Wrapper: Mexican San Andres Broadleaf (Aged 4 Years)
Binder: Dominican (Aged 4 Years)
Filler: Dominica, Honduran, Peruvian (Aged 4-5 Years)
Size: 5.5 x 50 “Robusto-Infinite”
Body: Medium
Price: $8.25

From AKA Cigars web site:
“The Nth Degree is our new medium bodied masterpiece that was crafted in the Davidoff Factory in Danli. The alluring aroma will grab your attention while the captivating complexity and balance of a rich bouquet of earth notes, coffee bean, and mocha will melt in your mouth followed by a silky rich chocolaty finish that will have your palette craving for more. Everyone from the beginner light body smoker to the most experienced full body connoisseur will love the exotic melody of flavors as this new masterpiece will take your palette to the “Nth Degree”

From the Cigar Federation Store web site:
“Whenever I talk to Jay Lundy, Owner of AKA Cigars, I make sure to tell him that the AKA Nth Degree is his masterpiece. If you follow us on CigarFederation.com, then you know we are not shy when it comes to our love of the Nth Degree. In fact, we named it our #2 Cigar of the Year for 2013!
“Flavors you find in cigars are subjective, but when I smoke the Nth Degree I get strong notes of coffee and cocoa. Those flavors are balanced out with hints of cream, hazelnut and a very mild white spice. In short, the Nth Degree has it all.”

I’ve allowed the stick to marinate for about a month, or so, in my humidor and it took that long for the cigar to come to fruition. I tried one at the two week mark and it wasn’t ready.

The first AKA cigar came out in 2011. The AKA is an acronym for American KickAss and the company is owned by a Texan by the name of Jay Lundy.
Lundy has his sticks manufactured at the Davidoff facility in Honduras.

This is sort of a companion piece to the Respect 2013 that I reviewed around 10 days ago. The Respect is an excellent cigar. So my hopes are up for this one.

Like the Respect, the cigar comes in six sizes: 4.5 x 42, 5.5 x 50, 6 x 44, 6.5 x 54, 7.25 x 50, and 6 x 60. The price point ranges from $7.75-$9.75 depending on size. Yes, I know, not cheap.

The cigar is gorgeous with an oily dark cocoa bean wrapper..with some toothiness. Seams are tight. There aren’t many veins of any size. And the triple cap is flawless. It is also perfectly round. The cigar is rock hard with a couple of soft spots.

I clip the cap and find aromas of a Hershey milk chocolate bar, earthiness, fresh leather, and something fruity along the shaft.
Time to light up.

Oh lord, this cigar is delicious from the get go. It is exactly like biting into a dark chocolate Hershey bar with almonds. A nice accomapaniment is the addition of a delicious coffee element.

I don’t expect it to be too long before this cigar profile blossoms into a flavor bomb.

The burn could be better. It has the dreaded V burn beginning which will lead to a canoe if I don’t stop it. I must burn away ¼” to get the char line back to normal. I had this same problem with the others I smoked. And I smoked four before reviewing this one.

Moments after fixing the runaway char line, it begins to get wavy again. I’m not going to torch it again.

While I’m angrily putzing around with the burn issues, I fail to describe the flavors.

The stick becomes sweet with the addition of cedar and toast.
The second third begins and it hasn’t reached flavor bomb status as I’d hoped.

Here are the flavors, in order: Cocoa, sweetness, coffee, nuts, leather, cedar, toast, and fruit.

It’s a very pleasant cigar but I had hoped for more. The chocolate carries the cigar. And as I type this, the flavors begin to expand.

Creaminess shows up to save the day. Giving the other flavors a needed boost. And now a bit of spiciness that was lacking. It is red pepper and very fragile.

I’m at the halfway point and the cigar livens up. Flavors are more distinct and balanced.

I much prefer the AKA Respect 2013 to this cigar. The construction was flawless and it gained flavor bomb status early in the cigar.

Now, nearly at the end of the second third, the char line behaves itself. I made no other corrections after the first one.

But while the flavors have become emboldened, they still aren’t bowling me over. And when a cigar is in the $8-$10 range, I want to be bowled over. And the Respect got 10 days less humidor time than this one.

The cigar explodes just before the start of the last third. Finally! The burn issues are gone. And we have touchdown, Houston.
The cigar got there, it just took a little longer than I expected based on my experience with the Respect 2013. And if you had to choose between the two, I’d go for the Respect. It is only the price point that makes me decide this way.

I realize that boutique brands have a tougher time and if their blends are good, we should support them. But I’m not going to fabricate any of my reactions to a cigar that is not the usual $5-$6 cigars that we buy more than any other price point.

The last third reaches flavor bomb status. Construction is good. And the cigar reaches what I expected it to be earlier in the cigar. Maybe a month or so is not enough humi time for the Nth. It was for the Respect.

The cigar is terrific now. Here are the flavors: Creaminess, cocoa, coffee, toast, earthiness, nuts, cedar, leather and fruit. And the strength has been classic medium from the start.

AKA makes four blends: Solace, Hybrid, Respect, and Nth Degree. I like the cigars enough to want to try the Solace and Hybrid.
Cigar Federation has a great sampler of all four blends for $30. A good price. I would start there.
The blends are all in the same price range as the Respect.

I enjoyed the cigar but I still prefer the Respect. And I think I will purchase the Hybrid and Solace next for comparison.

And now for something completely different:

An A List reviewer looked down from his throne on Mount Olympus and decreed that he would never rag on a cigar. Nor would he review anything rated less than an A or A+, in his mind.

I don’t get that.

Most good reviewers tell the truth about cigars. And if that is considered berating a cigar then so be it. That’s the whole point about reviewing. Discarding the chaff from the wheat.

If lowly reviewers, like me, didn’t criticize cigars then I would be misleading my readers. Of course the last thing I want to do is rag on a cigar. That’s a harsh word. I’ve only done that to a few cigars out of 1800+ reviews.

Now, I’ve been very critical of a lot of cigars. But I see that as my duty to inform you. Especially if the cigars are expensive. And I don’t see it as ragging on them. Fair criticism is a must.

The other issue is reducing your reviews to top grade cigars worthy of the Cigar Aficionado method of scoring. I don’t do that. Why? Because it is totally subjective. It is not an objective form of examining a cigar. Leave it to the CA folks.

What is the difference between an 89 and a 91? Will those two points prevent you from buying a cigar? Or will it encourage you to buy a cigar? Scoring cigars is dangerous. We all have different palates and different likes. So to foist your holy rating system based on some random preference is ridiculous.

I mean no disrespect to my thirty something readers but the most problematic reviewers are in their 30’s. It is the time of arrogance and “I know everything.” They deem themselves the Masters of the Universe. Yet, there is very little life experience to fall back on. How long have they been smoking cigars? 10 years? More? Less? How long since they were teenagers? 15 years? LOL.
And yet, some of the best reviewers I’ve read are in their 30’s or younger. They are aberrations. And I like that.

This is all a political dance. The top reviewers are a small clique of know-it-alls. And most hate me because I write out of the norm. I’m not brilliant like them. I don’t write like them. And if you look at their web page, you will see dozens of sponsors.

This means they don’t dare say anything too critical about a cigar they were given by their multitude of sponsors. Or they lose them. I wrote a critical review and a sponsor dropped me like a stone.

So how much can you trust a reviewer that is tied to the hip of a manufacturer? Very little in my estimation.

Here is the crux. I dish it out pretty good. So if I am a mensch, I must take it as well. And I do. I wear the hatred of other reviewers as a badge of honor. I must be doing something right if they have time to take swipes at me. It must kill them that I am so popular. I get thousands of hits per day on this blog and from all over the world. So, clearly, a certain group of smokers like the way I write. And my ex rock god stories that follow the reviews. I’m different. And the Clique hates different.

I will never belong to a clique of 30 something reviewers. I think their arrogance comes from insecurity.
This is how I break down life:

Your 20’s are when you break free of the ties to home. It is when you can spread your wings but still are just an extension of your teen years. All those wonderful freedoms.

Your 30’s begin the maturation process. You begin to self-analyze yourself. And it is at this point that you think you are wise and all knowing. The Young Turk Syndrome.

Your 40’s is a shock to your system. Holy shit! I’m a grown up. Heavy responsibilities come into your life. You get a little wiser.

Your 50’s is when you go Holy shit! This is not where I wanted to be when I dreamed of myself in my twenties. So you cope.

Your 60’s is a strange age. You begin to have health issues. But you also have had a huge spectrum of life events that widen your look upon life. And hopefully, you become much wiser due to life’s experiences. You look back at your life and analyze all the things that you did that were good for your growth as a man and look back and cringe at some of the really stupid things you did. Which was also good for your growth. And the mourning begins for lost family and friends.

You may agree with me or you may think I’m full of shit. Either way is OK with me.

Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS

Tags: AKA cigars, AKA Cigars Nth Degree Cigar Review, cigar review, cigar reviews by the katman, cigars, jay lundy