njstone
BoM January 2010
I thought I'd try something new today: I'm going to do an "as it burns" review the cigar I'm smoking, but YOU have to guess which cigar it is! I know next to nothing about this, so take the review with a grain of salt. Here are the only hints I'll give:
1) This is my first of this vitola, and my first of this cigar line altogether
2) This was a gift from a BOTL
Appearance: Chustnut brown wrapper with a redish hue (I'd rate it a Colorado maybe) with TONS of stitch-like veins .. this thing looks like Frankenstien's Monster. Hopefully the burn will be okay. There is a slightly oily sheen, and the wrapper feels quite silky other than all the veins.
Punch cut--slight resistance on the draw, but we'll go with this cut and see how it starts (ended up being fine).
Pre-light: Some spice, semi-sweet tobacco, and wood. The wrapper smells interesting, i cant' quite place it.
Initial Flavors: sweet hay, cherry, and a hint of skunk ... yea, skunk. Just on the first two draws, but it was very specific, lol. The finish resolves to a nice semi-sweet leather. There is a decent amount of smoke, but not a ton. Very little resting smoke. The body is medium, but the smoke is pretty thin feeling (not thick or creamy).
First Third: Wood (mostly cedar), earth, and leather over a decent amount of spice (especially through the nose). The hay flavor is pretty much gone already. Noticeable cherry, and some sweetness. The finish (after about a minute or so) bounces between leather and that cherry again. NICE. Now there is just a bit of chocolate here and there too. This cherry is so interesting, I've never tasted this in a cigar before--it's not crazy sweet like Maraschino cherries, more like a Rainier Cherry, but smokey, lol. Maybe dried cherry? There is a bit of salt coming through now, and my lips taste of a mix of salt and sweetness--very cool. There are very occasional floral notes as well. Despite the crazy veins, this cigar is burning great. Not razor-sharp, but no touch-ups needed (and there is a breeze). The finish is just a bit dry and I'm taking a sip of water every couple puffs, not dry enough to bother me, though.
Second Third: The flavor of this cigar is so unique (I already know I need to find some more). The body is exactly medium now--clean palate and empty stomach, but no problems. The leather is still dominant--it's spicy and twangy, but not as twangy as a Mi Barrio (another leathery cigar I love). For those who find leathery cigars too over-powering, this would be a good one to try. Still that nice sweetness and cherry on the smoke as well as the finish. The wood is no longer predominately cedar, but more diverse (sorry, can't describe it any more than that). I'm smoking this on my deck swing looking at my forest, and it seems like a perfect "forest cigar" for this fine fall day. The spice seems to be declining quite a bit now. The cherry flavor is still there, but not constantly. The sweetness is reducing some as well. Still a very good cigar, though I think I liked the first third better. I'm getting some definite chocolate notes towards the end of this third, though, which is great, though they are only occasional. Twice during this third the draw became a bit tighter, which I thought was odd, but some rolling between my fingers solved this. Tiny nic buzz going now
Final Third: The spice is beginning to pick up now, shortly into the final third. Leather and wood still rule, with that un-ignorable cherry on the finish. The rest of the cap came off, probably because I had to roll it a bit. I had to touch-up the burn once too, but that could be attributed to the breeze-turned-wind. The chocolate notes are still coming and going on top of the woody/leathery core. There is less sweetness now than in the first third, but it's still there on the finish. The band is sliding off easily (I hate sticky bands!). The smoke is getting a bit hotter, but not bad, more into the normal range now. Still TONS of flavor in this thing! The cherry is still there on the finish. Not as much spice in the final third as I might have expected, but some. It's also not ramping up in strength as so many cigars do at this point. It's starting to get a bit hot now, and I'd consider ending it if it wasn't still tasting so good. The cigar is holding together well, and I'm stopping it to about the 3/4 inch mark as I'm getting a little ammonia.
Overall Opinions: Great and unique cigar! Not incredibly complex, but plenty to keep you interested. It was a bit dry for my tastes. The flavors more than make up for any shortcomings, though. Tons of flavor all the way through, but never becoming overpowering in either strength of body. I often love natural sweetness in my cigars, and this was just great. Also just the right amount of spice for this kind of cigar. The burn was great and the smoke was pretty cool. Burn time was average. In enjoyed this a lot and wish I had more!
Lingering questions: I wish I knew how old this was, and how age effects these. I'd love to know how the other vitolas in this line compare.
I definitely recommend trying this cigar.
Rating: 92
Get More?: Oh yea
So what do you guys thinK? Can you guess my cigar? [It's been guessed! See post #49]
1) This is my first of this vitola, and my first of this cigar line altogether
2) This was a gift from a BOTL
Appearance: Chustnut brown wrapper with a redish hue (I'd rate it a Colorado maybe) with TONS of stitch-like veins .. this thing looks like Frankenstien's Monster. Hopefully the burn will be okay. There is a slightly oily sheen, and the wrapper feels quite silky other than all the veins.
Punch cut--slight resistance on the draw, but we'll go with this cut and see how it starts (ended up being fine).
Pre-light: Some spice, semi-sweet tobacco, and wood. The wrapper smells interesting, i cant' quite place it.
Initial Flavors: sweet hay, cherry, and a hint of skunk ... yea, skunk. Just on the first two draws, but it was very specific, lol. The finish resolves to a nice semi-sweet leather. There is a decent amount of smoke, but not a ton. Very little resting smoke. The body is medium, but the smoke is pretty thin feeling (not thick or creamy).
First Third: Wood (mostly cedar), earth, and leather over a decent amount of spice (especially through the nose). The hay flavor is pretty much gone already. Noticeable cherry, and some sweetness. The finish (after about a minute or so) bounces between leather and that cherry again. NICE. Now there is just a bit of chocolate here and there too. This cherry is so interesting, I've never tasted this in a cigar before--it's not crazy sweet like Maraschino cherries, more like a Rainier Cherry, but smokey, lol. Maybe dried cherry? There is a bit of salt coming through now, and my lips taste of a mix of salt and sweetness--very cool. There are very occasional floral notes as well. Despite the crazy veins, this cigar is burning great. Not razor-sharp, but no touch-ups needed (and there is a breeze). The finish is just a bit dry and I'm taking a sip of water every couple puffs, not dry enough to bother me, though.
Second Third: The flavor of this cigar is so unique (I already know I need to find some more). The body is exactly medium now--clean palate and empty stomach, but no problems. The leather is still dominant--it's spicy and twangy, but not as twangy as a Mi Barrio (another leathery cigar I love). For those who find leathery cigars too over-powering, this would be a good one to try. Still that nice sweetness and cherry on the smoke as well as the finish. The wood is no longer predominately cedar, but more diverse (sorry, can't describe it any more than that). I'm smoking this on my deck swing looking at my forest, and it seems like a perfect "forest cigar" for this fine fall day. The spice seems to be declining quite a bit now. The cherry flavor is still there, but not constantly. The sweetness is reducing some as well. Still a very good cigar, though I think I liked the first third better. I'm getting some definite chocolate notes towards the end of this third, though, which is great, though they are only occasional. Twice during this third the draw became a bit tighter, which I thought was odd, but some rolling between my fingers solved this. Tiny nic buzz going now
Final Third: The spice is beginning to pick up now, shortly into the final third. Leather and wood still rule, with that un-ignorable cherry on the finish. The rest of the cap came off, probably because I had to roll it a bit. I had to touch-up the burn once too, but that could be attributed to the breeze-turned-wind. The chocolate notes are still coming and going on top of the woody/leathery core. There is less sweetness now than in the first third, but it's still there on the finish. The band is sliding off easily (I hate sticky bands!). The smoke is getting a bit hotter, but not bad, more into the normal range now. Still TONS of flavor in this thing! The cherry is still there on the finish. Not as much spice in the final third as I might have expected, but some. It's also not ramping up in strength as so many cigars do at this point. It's starting to get a bit hot now, and I'd consider ending it if it wasn't still tasting so good. The cigar is holding together well, and I'm stopping it to about the 3/4 inch mark as I'm getting a little ammonia.
Overall Opinions: Great and unique cigar! Not incredibly complex, but plenty to keep you interested. It was a bit dry for my tastes. The flavors more than make up for any shortcomings, though. Tons of flavor all the way through, but never becoming overpowering in either strength of body. I often love natural sweetness in my cigars, and this was just great. Also just the right amount of spice for this kind of cigar. The burn was great and the smoke was pretty cool. Burn time was average. In enjoyed this a lot and wish I had more!
Lingering questions: I wish I knew how old this was, and how age effects these. I'd love to know how the other vitolas in this line compare.
I definitely recommend trying this cigar.
Rating: 92
Get More?: Oh yea
So what do you guys thinK? Can you guess my cigar? [It's been guessed! See post #49]
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