Saint Luis Rey Serie A (JUN 2011)
with thanks to @SurpriseMVP
Size: Corona Gorda, 5.6' x 46.
Environment: It's about 9am. Sitting in my car watching "The Office." It's too cold to smoke on the porch.
Drink: Lemon La Croix (ooo la la). Definitely made the fruit notes seem more intense.
Pre-Light/Cold Draw: A little resistance. Tobacco, although it seemed like there was a fruitiness for a second.
First Third: opens very fruity, with a creamy, vanilla base. That morphs into a more dried fruit; not like the cherry thing with RyJ, but something lighter, brighter. 5 years have taken a lot of the green tea out in the beginning of these things. It's pretty sweet, much sweeter than I remembered. It reminds me of those fruity, Creamsavers. Maybe a little creamsicle also. There's a lot less of the vegetal, herby/floral taste that I recall from smoking a box that was only a year old. Burn is razor sharp, construction is great. Perfect amount of resistance.
Second Third: Staring the second third, the profile begins to meld to something less sweet and fruity, and more savory. The smoke becomes creamy and almost buttery. Reminds me somewhat of a pastry, it's honestly making me hungry. Halfway into the second third, the familiar vegetal taste of SLR begins to hint in, almost like a sweetened tea. The vanilla notes in this thing are awesome; they kind of come out of nowhere, but they taste awesome. Construction is still fantastic. Throughout the second third, the fruity notes from the first third come in and out, but they're sporadic and fleeting. As the second third closes, the vegetal notes move to the forefront.
Final Third: Getting more herbal now. It's now coating the throat, with very creamy, chewy smoke. Lips are tingly. Getting lots of buttery cream, and a lot of bread; very reminiscent of a croissant. The last remnants of green/vegetal is only through the nose. Ends very buttery with minimal bitterness , and I let it go with a half inch to go.
Final Thoughts: SLR isn't a marca that gets nearly enough credit, in my opinion. With only 3 production sizes, it sort of cruises below the radar. This is my first time having an aged SLR, and it. was. the. bomb. When I smoked the 2014 production fresh (in 2015), I remembered there being a lot of floral and green notes, and it getting a little creamy in the middle. I can also recall these things getting a little bitter at times, and I definitely had 1 or 2 from my box that I remember tasting sickly. Age made these things much more lively and complex, and took a light-medium flavored, 2 dimensional stick and made it a strong medium and nuanced stick, in my opinion.
Box Purchase? Absolutely. Trick is not touching them....
Final Smoking Time: Around 1 1/2 hours.
with thanks to @SurpriseMVP
Size: Corona Gorda, 5.6' x 46.
Environment: It's about 9am. Sitting in my car watching "The Office." It's too cold to smoke on the porch.
Drink: Lemon La Croix (ooo la la). Definitely made the fruit notes seem more intense.
Pre-Light/Cold Draw: A little resistance. Tobacco, although it seemed like there was a fruitiness for a second.
First Third: opens very fruity, with a creamy, vanilla base. That morphs into a more dried fruit; not like the cherry thing with RyJ, but something lighter, brighter. 5 years have taken a lot of the green tea out in the beginning of these things. It's pretty sweet, much sweeter than I remembered. It reminds me of those fruity, Creamsavers. Maybe a little creamsicle also. There's a lot less of the vegetal, herby/floral taste that I recall from smoking a box that was only a year old. Burn is razor sharp, construction is great. Perfect amount of resistance.
Second Third: Staring the second third, the profile begins to meld to something less sweet and fruity, and more savory. The smoke becomes creamy and almost buttery. Reminds me somewhat of a pastry, it's honestly making me hungry. Halfway into the second third, the familiar vegetal taste of SLR begins to hint in, almost like a sweetened tea. The vanilla notes in this thing are awesome; they kind of come out of nowhere, but they taste awesome. Construction is still fantastic. Throughout the second third, the fruity notes from the first third come in and out, but they're sporadic and fleeting. As the second third closes, the vegetal notes move to the forefront.
Final Third: Getting more herbal now. It's now coating the throat, with very creamy, chewy smoke. Lips are tingly. Getting lots of buttery cream, and a lot of bread; very reminiscent of a croissant. The last remnants of green/vegetal is only through the nose. Ends very buttery with minimal bitterness , and I let it go with a half inch to go.
Final Thoughts: SLR isn't a marca that gets nearly enough credit, in my opinion. With only 3 production sizes, it sort of cruises below the radar. This is my first time having an aged SLR, and it. was. the. bomb. When I smoked the 2014 production fresh (in 2015), I remembered there being a lot of floral and green notes, and it getting a little creamy in the middle. I can also recall these things getting a little bitter at times, and I definitely had 1 or 2 from my box that I remember tasting sickly. Age made these things much more lively and complex, and took a light-medium flavored, 2 dimensional stick and made it a strong medium and nuanced stick, in my opinion.
Box Purchase? Absolutely. Trick is not touching them....
Final Smoking Time: Around 1 1/2 hours.
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