Ive got some free time tonight and a smoke sounds good. The weather is a tad more accommodating then the review I did last week, currently at 74 F and 70% humidity. This DD has the box code BUM FEB 14, which means this is from some derp derp factory.
Appearance and prelight experience: this DD has a nice creamed coffee color, a shiny oily wrapper and a fantastic aroma, smells a little like coffee beans. The roll feels great, that perfect mix of sponginess and firmness.
First third: starts off with a blast of red pepper that settles down after a few puffs. Starts with nuts and toasted bread, occasionally tasting like burnt toast which isn't exactly the best. It stays fairly consistent with those flavors all the way through the first third. Strength is mild.
Second third: more of the same nuts and toast, though thankfully all the burnt toast flavors are gone. Halfway through some floral notes pop in along with some dried fruit flavors, maybe apple and berry. A creamed coffee note pops in here and there along with some background spices, maybe oregano and rosemary. Strength is mild+.
Final third: The toast fades and spice picks up until its nothing but red pepper and the profile completely falls apart. I havent been chiefing down on this or anything but I decide it might be best to let it rest for a few to see if it can come back and thankfully it does. Its a tad spicier now, but not quite peppery. With an inch remaining the draw gets way too tight and I pulled out the perfecdraw to try to remedy it. It pulled more tobacco then I wouldve prefered since the cigar is a little mushy at the end. It tasted like shit after so I let it rest again. After another relight the taste was way too earthy and not really worth smoking anymore. Time to put this one down. Strength finished at medium. Lets go to the scores.
Prelight 10/10: The cigar looks great, smells great and feels perfect. Nothing negative to say.
Construction and burning properties 25/25 This cigar smoked like it felt prelight; construction was perfect. The cigar has a razor sharp burn for the majority of the cigar, I think I only touched it up once.
Draw and smoke production 22/25 I didnt mention this but the draw was alright. Slightly tighter than I prefer but was acceptable. I didnt feel like mucking with the draw tool til the end, which proved costly. It produced a nice amount of smoke, but not a smokestack either.
Flavor: 23/30 The profile fell apart a couple times in the last third and while the flavors were good, they weren't particularly intense. Not a one note cigar, but too much of the cigar didn't have depth or variety of flavors to take this to another category, only the second third was really on point.
Value: 9/10 I paid about $12/stick and theyre worth that. The top dollar amounts I see for a box in this age range is $350, which would be an 8/10 on value for me at that rate, but still acceptable and worth trying.
Total 89/100: Cigars are obviously relative to each smokers preferences. When I first started my foray into CC's this would've been an eye opener and I probably would've scored it something ridiculous, say 96+. But as time has gone on and I've had the benefit of trying more things (big thanks to @ChefBoyRG54) I've become a bit bougie and jaded so this would most likely score higher with a majority of other folks.
Additional notes
While not officially discontinued, these haven't been produced in any capacity since 2014, so for all intents and purposes it's discontinued. If you have some of these from this timeframe its worth checking in on them. Another year or so might improve these a tad more, but this is basically what these will be. Strength is all but gone, the first third is pretty straightforward aside from a few rough notes, the second third is obviously fully developed and the final third may or may not come together...add that all up and this is damn near the end of the aging journey for these.
Appearance and prelight experience: this DD has a nice creamed coffee color, a shiny oily wrapper and a fantastic aroma, smells a little like coffee beans. The roll feels great, that perfect mix of sponginess and firmness.
First third: starts off with a blast of red pepper that settles down after a few puffs. Starts with nuts and toasted bread, occasionally tasting like burnt toast which isn't exactly the best. It stays fairly consistent with those flavors all the way through the first third. Strength is mild.
Second third: more of the same nuts and toast, though thankfully all the burnt toast flavors are gone. Halfway through some floral notes pop in along with some dried fruit flavors, maybe apple and berry. A creamed coffee note pops in here and there along with some background spices, maybe oregano and rosemary. Strength is mild+.
Final third: The toast fades and spice picks up until its nothing but red pepper and the profile completely falls apart. I havent been chiefing down on this or anything but I decide it might be best to let it rest for a few to see if it can come back and thankfully it does. Its a tad spicier now, but not quite peppery. With an inch remaining the draw gets way too tight and I pulled out the perfecdraw to try to remedy it. It pulled more tobacco then I wouldve prefered since the cigar is a little mushy at the end. It tasted like shit after so I let it rest again. After another relight the taste was way too earthy and not really worth smoking anymore. Time to put this one down. Strength finished at medium. Lets go to the scores.
Prelight 10/10: The cigar looks great, smells great and feels perfect. Nothing negative to say.
Construction and burning properties 25/25 This cigar smoked like it felt prelight; construction was perfect. The cigar has a razor sharp burn for the majority of the cigar, I think I only touched it up once.
Draw and smoke production 22/25 I didnt mention this but the draw was alright. Slightly tighter than I prefer but was acceptable. I didnt feel like mucking with the draw tool til the end, which proved costly. It produced a nice amount of smoke, but not a smokestack either.
Flavor: 23/30 The profile fell apart a couple times in the last third and while the flavors were good, they weren't particularly intense. Not a one note cigar, but too much of the cigar didn't have depth or variety of flavors to take this to another category, only the second third was really on point.
Value: 9/10 I paid about $12/stick and theyre worth that. The top dollar amounts I see for a box in this age range is $350, which would be an 8/10 on value for me at that rate, but still acceptable and worth trying.
Total 89/100: Cigars are obviously relative to each smokers preferences. When I first started my foray into CC's this would've been an eye opener and I probably would've scored it something ridiculous, say 96+. But as time has gone on and I've had the benefit of trying more things (big thanks to @ChefBoyRG54) I've become a bit bougie and jaded so this would most likely score higher with a majority of other folks.
Additional notes
While not officially discontinued, these haven't been produced in any capacity since 2014, so for all intents and purposes it's discontinued. If you have some of these from this timeframe its worth checking in on them. Another year or so might improve these a tad more, but this is basically what these will be. Strength is all but gone, the first third is pretty straightforward aside from a few rough notes, the second third is obviously fully developed and the final third may or may not come together...add that all up and this is damn near the end of the aging journey for these.
