Wrapper: Ecuadorian

Binder: Sumatran

Filler: Nicaraguan

Size: 6 x 56

Body: Full

Price: $12.00

There is nothing wrong with a Paul Stulac cigar. Absolutely nothing. I fell in love with these cigars over a year ago when I saw it on an online store and the cigar band intrigued me. The price made me choke a bit but I thought what the hell…you only live once; unless you’re Shirley MacLaine.

Paul Stulac Black Cigars are hand rolled in Miami under Guillermo Pena’s watchful eye using long filler Nicaraguan tobacco and a 3-yr aged Habano-seed wrapper.

Paul has been slogging away, perfecting his blends for over 15 years and at the last year IPCPR, brought out three new ones: Red Screaming Sun and White Blinding Light…and this stick. Back in November, I bought a box of both the RSS and WBL and let me tell you…with roughly 4 months aging on them, they are good to go, baby. In fact, with 2 weeks rest, they are ready to go…the extra aging always improves the depth of any cigar’s character.

I can tell you from a personal vantage point that Paul is a helluva’ guy. Kind and down to earth. Of all the blenders I’ve come to meet and know over the years, this man has been the most grounded of all of them. He never breaks a promise. And trust me on this one, a lot of them promise but few come through.

And that’s all I know.

Construction on this giant log is beautiful. It is like a felled tree from Northern CA. The wrapper is a medium brown with that Ecuadorian tinge of red. Veins permeate but are not intrusive. The triple cap is close to flawless. A nice oily sheen with some toothiness adorns the wrapper.

I sniff and detect sweet cedar and leather. There is cocoa, coffee, deep rubbed leather, baking spices, and black pepper.

I V cut the cap and light it up.

Red pepper! Cocoa. Dark espresso. Smoke pours from the foot in such volume that I cannot see the laptop screen with the cigar in my mouth.

A natural sweetness emerges. Sort of fruity, like me.

I don’t usually smoke a cigar with such a large ring gauge but I will make exceptions. Normally, the size and girth prohibit the cigar from showing off. Flavors get muddled instead of laser sharp. The Stulac cigars don’t suffer from this malady. But I do have to invest some serious time in smoking them. I usually save them for a long ride or after dinner in my man cave. Those are the two locales where I enjoy this cigar the most.

The char line is close to perfect. The draw is perfection. This is a very solid cigar and one might fear a tight draw. Fear be gone.

What amazes me about this line is that even such a big cigar as this can be ready to smoke in just a few days. Of course, you don’t get the characteristic subtleties of a well-aged stick but you get a mouthful of potential and pleasure. Should this be X rated?

Because of the cigar’s size and that I write as I smoke, I will be taking breaks and be coming back to the laptop to continue.

Like now.

~     ~     ~

The cigar has burned a little over an inch and it took a good 15 minutes to get there. At this early stage, a rich earthiness appears. The spicy pepper component continues to ramp up. I grab a vanilla Atkins Shake to quell the burn. LOL. I’ve been on a diet now since I got that horrible flu before Christmas. Atkins saved my tushy. I couldn’t eat for two months while this plague of plagues ravaged my fragile and delicate body. I’m not saying I’m fat; but when I walk down the street, Japanese whalers chase me with their harpoons. Badda-Boom!

I have actually lost weight. I was 250lbs at 5’-11. Now I am 225lbs. And even better, my gut is disappearing. I’ve lost inches. And I dropped an entire size in clothing. I really need a new hole in my gun belt.

The sweetness turns to a molasses flavor. A dark molasses. I am waiting for the creaminess so I can grab a Diet Coke.

The cigar, at 40 minutes, nears the end of the first third. And the creaminess appears. The spiciness moves a bit back. There is also a dried fig flavor that arrives when I smack my lips. I love dried figs so this was not hard to discern.

The flavors begin to take off now. The first third was a tease. I grab the DC. The cocoa is bittersweet. The espresso is expressive. Cedar and leather permeate the stick. Sweetness surrounds them all. The ash hangs on for dear life. The draw continues to be perfect.

The pepper does a turn around and does a Garcia blast. Now we’re talking. The body, which started off as classic medium, is moving to the front of the line and becoming full bodied as my blurred vision will attest.

~     ~     ~

I’m at the halfway point and the cigar is singing to me. Like my dead relatives do in my dreams. Calling Dr. Freud!

This has become a flavor bomb. I would characterize this stick as something between Paul’s RSS and WBL.

You know, Paul has a weekly giveaway of a 5 pack sampler. A name is picked randomly each Friday. He just gave away his 3^rd sampler, or is it 4^th? Old timer’s disease.

If you want to enter, go to my Face Book page and friend me. Then, all you need to do is make a simple comment, like saying Hi, and you are entered. Here is the link to my wall: https://www.facebook.com/phillip.kohn1

The cap is behaving like a champ. No detritus…no loose tobaccy to mess up the experience. And just pure pleasure that keeps on coming. This cigar is so good; I lose all memory that this is a big ring gauge. The mind is a strange muscle. Or is that, a strange mussel? Ummmm…seafood.

Good news on the pricing front. Paul knows his sticks aren’t cheap. And for most people, buying them is a treat. In 2013, he will bring the cost of a stick down a couple bucks or so. This is great news. In these messy financial times, every smoker contemplates the cost of a cigar. And some end up buying those $40 bundles from CI. I’ve been there, done that. They’re better than nothing. But everyone should be able to have a Stulac experience.

The difference of a $60 five pack as opposed to a $45 five pack is a big deal.

I enter the last third. Flavors are becoming much more complex now. The cigar is becoming one with the universe. Live long and prosper. The spiciness has tamped down quite a bit now. I like how it comes and goes. A constant pepper blast is no fun.

The cigar’s strength is multiplying like crazy. I slow down. Too early in the day for the spins. Or dancing with the dog.

The last third burns down and I’ve spent a very pleasant 2+ hours with this cigar. All of Paul’s line is tremendous. And each time I smoke a different blend, I swear that it is my favorite. Today, the Black Midnight Fire is my fave.

For the biggest selection of Paul Stulac cigars, you should go to: http://search.store.yahoo.net/pipes-cigars-tobacco/cgi-bin/nsearch?catalog=pipes-cigars-tobacco&query=paul+stulac&x=0&y=0

This is PipesandCigars.com. Very nice people.

CHECK OUT PAUL’S WEB SITE AT: http://www.paulstulaccigars.com/home.html

And now for something completely different:

We were on tour throughout Europe. We had a nice big car and our tour manager was our driver. About two gigs in, we threw him out and took the car. He had to ride with the roadies in the 18 wheeler. He was not happy about this.

Now we were free. We stopped where we wanted and enjoyed the traveling. We had an option to fly but what fun is that? One day, I sat in the spacious back seat with Sonja and Stewart while Mick and Darryl were up front.

Sonja proclaimed she was bored. We had been smoking hash the whole time. Stew and I convinced Sonja to smoke it in a pipe instead of that moronic European method of breaking bits into a joint filled with cigarette tobacco. I have never smoked a cigarette in my life and that would always make me sick. So a pipe was the answer.

I piped up and said, “How about some blow jobs?”

Sonja thought for a moment and agreed. Stew asked who gets to go first. I said, “Me. It was my idea.”

Everyone nodded in agreement. I slipped my jeans down a bit. I was shy and didn’t feel like exhibiting my tiny Jewish schlong to the group.

So Sonja began and everyone watched. I had never done this and it was making me nervous and unable to focus. I grabbed a titty magazine to help and everyone laughed. Sonja complained that her neck hurt and I should hurry. Great. No pressure.

Finally, I completed my task.

Stew said he was next. So she merely turned to her right and went down on him. Now we all watched him. He had the biggest smile.

Finally, his head fell back and he turned it towards me and said, “Phil, we are now cum brothers.”

We all laughed hysterically.

Now Stewart went on to be the drummer in The Police. And I really doubt that anyone can claim to be cum brothers with Mr. Copeland.

Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS