Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
Binder: Mexican (Cultivo Tonto San Andrés Negro)
Filler: Nicaraguan, U.S.A.
Size: 6.625 x 48
Strength: Full
Price: $19.75
My sticks have had 2 months naked humidor time.
Cigars were supplied by Steve Saka.
THE WHOLE MEGILLAH:
First, this is a beautiful stick. A big Festivus pole of chocolate.
The draw is just fine. I’ve had to use my PerfecDraw draw adjustment tool like crazy in the last couple of days with my trial cigars to make sure my recent dental work didn’t collapse and today we have a wiener! A righteous draw that allows my PerfecDraw to rest.
This is a smoke bomb…I crouch in the fetal position expecting a gaggle of DEA agents to burst through my door in the next few seconds.
Immediately, huge wallop of complexity and flavors gone wild, just not in Florida.
Extreme nuttiness starts the Festivus Parade. To join the parade, you must know how to cha cha…or at least the Bunny Hop.
Black pepper follows with simmering notes of milk chocolate, vanilla cream, cinnamon, and black coffee.
The tobacco innards are the bulbous star of this performance. I can taste the care and discretion used in its design. Lovely.
Of course, if I had any discretion, we wouldn’t be living in Milwaukee. Another story I don’t want to re-live.
I’ve always been cursed by box pressed cigars. 90% of the time, the burn taunts me and tortures me with uneven char lines. So far, so good.
The $20 cigar is becoming a fact of life these days. OK. My Commonwealth readers need to take a deep breath. I know you pay $40 for a Torano. But I still expect a lot from a cigar in this price range. $20 for 90 minutes…in 1967, that would get me two hookers and a lollipop. Or a pancake and a cigar.
The char line is dead nuts on point. I will jinx it if I keep mentioning it.
Strength is medium. Nice slow roll. This is a sippin’ blend. Small puffs along with time in between to allow the smoke to fill all my natural openings.
The depth of the cigar’s integrity is nearly monumental. 1” in and my palate lumps up and down in a joyful state. (Not Wisconsin). Did I mean lumps or jumps? Hard to tell…my palate only speaks in tongues.
The ash is still in place which causes my naughty bits to scream, “Watch out!!”
This cigar has been dry boxed for 24 hours. Its stead the burn well. I smoked one right out of my humidor and had burn problems.
This is becoming a flavor wheel…cinnamon, nutmeg, dried fruit, buttery croissants, very chocolaty, and just the right dose of spiciness from the black pepper.
Smooooth. Concise. Savory. Subtle and pop goes the weasel.
The strength is now medium/full. The transition was gradated unknowingly to my left brain.
The finish is a marvel. Smackin’ my lips like a hound dog. It just keeps on chooglin’ with no end in sight. I grab my telescope just in case.
Ever stand at a public urinal and discover that your tee shirt hung a bit too low and became a sponge for runoff? Me neither.
I love this cigar. I am jittery in anticipation of the entrance of the sweet spot. Because right now, the cigar seems like one giant ass sweet spot.
The cigar is worth $20. Period. No hesitation or guilt on my part for saying this. Well, a little guilt. It’s in my DNA. And was handed to me at my Bar Mitzvah.
The char line is a thing of beauty. Compared to the Mona Lisa, the Mona Lisa comes in a distant third. Having been to France a few times, I saw that painting and since have never understood why the art experts go ga-ga over it. It’s OK. Now, if she showed some cleavage, that’s a bigger thumbs up.
My first sip of water and flavors explode like a 15-year-old getting to second base for the first time. The nuttiness spreads its wings. Cotton candy. Blackberry. And candied lemon rind.
The creamy chocolate is decadent. Sigh. I remember a time decades ago when I was in a constant state of decadence. But the law put a stop to it.
This is such a relief. If I didn’t like this blend, Saka would send Albanian assassins. The authorities would wonder why I smelled like Ferges. (Don’t google it. Albanian stew).
Baby, I’m amazed at the perfection of the burn line. Military spec.
The cigar is so smooth that I cannot detect the strength.
It has taken 40 minutes to burn 2”. That’s what I’m talking about.
I would love to take a photo of the perfect burn but that would mean I’d have to get out of my chair.
Just going to sit back for a few minutes and enjoy while listening to the Jackson 5.
You don’t need to know diddly about cigars to enjoy this cigar. Newbies…jump in my children. Sophisticates…use your kids’ college funds to buy these cigars en masse.
The sweet spot appears at 2-1/2” burned. This is crazy. I’m predicting that there will be layer upon layer of sweet spots from this point forward.
This is truly one of the best cigars I’ve smoked all year. Wow.
I took the time to read other reviews. They are all over the place. Not a clue why. This baby is a stunner. I’m going to offer Saka one of my kidneys.
If I were any more relaxed, I’d be Silly Putty.
I believe the strength has morphed to full tilt, but the blend has magically tamed it so as not to interfere with the journey.
I’ve had three health issues in the last two weeks. I’m so thankful for Dr. Rod being my consigliere. Without him, I’d be a wreck. And now I’m fine, thank you.
I get some mesquite that accents the slightly meaty notes of the blend. The creaminess is relentless. The chocolate morphs with the black coffee and becomes a Beverly Hills candy I can’t afford.
Gotta stop. “You Can Call Me Al” is playing. I can’t type when my body bops. I can call you Betty.
There is no jinx powerful enough to stop the perfect char line. It is a marvel surpassed only by Tesla’s Coil…and the invention of three-ply toilet paper.
Speaking of Tesla…is Elon an alien or just an idiot?
I’ve never smoked such a powerhouse blend that doesn’t take me down to the ground drooling like a piece of smoked salmon. I don’t know what that means either.
I’m a whisper away from turning 73. All my best friends have passed. And here I am smoking one of the best cigars ever blended. Life is good. Hang on, my scrotum is rubbing against the carpet…a little adjustment and it’s back in its cage. I built a special winch.
I could ramble on incessantly, so I will.
The flavor wheel experience is now corralled into a uranium-235 posture. The entirety takes over and sweet spot layers behave like a magician shuffling cards.
A bloody brilliant blend. Makes me feel bad for the reviewers that had issues with this cigar.
The halfway point has taken a full hour to obtain. This means another 2500 words from me.
I was standing in line at a convenience store. A woman around 40 years old decided to do all of her shopping in front of the cashier. “Get this…no, not that, the other one.” This went on forever. Then she wanted some lottery cards and couldn’t make up her mind. I unexpectedly bellowed, “Oh Jesus, make a choice woman!”
She didn’t look at me and said she is trying. Thankfully, I was packing and had three magazines on my belt. We are now living in a society that does not see life as precious. And since I walk a lot, an old man is a target. Three magazines…I don’t want to die for lack of shootin’ back.
I think the cigar has grown an inch.
The complexity is so intense that I want to Riverdance in my snow boots.
Doesn’t matter how long I allow the cigar to sit in the ashtray. It never goes out.
I know that 99% of smokers will just scroll down to my rating and split. Which means I can type away for hours. Those that do read, you still awake?
Bonamassa is playing “See See Baby.” A gentle hint that I should wrap things up.
The bottom line is that The Bewitched is a stellar blend. It has everything a smoker needs from a cigar. It fills in the blanks that you usually omit. Not a lick of nicotine. Whopping strength that is controlled by a higher force. Flavors that ruminate where they will strike next. A complexity and intensity matched only by a direct missile hit. So smooth and delicate that I use a cat o’ nine tails to calm my palate.
I’m absolutely ruined for the cigars that will follow throughout the day.
The Bewitched is perfect.
I haven’t given out a rating of 100 in a long time. Doesn’t mean it’s the best cigar on the planet…it means that I can find zero criticisms and the cigar delivers the goods way beyond my expectations. I knew it would be good. It’s better.
True to my word, the cigar sees its doom at the two-hour mark.
Seek out this cigar from my sponsors: Atlantic Cigar, Small Batch Cigar (10% off with promo code katman), and Luxury Cigar Club (15% off with promo code katman).
RATING: 100
Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS
Cigar Reviews by Phil 'Katman' Kohn 
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