Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano Ligero
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Size: 5 x 52 “Chisel”
Body: Full
Price: $8.00

Being a big fan of AJ Fernandez, I find it strange that I’ve never tried this cigar. A good friend gifted this to me with a year’s humidor time on it. So I expect it to be a bit mellower than a strong, full bodied cigar.

The chisel head baffles me. I know that it is cute because you can open the cap with just a squeeze of your fingers. But it never seems to get it quite open enough to get a really good draw. So I try the finger routine first and if the draw is good, I leave it alone. But if the opening is not cooperating, I go ahead and use a guillotine cutter to clip the end off.

The cigar looks muscular. Lots of bulging veins. Seams are fairly tight. The stick is solid. The wrapper is a medium brown with a reddish hue. It appears that only one sized band was made for 90% of Man O War cigars. As this stick has an oversized main band that takes up close to one third of the cigar’s length. And a secondary band below that is simple black and gray with the name of the blend on it. I’ll be stripping bands of this one after 10 minutes of smoking.

I do the search for aromas and the most pungent is the red pepper. Right behind that are cedar, sweetness, dark coffee and barnyard that are very intense at the foot.

Time to light up.

The first puffs are meaty. And sweet. There is a cocoa component missing in the aromas. Using the finger method of opening the cap worked just fine and the draw is good. The foot is very wavy at the burn line.

And then the spice sits down at the table, slowly accelerating.

The cigar is at a classic medium body. And is very tasty. It has that Man O War stamp on it but this is its own cigar. There is an ever present intensity that is a prelude to the full body yet to come. Sort of a palatable warning sign.

The cedar becomes oak. And the natural sweetness is at the summit of the flavors with red pepper right behind.

I like this cigar a lot and it’s only been less than an inch of puffing. It is refined and well balanced so soon that it projects the blender’s intent almost instantaneous. Obviously, due to extensive humidor time.

The cocoa has me grabbing a Diet Coke from the fridge so I can enjoy my egg cream; or chocolate soda experience.

The char line has corrected itself nicely. Speaking of char line….Today is July 4 and I will be preparing spare ribs for dinner. I do it by dry rubbing spices on the meat and then slow cooking in the over at 250 for 8 hours. When it is done, I cut it into manageable pieces and use my cast iron pan with ridges and finish it off there so I get nice char lines. Yum.

The cigar is packed with so much tobacco that it is a very slow burner. I’ve been smoking it for 15 minutes and only gotten an inch into the cigar.
The cigar is now an official flavor bomb. There is a mango flavor that is delicious mixed with the newly delivered creaminess. The cocoa and coffee work as a nice team. The sweetness complements them all. And the spiciness is still chugging along at a high rate of speed.

This is a perfect cigar for me. It has the right flavors. It is full bodied. And makes my palate do the happy dance. Yes. After only an inch, the cigar is now full bodied.

Fortunately, nicotine has not kicked in yet.

It’s a beautiful sunny day in Milwaukee this morning…temps are only going into the mid 70’s and a nice breeze is flowing. The sun will get me my photos.

The small blend identifier band must come off now and does so with ease.

I’m just cruising along as the cigar enters its second third. The flavors are marvelous and balanced with a very long finish. I read other reviews of this cigar and they vary quite a bit. Most seem to have smoked this cigar too soon. A big hurry to get the review online. As a result, they didn’t get the finesse of a cigar aged for a year in a humidor. Some gave this stick low ratings. Hog wash. I am confident that I am smoking what AJ had intended me to taste. And it is terrific.

I take a swig of Coke and that cocoa and creaminess reinforce the chocolate soda experience. The mango has lessened. It is still fruity. And still a stone fruit. But moved over to something like a peach now. The mango was very bright and the peach is subtle.

I near the halfway point and the flavors begin to explore the universe and my palate. Everything is much more intense now, including the body of the cigar. I definitely like the size of this cigar. For me, this size brings out flavors that big cigars don’t.

The char line is close to dead nuts and the draw has never faltered.

There has been a meaty component from the very first puff. I don’t know if my mind is playing tricks or I really taste a perfectly cooked steak.
Time to remove the main band. It gives me a bit of a struggle and leaves debris of paper from the underside right on top of the band making it a poor laid out photographic subject.

But with the band gone, it still looks like I have most of the cigar to go.

My rock n roll anecdote at the end of the review will be more of the Griffgator Chronicles. The best roadie I ever worked with. And a real pal.

The halfway point is a marvel of balance and taste. The body has mellowed a bit or else I just got used to it being strong. The flavors have not changed but they are so delicate and enticing, you want to eat the cigar.

The last third begins with total perfection. I’ve not had a regular Man O War with this much aging on it. And I am curious to how that would affect its flavor profile. Certainly, this stick greatly benefited from it. I will do my best to nub it unless I get hit with the nic spins. But so far, so good.

It is during this last part of the cigar that the flavors change from subtle to explosive. The balance continues to be perfect. And this is a cigar to die for. I suggest that when you buy this stick, you give it at least a few months. I’m sure you will get the similar experience I just had.

And now for something completely different:
The Griffgator Chronicles continued…
1975

Griff and I decided to play a prank on the band leader, Darryl. Darryl was a very good looking bloke who considered himself a real ladies man. Eventually, he married a top French model. Ooh-lala.

We were playing in Paris for two nights…headlining to a 10,000 seat arena. Back then, there were very few big venues for bands to play at. Hence, a lot of big summer festivals outdoors.

It was midafternoon and Griff and I were perambulating the boulevards of Paris. We wandered into the red light district after a long walk. Griff had an idea. Why not hire a man to pretend he was a woman and seduce Darryl?

The red light district was sanctioned and governed by the city. We found the place where the transvestites hung out and Griff approached several. First, it was difficult to find one that spoke English. We made sure they knew we were Americans and not English. The French hate the Brits more than Yanks.

And then an absolutely gorgeous woman/man approached us…pushing the others out of the way. She asked what we wanted and we told her.
We offered her one hundred pounds to come to the concert. We would get her backstage passes for her and her friends. And then we would get her into the dressing room just before hitting the stage.

She agreed.

When Darryl saw the transvestites back stage, he had no idea they were men. Our pick, Lily, sidled up to Darryl and began whispering into his ear. I could hear Darryl’s boner come to attention. A sort of a crackling noise.

All 5 of the girls were invited into the dressing room. The chick singer knew immediately they were men but we told her to Shush….she was going along with the plan.

It didn’t take long before they both went into the bathroom and according to Darryl, got the best blow job of his life. He was actually wobbly when he exited the bathroom. We got the girls front row seats…so they could cheer on Darryl.

Darryl kept bragging about this before the show and then kept winking at us during the show.

The band had a habit of doing 4-5 encore numbers. On the last one, I approached the mike that the chick singer used at stage front.

I acknowledged the girls. And asked for a big round of applause for these beautiful French women. The crowd knew right away they were transvestites and applause and laughter rang through the arena.

Lily stood up, took a bow, and removed her wig. Darryl was paralyzed. She then proceeded to drop her panties to show her enormous penis. I hadn’t seen a performer throw up on stage since 1969 when I saw the Doors at the L.A. Forum in California.

We were about to start the last encore number when Darryl ran off stage. So the band played a tune without him.

Back in the dressing room, Darryl was a white as a ghost. He spent most of an hour in the bathroom. We could hear the water in the sink running the whole time.

Darryl never found out it was the Griff and I who set the thing up. And unless he reads this, he will still never know.

Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS