Home › CIGAR REVIEWS › Bad to the Bone by The Outlaw Cigar Company | Cigar Review

Bad to the Bone by The Outlaw Cigar Company | Cigar Review

By The Katman on August 21, 2015 • ( 2 )

Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano
Binder: Brazilian Arapiraca
Filler: Honduran, Nicaraguan
Size: 7.125 x 58 “Salomon”
Body: Medium
Price: $7.21 by the Box/$8.00 by the 5 Pack

Today we take a look at the Bad to the Bone by The Outlaw Cigar Company.

BACKGROUND:
“Arapiraca: Grown in Brazil, this seed sprouts a very strong, thick, and healthy plant in most tropical environments. The wrapper is exceptionally dark and sweet with leathery undertones.
Known as the “The Tobacco Capital of Brazil.”

Many thanks to Kendall Culbertson, owner, of The Outlaw Cigar Company for the samples.
I’ve currently reviewed: Gunslinger Perdition, Gunslinger High Plains (blended with the assistance of Jochy Blanco), Gunslinger Black Powder, WTF Maduro, and the Gunslinger Drifter.
I’ve written quite a bit about Kendall Culbertson so by now you know him as well as his dog, Shep. If you are reading an Outlaw Cigar review for the first time, go to the Search Window and punch in The Outlaw Cigar Company and you will find all 5 reviews and info about Kendall is there.

The blend comes in both Habano and Corojo blends.

DESCRIPTION:
Beautiful craftsmanship. Smooth as glass. The wrapper is multi-colored in that it is mottled both a light brown and a coffee bean brown. And it is solid but with a nice amount of give when squeezed.
A Salomon is difficult for any torcedor, but box pressing one on top of that is quite the feat. The only way to show you that the press is crisp is to clip the foot back just a bit.

Seams are tight. No veins. A perfectly formed triple pointy cap. The foot has a quarter inch opening.
The cigar band is Kelly green with the Outlaw Cigar cattle skull.

SIZES AND PRICING:
See chart below:

AROMAS AND COLD DRAW NOTES:
From the shaft, I smell faint aromas of chocolate, spice, cedar, barnyard, and creaminess.
From the clipped cap and clipped foot, I smell mostly barnyard with faint aromas of chocolate and spice.
The cold draw presents flavors of coffee, chocolate, spice, cream, and earthiness.

FIRST THIRD:
The draw is excellent.
A nice mix of flavors starts us off: Spice, creaminess, chocolate, cedar, sweetness, coffee, dried fruit, rich earthiness, and a touch of mint leaves. Must be the Kelly green cigar band.
The foot needs a minor tune up.

The thing about a Salomon is the length. It really isn’t over 7” when it comes time to divide it into thirds. I clipped the cap. I clipped the foot. Leaving about 6-1/2” Ordinarily, you don’t need to clip the foot but I couldn’t figure out how to show how gorgeous the box press is.

Just like the other Outlaw Cigar Co. blends, the Bad to the Bone starts the proceedings like gangbusters.
Big flavors only 5 minutes in. A perfect draw. And now the char line is back on course.

Man, oh, man. The cable TV radio is playing one dud after another. Where the hell is the inspiration? One day, an experienced play list manager puts together a kick ass playlist…and the next day, he has his cat do it.
Oh lord…”Dust in the Wind.” Argghhhhhh!
Okie doke…I’ll take some Pink Floyd. On the up slide now are we? That’s my Brit speak still left over from back in the day.

The Bad to the Bone by The Outlaw Cigar Company is delicious but this is the first blend that is more conventional than the others. Smacks of a Nic puro with the added sweetness of the Arapiraca binder.
Strength is medium body.
The photo below is a better representation of the true color of the wrapper. I’m a bit confused using my lighting gear. Sorry.

We have: Chocolate, cream, spice, coffee, sweetness, licorice, nuts, toastiness, cedar, mint (I love that), a bit of leather, and earthiness.

John Lennon. Yes. We are making the move to cool music. Do you remember where you were when he was murdered? Not that I am accusing you of being an accomplice..but where in space and time were you? I was sitting at home, with a bevy of girlfriends, in Long Beach. That was a devastating time for a true Beatle, and Lennon, fan. There was always hope that they would get back together and in one moment the whole idea was smashed to pieces. Not to mention the man himself being a massive loss.
I have a friend who is a radio DJ and did the voice overs on a 5 disk interview of the last John Lennon interview done two days before he was murdered. He made me copies on cassette and I have kept them pristine ever since. The editing is brilliant as it is a Lennon timeline with music of that time interspersed within the body of the interview. The only downer was that Yoko was there and every time she spoke, my skin crawled.

SECOND THIRD:
Smoke time is 35 minutes.
Back to the Bad to the Bone by The Outlaw Cigar Company.

Such a delicious blend. What really amazes me is that you know how much I don’t like these giant cigars. Two reasons: They take too long to smoke and I get bored easily. And second, they don’t have the flavor intensity of a smaller cigar.

Kendall has managed to jump the shark on this issue. I have some smaller versions of all the blends he sent me and I’ve reviewed. And there is no difference in intensity. I cannot think of another manufacturer that pulls this off.
So, as a result, I never get bored and I get my fill of these extraordinary blends.

Major flavor bomb. I can’t help it. There is no other way to describe it. Flavors are explosive and intense; especially the spiciness, chocolate and creaminess.
The dried fruit becomes a trifecta of raisins, figs, and dates. The cedar is right behind.

Construction is terrific. No wrapper issues. The char line has behaved beautifully since that one minor touch up. And the draw is spot on.
Caramel enters. And so does malt. You must be getting so tired of this but here goes: Chocolate Malt, Biscuit Malt, Caramel Wheat, and Chocolate Rye Malt. (See Malt Chart).

As I near the halfway point, big explosion of flavor. Flavor Bomb 2.0. The malt is a great way to finally describe my “It” or “Wow” factor.
The mint is gone.

Kendall sent me a fiver of Perdition Toros in this very cool wood box with the Gunslinger logo on it. Although, at the moment, Bad to the Bone is not a part of the Gunslinger line, I wanted to show you the box. It was illustrated by a famous artist, Boris Vallejo, (“Boris Vallejo, born January 8, 1941, is a Peruvian painter. He immigrated to the United States in 1964, and he currently resides in Allentown, Pennsylvania. He frequently works with Julie Bell, his wife, painter, and model.”) From Wikipedia. Boris specializes in fantastic fantasy art work. You can buy his artwork at Julie Bell & Boris Bell web site. Such as this one below:

Strength is classic medium body. The web site says it is mild/medium but it started out right at medium.

HALFWAY POINT:
Smoke time is 45 minutes.
The Bad to the Bone by The Outlaw Cigar Company is a delightful cigar. Big flavors. Smooth. Complex.
Spiciness is on the wane. Everything else is in place.

I kick back for a couple minutes to just enjoy the cigar and there is a fruity flavor I cannot identify.
New flavors approach: Ginger, cinnamon, and sort of a brie-like hint.
This mysterious fruit flavor is making me nuts. What the hell is it?
A touch of unsweetened blackberry and a hint of almonds. That’s what screwed me up. The addition of almond paste. It skewed the fruit flavor.

A strong pine flavor emerges. And with it, the return of a very strong red pepper.
The cigar band has too much glue and I have to cut it off nicking the wrapper. Fingers crossed I burn through it before it destroys the wrapper. Drat.

LAST THIRD:
Smoke time is one hour 10 minutes.
Wow. The spiciness is burning my moustache off and I don’t even have one.

The Brazilian Arapiraca binder is really doing a number on the sweetness of the blend. The Bad to the Bone by The Outlaw Cigar Company is like a candy bar.

One last time: Spice, malt, creaminess, coffee, chocolate, caramel, almonds, fruit, cedar, cinnamon, ginger, pine, dried fruit, earthy tobacco.
That’s a tall order.

I’ve got three blends to review: WTF Natural, Gunslinger Hangman, and Gunslinger Unforgiven. Should be done by Chanukkah.

I successfully burn through the nick in the wrapper.

This was an exceedingly good blend. But then all of the Outlaw Cigar blends were unique and great. I’m very impressed with what Kendall Culbertson has done. So many blends and yet all different. That must have been a real bitch.
I still have samples that Kendall sent me and each one gets better by the day.

This was my last Bad to the Bone. I’d love to try it in the Corona size. Though, Kendall’s version of a corona is 6.5 x 44. Still, I bet it is a barn burner.

The Bad to the Bone by The Outlaw Cigar Company was very gratifying. A nice easy going medium body. Loads of flavor. A good stick for newbies. The experienced palate will love picking out the flavors.

Finally. It’s been a rotten radio day. But now they are playing Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes.” One of his most brilliant tunes.
Did you know my buddy drummer Stewart Copeland played on Gabriel’s 1986 “Sledge Hammer?” But Gabriel was only happy with Copeland’s snare drum set so he mixed the entire drum track out and left only the snare drum. Made Copeland furious.

Back to the Bad to the Bone by The Outlaw Cigar Company.
It has a nice finish of smoothness and big flavors.
I rate it a 90.

One last thing. The Outlaw Cigar Company made it to the cover of Smoke Shop Magazine focusing on Bad to the Bone.

Mag photo
The review finishes appropriately with listening to Lennon’s “Imagine.”
I remember my band Homegrown playing it in 1971. A very emotional song.
I highly recommend the Bad to the Bone by The Outlaw Cigar Company.

PRICE POINT:
The price range of $6.50-$8.00 is wholly justified and underpriced if you ask me. Actually, you’re not asking me. You’re a prisoner of the white lines on the freeway.
Culbertson could have easily asked for more dough.
Final smoke time is one hour 35 minutes.

SUMMATION:
I’m trying to think how I can summarize this blend. It has that Nic puro flavor profile with the addition of the extreme sweetness of the Arapiraca wrapper.
Transitions were interesting. It was very complex. The balance was good. And it had a nice long finish.
I’m still waiting on a clunker from Outlaw Cigar but I doubt that is going to happen. I’ve raved and gushed over every single blend.
Construction maintained its integrity throughout. The char line gave me no troubles.
Just one more great cigar from Kendall and The Outlaw Cigar Company.

NOTE: I want to take this moment to thank some reader by the name of Harper. That’s all I know about him. He sent me a nice care package of cigars. Thank you kind sir.