This cigar was enjoyed with Whalers Dark Rum and Coke
Pre-Light: 18 Points of 10 Possible
This cigar had a nice rich leathery tobacco aroma with a sight spiciness to it. The wrapper was deep brown, slightly oily and veiny. It was also very firm to the touch.
I used a sharp Xikar cutter. However, the cap did not want to cut evenly, and it took two cuts to make the head suitable for smoking. Even then, the head was uneven. The pre-light draw was very firm, and gave a slightly spicy leathery taste.
Lighting and Burn: 14 Points of 15 Possible
Light up was very even and the draw loosened up considerably one the cigar was lit. There was lots of smoke produced, which had a very woodsy scent to it.
The burn was a bit ragged for the first half, and I had to play with it a bit to even it out. However, I never had to do an actual touch up with a lighter.
The ash was salt and pepper colored and was fairly firm.
Construction: 25 Points of 30 Possible
I was impressed by how solid this cigar was. It was very firm, with no soft spots and heavy in the hand. However, the firmness of this cigar made it very difficult to cut.
The wrapper was oily in some areas and not in others. The cap was pretty sloppy, with a loose piece of wrapper jutting out.
The draw was tight initially, but loosened up to a very firm, but not overly difficult once the cigar was lit.
The presentation of the cigar was top-notch. Two handsome and tasteful bands adorned the cigar with one at the standard position and a second band at the foot. One pet peeve of mine, however, is that the upper band was glued solidly to the wrapper, making it difficult to remove.
Flavor and Aroma: 24 Points of 45 Possible
When first lit, the cigar presented a peppery (both black and red) leathery taste. It was very full bodied. There was an astringency that affected my tongue and throat.
Once the smoke progressed a bit, the leather settled down a bit and a more floral flavor, with a woody finish took over. This was the most enjoyable part of the stick. Unfortunately, it didn't last long.
By the near end of the first third, the flavors had become dominated by cedar with a "chewy" leather finish. This finish, I found to be unpleasant.
Continuing through the first half of the smoke, the cedar became stronger with an ashy undertone. The "chewy" almost bitter leather taste had thoroughly coated my tongue.
For the rest of the smoke, all I could really taste was the ashy cedar and leather. Even retrohaling did not produce much variation. It did give some hints of the early floral notes, but still it was overpoweringly cedar.
Summary
I was hoping for a lot more out of this cigar. The flavors were not very dynamic, and I did not care for them very much.
The cigar itself was a bit too solid, and this made it very difficult to get a straight cut.
I want to thank Xikar for providing this cigar, but it appears that this one was not right for me.
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(3 Review(s))