Wrapper: Brazilian Mata Fina
Binder: Costa Rican
Filler: Nicaraguan, Mexican, Colombian
Size: 5 x 50 “Robusto”
Body: Medium/Full
Price: $7.15

This is the last cigar I have for review. It is an oldie but a goodie and has been sitting in my humidor for months. After this, I guess I am on hiatus.

As my sad old story goes, I have reviewed this cigar a couple of times for other blogs but not my own and since it isn’t in my catalog of reviews, I shall review it.

This is a boutique brand that has managed to get on to some of the bigger online stores like Famous Smoke but curiously, not any part of the CI Conglomerate.

After rolling, the cigars are then aged in cedar boxes for 4 months before boxing.

I had actually started a review with my second to last cigar and after two months of humidor time, it was not ready so I wasted about 45 minutes of daylight.

This is a gorgeous mottled coffee bean colored wrapper. It has tight seams, lots of veins, a very cool triple cap with a Cuban pig tail (Kosher of course), and some nice toothiness.

I do my yarmulke cut to preserve the pigtail for the photos and pick up aromas of dark cocoa, honey, floral notes, spice, cedar, cinnamon, and baking spices.
Time to light up.

I get a huge blast of red pepper. The draw is spot on. And then there is an onslaught of flavors to my engorged palate…such as cocoa, wood, rich earthiness, and a slight touch of lemon citrus.

The strength starts out at classic medium bodied.

I have reviewed the 7-20-4 1874 Series and did not care for it. I also reviewed the Hustler and liked that one a lot.

The ash is near white. This doesn’t happen very often. The char line gets wavy on me. Wants to canoe on me.
The cigar is sort of blah at just past the 1” mark. It feels like the 1874 Series all over again. It can’t be humidor time as this stick has been sitting in my humidor for ages.

So far, I’m not impressed.

Flavors are minimal at best: Spice, cream, wood, earthiness, and sweetness. The aromas were wonderful but what happened to the flavor? At this point, it is all red pepper with back-up singers out of tune.

The cigar is very boring as it begins the second third. It tastes more like a yard ‘gar than a premium cigar.

I found a review I had done for an online cigar store almost exactly two years ago and I raved on it. What happened? That one was full of interesting flavors and character. This one is blah.

Did they fuck with the blend? Did they change the curing process or aging? I have no idea but this stick bears no resemblance to the one I reviewed on Rocky’s Cigars blog a couple years ago…which, by the way, I wrote over 100 reviews and the bastards took my name off of everyone. But they left my rock n roll stories.

I am nearing the halfway point and this cigar is a real drag. A few flavors pop up like: creaminess and coffee but the spiciness is dwindling away.

I bought a 5 pack of these on CM several months ago and I remember thinking that as I smoked one after another over that time span that it just needed more time. Several months later, there has been no improvement. Same thing happened with the 1874 Series.

This is a real mystery. What did Kurt Kendall do to his blends?

I am right on the halfway point and a little magic happens. Flavors begin to bloom. A little too late in my book, but there you go.

Here they are: Creaminess, coffee, black tea, cocoa, sweetness, citrus, wood, and cedar.

And then the red pepper returns. But I am at the beginning of the last third. This is too little, too late.

I was hoping to make go out on hiatus with a really good cigar review of a very good cigar. But as Murphy’s Law kicks in, I am left with a schlemiel of a cigar.

The flavors exhibited now should have started the cigar; not shown up as it is winding down. There is no way I got a batch of 5 dog turds. Again, and lastly, something is up with the blending process. Whether it is laziness, greed, who gives a shit, or my palate has moved on to better appreciate flavor profiles, I don’t know.

The strength remains at medium bodied.

Construction has been good. A nice char line, no wrapper issues, and a solid cap.

With less than 1-1/2” to go, there are zero changes to the flavor profile. It is a million miles away from approaching flavor bomb status. And certainly, not worth the dough.

I remember everyone carrying this and that the cigar was in regular production. Now it is hard to find. Only a few online stores carry it. Is this telling me something? I doubt it because the big stores specialize in carrying drek anyways, so why not one more?

This is a boring cigar and I do not recommend it. Kendall did something to the blend that has really changed it.

If it were not for the review, I would have put it down earlier.
The last bit sees the flavors blossom a bit. More character.

Well, dear readers, until I can come up with some dough that can be spent on cigars, I will not say good-bye; but rather, see you soon.

Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS

Tags: cigar review, cigar reviews by the katman, cigars, K.A. Kendall 7-20-4 cigar review