Alright, let's dance with a blind stick tonight, #2
@navyvet (just a heads up, I will edit photos in with my phone after posting the review)
Name: #2
Size: 6" x ~50-52
Shape: Toro/Churchill
Cigar enjoyed with the following:
Beverage: Diet Coke
Snack: Peanuts, lightly salted in the shell
Review:
Appearance: Beautiful, dark chocolate color maduro wrapper, light veins, tight seams, triple cap is applied alright, but I am snipping that end off anyway. Smells rich with spices, cocoa, and leather which I am all too excited for. Nice, firm bunch. I opt for a V-cut through the cap, but the draw is quite loose, hopefully this plays out alright and doesn't tunnel too much. The pre-light draw is delicious with plenty of dark cocoa and wood.
The Burn: I decide to treat this cigar right since it's not real windy outside, and light it up with 3 matches, 2 for toasting and the last to fully ignite the foot. The flavor is full of rich leather and earth. The draw is very loose, but allows for a bellowing of smoke output. I am going to have to smoke this real slow. Hints of spice and maybe some licorice rears its head as I pass the first inch, but it’s really settled into an earthy profile. I’d say we are at a medium strength right now. The burn line is straight, the ash is a peppery gray and flaky, but seems to be holding on tight. Only a little crack in the wrapper that took a small chunk of ash out before the first inch fell. I am glad I went with the V-cut, any deeper and this thing would be like sucking through a PVC pipe.
Second third starts and the flavors are still earthy, however, the strength feels quite strong and I am picking up a delicious malt flavor also present in the aroma. Unfortunately, as the first chunk off ash detaches, I notice some severe tunneling and need to immediately correct the burn. I am loving the flavor profile, but the maintenance is preventing this stick from being perfect. The re-light seems to fix the burn and the malt returns, damn I wish I knew what kind of leaf brought that flavor to the blend. Still massive plumes of smoke bellowing after each draw.
I am smoking this quite slowly to ensure the cherry doesn’t heat up. One hour in and I am only nearing the half way mark! At the half, I am starting to get something citrusy on my tongue, pleasant little shift and more spice is coming through making for a more complex smoke. However, now I am missing that tasty malt backbone. The wrapper needs another lighting to keep it going with the filler, rather unfortunate since it is starting to become harsh due to the significant babying with the lighter.
As I approach the last third, the flavors are starting to bitter, but there is some cedar and wood present, the strength is sitting at a medium-full level. The harshness begins to overpower and I let the stick extinguish. The wrapper shows that I still have 2 inches left, but hides where the cherry is actually seated inside.
Overall Impression: Tasty cigar in the first half, highlighted by earthy wood tones and a touch of sweet, caramel and malt. The draw was very loose, allowing for a tunneling issue that continued throughout the cigar’s life and the burn corrections started to increase the bitterness. Not overly complex, but that is perfectly fine with me since the delicious flavors in the first half kept me interested for a solid 2 hours of smoking time. I wish those flavors had continued for hours and hours, but alas burning issues cut it short. Overall, if I could smoke the first half again, I most certainly would!
Guess: Maybe something from Camacho?
Answer: AB Maxx