Wrapper: Mexican San Andrés
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Size: 5 x 52 Robusto
Body: Full
Price: $7.00
Humidor Time: 6 weeks
Number of cigars smoked prior to review: 0

Photo courtesy of Cigar Federation:

Today we take a look at the Mike Hunt; part of the Color Project from Cigar Federation and Black Label Trading Company.
This is Phase 2 reviewing the Color Project blends. The first was the GreenGo. Yesterday. Saturday. Stick with me.
Thanks to Eric Chen for the stick.

BACKGROUND:
From Cigar Federation:
“Mike Hunt is the fifth release in the Cigar Federation Color Project line is a powerful, in your face cigar. But Mike Hunt doesn’t give up flavor for strength. 😉 This 5 x 52 robusto is packed with a generous amount of ligero, binder & filler from Nicaragua and wrapped in a dark San Andres wrapper. I have ALWAYS wanted to make a cigar with this name and I have finally made Mike hunt happen. Mike Hunt just might become your new favorite cigar. So, buy it Mr. Hunt 🙂
“Mike Hunt has a rating of 4.7 stars out of 5.”

I was duly impressed with the GreenGo. So expectations are high for the Mike Hunt.

DESCRIPTION:
Much nicer looking stick than the GreenGo. But still using a more matte finish wrapper than an oily one. The cigar is solid. No soft spots.
The wrapper is a plain coffee bean brown with some fine tooth. Seams are tight. Lots of very small veins. As opposed to the GreenGo, this triple cap is flawless.

AROMAS AND COLD DRAW NOTES:
From the shaft, I smell floral notes, pepper, chocolate, butterscotch or caramel, malts, cedar, roasted salted nuts, mayonnaise, and curry powder.
From the clipped cap and the foot, I smell strong red pepper, cocoa, malt, espresso, caramel, cream, cedar, and nuts.
The cold draw presents flavors of salted caramel, malts, red pepper, chocolate, tropical fruit, strong floral notes, and nuts.

FIRST THIRD:
We begin with some nice flavors: Red pepper, malt, cocoa, espresso, caramel, unleavened bread, cedar, roasted nuts, and a few things I cannot identify yet.
Needless to say, this has been an excellent start.

Sourdough bread, salty pretzel, butter, and golden raisins. Those were the flavors I couldn’t describe. The Mike Hunt is an unusual cigar with an interesting flavor profile.
The construction is doing nicely with an even burn line.
Strength is medium body.

Flavors are much more subtle than the GreenGo at this point in the cigar burn. The GreenGo had much brighter elements. While the Mike Hunt requires more focus to glom on to the nuanced list of flavors. I had to smack my lips like a hungry dog to get most of the flavors in the Mike Hunt.

The cigar seemed packed solidly prior to lighting up but I am surprised how quickly it burns. I am nearly at the end of the first third and it’s only taken me less than 20 minutes to do so.

SECOND THIRD:
Smoke time is 20 minutes.
The cigar is described as full body. Yet, it remains a solid medium. Odd. It should at least be medium/full by now.

The Mike Hunt is not a show off blend like the GreenGo is. It has softer, more subtle flavorings and character. Early on, the GreenGo showed big signs of complexity, transitions, and long finish.
The Mike Hunt is not complex, transitions are negligible, and it has a short finish.
Almost polar opposites. Yes, it is a nice cigar but nothing like the GreenGo.

In fact, the Mike Hunt reminds me of a French dessert. Subtle without a lot of bold ingredients but satisfying none the less.
Big touch up required on the burn line.

The spiciness has diminished significantly. A peppermint cane shows up and gives the blend a nice twist.
Transitions just aren’t happening. It is the same profile as the start. Complexity is nowhere to be seen.
Well, this is kind of a bummer. After the GreenGo review, I was ready to be smacked between the eyes with the Mike Hunt.

Two inches burned and I believe the future of the rest of the cigar has been set in stone. The Mike Hunt tastes more like a $6 catalog cigar than its brother the GreenGo.
I check the description once again at the Cigar Federation store web site and it tells me that this blend should be kicking my arse by now.

Halfway point. Smoke time is 30 minutes.
Burn line needs constant assistance.
Creaminess shows up for the first time. That and my first cup of coffee improve the character of the blend.

The GreenGo looked like a funky twig yet I had no serious burn issues and construction was top notch.
The Mike Hunt is a much better looking stick but the burn is terrible. It burns like a $1 bundle cigar. This does not help the quick burn time.

Flavors are more out front now as opposed to the first half’s diminished capacity. But dang it…no complexity and transitions are missing in action. The short finish doesn’t help.
With a little more than 2” to go, I can say that I am really disappointed in this blend. My expectations were high…too high.

Strength remains at medium body. I don’t get this. Big difference from the described full body.
I’m tired of putting torch to foot. So at this point forward, no cleaning up the char line to make a pretty photo. You might as well see what I’m battling.

Flavors take a dump on me. I get this blah hay/mineral element that overwhelms the other flavors.
Instead of the second half of the cigar blossoming, it is dying on the vine.

LAST THIRD:
Smoke time is 40 minutes.
I still have the Tiger Kitty Sharp Claws to review. I’m batting .500 for the brand. Good for an MLB hitter but not so good for cigars.
The hay/mineral component slips away.

I don’t mind subtle flavors but take away the complexity and transitions and you are left with a dud.
There is no way I can recommend the Mike Hunt. While these days, $7 is not a lot of dough for a good cigar, this is not a stick worthy of that price point.

The cigar goes dark on me. Flavors nearly disappear completely. How come a blend like GreenGo gets a rating of 93 while the same blenders put together a cigar that rates no higher than a 77?
When I come across a cigar this bad, I really don’t think a numerical rating relates. It should merely be a “Don’t Buy.”

Now here is the troubling part. On the CF page for the Mike Hunt there are 7 customer reviews that average 4.7 stars out of 5. One thing I notice in the reviews is the pattern of customers saying how great the cigar is ROTT. No cigar is great ROTT. Never happens. One customer said it is the best cigar of 2016. WTF? Another customer says the exact same thing. Best cigar of 2016? I hardly think so. One customer complains about construction issues and then gives the cigar 5 stars.

Meanwhile, the customer reviews for the GreenGo seem to come from more experienced smokers.

Did I get a dud? With a single stick, it is hard to tell. The thing is I have an excellent palate like you. It doesn’t lie. I would love to tell you the Mike Hunt is a killer blend but it just ain’t so.
Sorry CF.
Final smoking time is 50 minutes.
Strength never got beyond medium body.

RATING: 77

This story is dedicated to my wife of 32 years, Charlotte. Today is her 66th birthday. Almost as old as her Hippie husband…

OLD PEOPLE SEX:
Can’t recycle one more music story…just can’t do it…without hanging myself; or risking injury or death from a wild crowd of readers at my door with pitchforks.
So…..I am just going to write shit, about life, when I feel like it.

I am watching the movie, “The Salvation.” Great western. I love good westerns. As a little guy, my TV cowboy stars all dressed in outfits that today would be considered très chic gay.
The star of this movie is that Danish guy that was the bad guy in the Daniel Craig version of “Casino Royale.” The poker player whose eye bled all the time?
He makes a great cowboy. Brutal film with some real sad parts and some parts that are Tarantino inspired. I believe Showtime has it.

Where the fuck was I?
Old people sex.

Huge difference between old-people-sex to in-your-prime sex.
When you are young, positions are no problems. (That changes. Ha)

Old-people-sex incorporates a cacophony of talking over each other while juxtaposing from one possible position to another …”Ouch…can’t put weight on that knee. Let me move over to the other side.”
“No. Don’t do that. It makes me twist my back the way it makes me hurt. Just get off your knees and lay down on your back. Of course, I won’t be able to last long because thrusting hurts my back.”

“Why don’t I get on top of you?”
“OK.”
(More cacophony)

“Fuck. My neck is uncomfortable on my pillow. Can you move it?”
(Now I’m fine. Old lady on top. I can relax. Then…)
“Shit. I can’t let my knee bend for that long and holding myself up is giving me a cramp in my shoulder.”
“I got it. A blow job.”
The wife agrees.

She goes to the bathroom to get a wet, warm wash cloth to clean off my cockatiel.

Her partial keeps falling out. It sends my eyes rolling backwards each time. She needs to get a newer one that fits better. I feel like a cob of corn. (Sometimes it’s a good move to have a spare battery operated fake plastic vagina.)

Three things can happen here. The first is you find the exact right position that makes it fun for the both of you. God bless you on that.
Or, the second is you get to lay naked to the wonderful woman you’ve been with for nearly 33 years. And you cop a few feels and other shit like that.
And lastly, you both may just decide to go to sleep…the old lady is snoring 45 seconds after her head hits the pillow. And you wonder if the justice system will see your act as a mercy killing?

When you’re young….ah, the shenanigans. We were two dreidels cage fighting.
You assume impossible positions…the next day you are sore…and you do it all over again that night. Young.

Young means a man’s tongue goes fucking numb and stays numb an hour after he is finished. His nose fills with pubic hair. He can’t breathe or talk.

Young means being daring. And repetitive. Think small rodents.

Time can take its toll and you may end up hating your spouse, or on a more collegial note, comfortable with each other. The latter is better.

Old married people: Nothing shocks either of you anymore. The sky is the limit. I sometimes make Charlotte wear a yarmulke and talis.

Young means drinking and doing drugs and having sex for 4 hours, or more….way more.
On a good expedition, I can pray for 50 minutes but see it only go 45 minutes. And going for a second time is possibly life threatening.

Both young sex and old sex have good outcomes.

The one night stand? A lot of fumbling and being perfunctory….doing your thang performance….impress the broad.

The cool thing is both stages are extremely pleasurable….just different…both more fun than a poke in the eye.

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Tags: cigar review, cigar reviews by the katman, cigars, Mike Hunt by Cigar Federation and BLTC | Cigar Reviews by the Katman