First, the smell. It smelled of dark chocolate with a dark coffee on the backend. I took my 11mm punch and did the deed. The cold draw. Holy shit... I could've taken cold draws for the rest of the night and that would have been good enough. It had a slight pepper on the tip of the tongue and the lips. The draw was slightly tight, but not to the point I had to really pucker to get a good draw. It had a very noticeable chocolate that was slightly sweet that faded into a dark roast coffee after a moment. I took at least a dozen cold draws, the flavor was superb. But curiosity got to me. As I took the torch and toasted the foot I wondered if this was the right thing to do. Should I have aged it?
The first puff was straight pepper. The burn started off very even. After a few draws that gave way to other great flavors. The draw right off the bat was smooth and smokey. The first third was pepper that would sit on the side on the tongue. There was a nutty taste that would mix with coffee and had a dark chocolate on the exhale. The flavors were solid in the first third.
As the cigar transitioned into the second third the flavors changed. The pepper disappeared. It gave way to a nutty tone with earthy tastes of wood and leather. But it also kept the chocolate on the end. The ash held on very strong until half way trough before it needed to tapped off. The pepper also made a quick appearance at this point for a few draws that lingered on the inside of the lips.
At the start of the last third the burn got a little uneven, but nothing out of control. Just a small waiver. The pepper made its exit. A very robust coffee flavor made its presence known with undertones of roasted nuts and leather. As I continued, the burn straitened out and was what I would call even, but rugged. Once those flavors smoothed out a sweetness of chocolate came through. There was a slight cinnamon that would follow the smoke on the draw and linger on the lips and the tip of the tongue momentarily.
The last few draws brought the pepper back to life. And the chocolate... oh the chocolate! It was now much stronger than any other flavor profile had been for the entire length of it. It was truly an amazing way to finish. After an hour and fifteen minutes of a cigar that had exceeded my expectations, it was time to say goodbye. I laid this now friend to rest. Watching it as its life was slowly fading out I thought about the overall cigar. It was a fine fellow indeed. The smoke output was fantastic. The burn overall was very even and consistent. The draw was slightly restricted. I would highly recommend all my S/BOTL splurge a little and get one of these treats. So as you can guess, I don't regret lighting that up last night. Would some age prove to make this already great cigar better? I can't imagine so.
The first puff was straight pepper. The burn started off very even. After a few draws that gave way to other great flavors. The draw right off the bat was smooth and smokey. The first third was pepper that would sit on the side on the tongue. There was a nutty taste that would mix with coffee and had a dark chocolate on the exhale. The flavors were solid in the first third.
As the cigar transitioned into the second third the flavors changed. The pepper disappeared. It gave way to a nutty tone with earthy tastes of wood and leather. But it also kept the chocolate on the end. The ash held on very strong until half way trough before it needed to tapped off. The pepper also made a quick appearance at this point for a few draws that lingered on the inside of the lips.
At the start of the last third the burn got a little uneven, but nothing out of control. Just a small waiver. The pepper made its exit. A very robust coffee flavor made its presence known with undertones of roasted nuts and leather. As I continued, the burn straitened out and was what I would call even, but rugged. Once those flavors smoothed out a sweetness of chocolate came through. There was a slight cinnamon that would follow the smoke on the draw and linger on the lips and the tip of the tongue momentarily.
The last few draws brought the pepper back to life. And the chocolate... oh the chocolate! It was now much stronger than any other flavor profile had been for the entire length of it. It was truly an amazing way to finish. After an hour and fifteen minutes of a cigar that had exceeded my expectations, it was time to say goodbye. I laid this now friend to rest. Watching it as its life was slowly fading out I thought about the overall cigar. It was a fine fellow indeed. The smoke output was fantastic. The burn overall was very even and consistent. The draw was slightly restricted. I would highly recommend all my S/BOTL splurge a little and get one of these treats. So as you can guess, I don't regret lighting that up last night. Would some age prove to make this already great cigar better? I can't imagine so.
