So I'll preface this by saying 'I am not a reviewer'. I'm a noob who is participating in a 'dog rocket pass' and as part of that pass, we're playing a bit of 'dog rocket roulette'. I drew stick #2, and decided to give her a go tonight.
I'm pairing this stick with a glass of Monkey Shoulder scotch.
Appearance
This stick is extremely firm with no apparent soft spots. Plenty of medium size veins and a moderate amount of tooth. The wrapper is a chocolate-brown, and it looks to be a triple cap.
Scent
Taking a whiff of the foot, I pick up some barnayard grass, but nothing nasty.
Pre-light draw and first puffs after light.
On the first couple of puffs, there is an obvious taste of wet grass, like maybe I just mowed the lawn, but it's not overbearing. There is no sort of foul taste, however. Really, it just seems 'young' and like it could use some time in the humidor. The cigar has an almost perfect draw - not too tight, not too loose. It's not a mild stick, however it's not a powerhouse either (in strength or flavor). I sense almost a nutty flavor, and nothing that I would consider foul or harsh. There is a lot of smoke off the foot, similar to what you get off a Liga Privada. I know I'll catch shit for making that comparison
As we progress through the first and second thirds, there is a bit of sweetness in the draw. No real change in flavor profile since we started. If I get puffing hard and fast, we pick up a little bit of ammonia (for a moment, it almost tasted menthol, but that quickly passed), and there was just a hint of spice - enough to make my tongue salivate a little bit.
As we progress through the 2nd third and into the final third, there's just a hint of mint on the side of the mouth. Did I eat an andies mint and not remember doing it? Seriously, it's nothing terrible, and went as quickly as it came. Throughout the cigar, it kept a very sharp burn line and I had no burn issues whatsoever. At no time did it go out or need any sort of touch-up.
Wrapping up the stick, I would have to say that all in all, its really not a bad stick. It smokes like it could use a bit of rest, but there was nothing disgusting about it. Assuming it's cheap (I imagine it is), it would fall just shy of what I would consider a 'daily smoke", not because of anything bad, but because I feel like every cigar you enjoy should be special - not just 'average'.
Total burn time was right about an hour. And damn this Monkey Shoulder is good stuff - for the win.
This is not a turd. So - What was it?
Josh
I'm pairing this stick with a glass of Monkey Shoulder scotch.
Appearance
This stick is extremely firm with no apparent soft spots. Plenty of medium size veins and a moderate amount of tooth. The wrapper is a chocolate-brown, and it looks to be a triple cap.
Scent
Taking a whiff of the foot, I pick up some barnayard grass, but nothing nasty.
Pre-light draw and first puffs after light.
On the first couple of puffs, there is an obvious taste of wet grass, like maybe I just mowed the lawn, but it's not overbearing. There is no sort of foul taste, however. Really, it just seems 'young' and like it could use some time in the humidor. The cigar has an almost perfect draw - not too tight, not too loose. It's not a mild stick, however it's not a powerhouse either (in strength or flavor). I sense almost a nutty flavor, and nothing that I would consider foul or harsh. There is a lot of smoke off the foot, similar to what you get off a Liga Privada. I know I'll catch shit for making that comparison
As we progress through the first and second thirds, there is a bit of sweetness in the draw. No real change in flavor profile since we started. If I get puffing hard and fast, we pick up a little bit of ammonia (for a moment, it almost tasted menthol, but that quickly passed), and there was just a hint of spice - enough to make my tongue salivate a little bit.
As we progress through the 2nd third and into the final third, there's just a hint of mint on the side of the mouth. Did I eat an andies mint and not remember doing it? Seriously, it's nothing terrible, and went as quickly as it came. Throughout the cigar, it kept a very sharp burn line and I had no burn issues whatsoever. At no time did it go out or need any sort of touch-up.
Wrapping up the stick, I would have to say that all in all, its really not a bad stick. It smokes like it could use a bit of rest, but there was nothing disgusting about it. Assuming it's cheap (I imagine it is), it would fall just shy of what I would consider a 'daily smoke", not because of anything bad, but because I feel like every cigar you enjoy should be special - not just 'average'.
Total burn time was right about an hour. And damn this Monkey Shoulder is good stuff - for the win.
This is not a turd. So - What was it?
Josh
