This cigar was enjoyed with Water
Pre-Light: 17 Points of 10 Possible
This cigar is a mottled, medium-brown color. It is an attractive cigar with a Cohiba-esque band. The wrapper was mostly smooth but this example had one very prominent vein near the cap with detracted from the overall apperance. The pre-light aroma was that of quality tobacco with just a bit of an alfalfa aroma as well. The cigar was firmly packed with no soft spots, and had a good heft to it.
Lighting and Burn: 13 Points of 15 Possible
I used a guillotine cut and toasted the foot before lighting. The cigar lit evenly, and the burn stayed pretty straight for the duration, with no touch-ups required. I did, however, have to re-light the cigar during the last 1/3. For the first two-thirds I could take several minutes between puffs, but as I got closer to the nub, the cigar required more attention to remain lit. The ash was light gray and a bit flaky, with tiny bits of ash flying off with each puff. I let the ash hold for about the first 1/2 inch, but it was starting to develop some San Andreas style faults, so I set it over the ashtray and gently tapped to see if the ash would hold--and it promptly dropped into the tray. After that I kept the ash short to avoid dropping any on me.
The cigar produced great plumes of smoke with each puff, and burned very slowly. I unfortunately forgot to write down the start time so I could get an overall total burn time for this stick, but I know it was well over an hour.
Construction: 27 Points of 30 Possible
The cigar appears to be skillfully wrapped, with no apparent flaws in any of the seams, and it had a nicely done triple cap. The pre-light draw was very good, and the draw remained very good for the duration of the cigar. A look at the foot of the cigar revealed a center of dark leaves surrounded by leaves of a lighter shade. Overall I thought this was a beauty of a cigar and has a very high-end, premium look about it.
Flavor and Aroma: 32 Points of 45 Possible
During the pre-light draw I tasted quite a bit of spicyness. After lighting it up, the flavor was very bold but smooth. This is a very full bodied cigar, an dit really coats the palate with flavor. I was already light-headed just 2" into the smoke, despite taking time between puffs. The room note was very strong, but was the pleasant aroma of a quality cigar. Although the smoke was smooth, I couldn't help noticing a mild stinging/harshness at the top of my throat. The flavors I noted were oak, tobacco, cut hay, and even a slight floral note. Not a strong floral like honeysuckle or rose, just a gentle "clean" floral like maybe carnation. At the 1/2 way point I got a couple puffs that were a little bitter, and I was thinking it was from tar buildup. But then the flavor changed and the floral note became a bit more pronounced than before.
In the final 1/3 the flavors changed again slightly, with the floral notes disappering and the predominant flavor being just good quality tobacco.
Summary
This is a very high quality, full-bodied cigar. Although very good, I would love to have some of these to place in the humi and give them a year or two of rest. I am admittedly a bit of a lightweight, and I think I would enjoy these cigars a bit more if the strength was muted just a bit. As it is, I was surprised at how smooth the cigar was. Even so, I imagine that these would age exceptionally well.
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(11 Review(s))