Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Size: 7 x 58 “Skull-Torpedo”
Body: Medium/Full
Price: $9.75

By now, you know all about Paul Stulac. He started out around 15 years ago doing it the hard way; building it one block at a time. Today, his products are in over 60 B & M’s and several online stores. Pipes and Cigars.com have the most comprehensive supply at: http://search.store.yahoo.net/pipes-cigars-tobacco/cgi-bin/nsearch?catalog=pipes-cigars-tobacco&query=paul+stulac&x=8&y=16

Ten months ago, I reviewed the maduro Skull. Today, it is the natural. The only difference is the wrapper. The natural has an Ecuadorian and the maduro, a Brazilian maduro.
Normally, this stick comes in a Salomone shape. But through the good graces of Paul’s torecedores, I have a large torpedo with a closed foot.
As usual, the stick’s construction is as solid as the Rock of Gibraltar. There are a lot of veins. Seams are tight. The cap is impeccable. And there is a bit of oiliness with some tooth.

I sniff and detect sweet cocoa, black tea, cashews, strong cedar, and vanilla bean.

I clip the cap and off we go.

The first puffs are delicious with a profile of cocoa, sweetness, coffee, cashew, and a deep creaminess.

The draw is great and the char line close to perfection. The body starts off at medium.

The fruitiness comes from a melon-like flavor. And then at the half inch point, red pepper spiciness arrives. The spiciness quickly ramps up until it is almost like a Garcia Pepper Blast. The reason I became a big fan of Garcia is due to its pepper content.

The char line becomes absolutely dead nuts perfect.

Since this is such a large cigar, I shall insert notes and come back and forth to the review.

Over the last year, I’ve gotten to know Paul. I have never met a cigar manufacturer so down to earth. He’s just one of the guys, not the god-like persona of so many big shot blenders.
He is deeply concerned about his blends. These are his babies and he cares about them as if they were his children. He is also completely hands on with all aspects of the cigar making process.

I close in on the end of the first third. Like most of Stulac cigars, the first third is the tease. It dishes out potential. It provides wood at what is to come. Sorry for the pun.

A vanilla note competes with the cocoa and the coffee. And the fruitiness has moved to the background. Leaving a nice sweetness to take its place.

While most boutique cigar makers are in a big hurry for their reviews to be published, Paul takes the common sense approach; He urges the reviewer to wait. Let the cigar rest. Give it a chance to blossom. And then it is our duty to torturously wait. And wait.

I have some of his newest additions to the Classic line: Lord of Albany. A 6 x 44 that comes in both natural and maduro. They are sitting in my humidor laughing at me while I fidget until I shut the humidor.

The cigar’s strength is beginning to build. I can feel it in the back of my throat. And in my gut.

The fruitiness changes to dried fig. This stick is belting out flavors like Pavarotti belted out an opera.

Just now, the creaminess shows up in force at the halfway point.

The creaminess brings out the cocoa and coffee. The sweetness continues. And I can still taste dried fig. The cedar flavor begins to show itself.
The strength is building. The laptop screen begins to swirl. Me too.

The natural blend is very different than the maduro. While the maduro has deep, rich notes, the natural is more airy. There is a complexity that accentuates the flavor profile but there is not as much earthiness as the maduro. In stands on its own, like the cheese. Also, the nicotine doesn’t kick in as early as the maduro.

The cap should get some applause at this point. Not a single piece if detritus has come loose and the cap is in perfect condition. That is a nice change from most cigars.

Just past the halfway point, I’ve devoted an hour to this cigar. The cigar distinguishes itself by being a flavorful smoke without kicking my ass too early. I used to get my ass kicked by bullies in school because I was a scrawny kid and because I was smart.

Then I got sent off to karate lessons at age 13. Within a year of going to class 3-4 times per week, I got my brown belt. And not a week after receiving it, a couple of bullies screwed with me as school ended and they pulled my 10 speed bike away from me.

These guys were a foot taller than me. One pushed me as I tried to grab for my bike. And then I went into a deep focus and slammed my fist into his chest; hard enough to give him a heart attack. Or at least that is what it looked like as he lay on the ground writhing in pain. The other bully’s face went white. He swung and I blocked and with my other hand, hit him hard in the nape of his neck. He ended up keeping his buddy company on the ground. A crowd gathered and applause rang through the school.

I took my bike and rode off. They didn’t bother me again. In fact, no one ever bothered me again. Eighteen months later, I earned my black belt. I was very happy. And serene. I didn’t go looking for trouble. The only down side to going to class so often was that I was black and blue over the entire length of my body for the duration of taking classes. I was always sore. I took a Korean discipline called Moo-Yea-Do. And the teacher was like a boot camp drill instructor.

I now enter the final third of the cigar. The cigar is officially a flavor bomb. The creaminess is really thundering. It overwhelms the cocoa and coffee but at the same time, the complex nature of the cigar at this time, keeps all things in line.

The strength is now way, way full bodied. I grab an Atkins Shake so I don’t pass out.

The ash hangs in and at the final third, the ash has only broken off in two sections.

I’m a huge fan of anything Paul Stulac. I can’t think of another boutique cigar maker that has such coherence with all of his blends. All are different but contain the same thread of excellence. This is the hardest working man in the cigar biz.

With a couple of inches to go, the cigar sings flavor. The strength has not increased. And because it is such a large cigar, the last couple inches are still a lot of cigar to go.
As I finish the stick, at 2 hours, I am sated. I am ruined for the rest of the day’s cigar smoking.

Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS