To clarify, I started the first half with water alone.
The cigar started out with a leathery and earthy taste along with a hint of spice that I just couldn't place no matter how hard I tried. The aftertaste was slightly nutty. It seems like there's a little chai tea flavor in the aftertaste?
Into the first third and the flavors are becoming a little more bold. That hint of spice is gone, but I taste more earth and leather - definitely the dominating flavors, but not overpowering. Of course as soon as I write that the hint of spice I just can't place my finger on is gone, it comes back in the aftertaste. Something a little like cloves? With now a cocoa aftertaste. Before we get to the half, the spice and cocoa are gone and now it's more earth, leather and tobacco flavors. So far the flavors are pretty consistent, but also mostly basic. Not too strong, not too light - a solid medium flavored stick.
That being said, with fairly traditional flavors at the half, it's time for a glass of scotch (Cadenhead's Classic Lowland Pure Malt Scotch) to see what we can coax out of this stick flavor-wise.
The leather, earth and tobacco flavors pair well, but I'm still not detecting much of anything else. With each draw a different flavor may be more prevalent than another, but I'm missing a little complexity - some more spice, some nuttiness, a more varied aftertaste from the draw. Nothing to really complain about, but it's not knock your socks off flavor either. The words "traditional cigar flavors" keep coming to mind.
Into the final third and I'm starting to pick up some more spice notes - in the aroma a bit as well. Definitely not cloves though - something a tad sweet with some pepper. As the wrapper is a bit more moist by this point, I seem to be picking up more flavors from it as well - a hint of sweetness with a hint of tea? But as the heat gets closer, a little bitterness sets in.
To close out, there were a lot of earth, tobacco and leathery flavors with a dry spice & tea flavor in the back of my throat and the slight bitterness actually seemed to go away at the very end. The flavors lingering in my mouth were pleasant and that tea/spice note scored it an additional point or two in the end.
Summary
If you want a medium bodied, slightly light on the draw and full of smoke stick, then this is perfect for you. At $8-9 retail the price isn't bad, but it's not a steal of a deal either. If there were some more complex flavors, then it would have scored much higher overall.
Thought I would post some pictures at the end (if that's allowed):
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(15 Review(s))