Wrapper: Ecuadorian Connecticut
Binder: Mexican
Filler: Nicaraguan
Size: 6.25 x 46
Strength: Medium/Full
Price: $14.95
My cigars have had two months of naked humidor time plus 4 years of box time. The cigars I possess were released in 2019.
Only 1,000 boxes of 13 cigars were released.
A re-vamp was released again in 2020 and available if you hunt them down on several online stores.
THE WHOLE MEGILLAH:
Here’s the thing…I only found a couple of reviews. Never good. But hopefully the extra ageing this cigar received will show how extended humidor time has rewarded the blend.
The cigar has some nice aromas…milk chocolate, lemongrass, caramel, peanut butter, buttery sweet croissants, malt, vanilla, and cinnamon.
The cigar is very light in the hand. I remove the pigtail by hand rather than clipping it and the airflow is wide open. As my PerfecDraw likes to sleep in, it continues to do so.
The lightly sweetened cap is not as annoying as I expected.
Spectacular start. Heavy duty complexity and richness jump in with both feet…The spiciness from black pepper is strong. Creaminess, buttered popcorn, lemon citrus, peanut butter, almond butter, malt, and chocolate aren’t shy and present prominent places in the flavor profile.
The balance is near perfect, only 5 minutes and half an inch burned. If the spiciness calms down soon, it shall deliver the third tablet on Mt. Sinai.
The cigar is going to be a flavor bomb by its second half.
You get a marvel like this, and it makes me reassess some of the ratings I gave to fellow $15 sticks. The thing about smoking cigars is it is an in the moment experience. I respect other reviewers that compile data over 2-3 cigars smoked and write a summary. Very proficient. I approach reviewing from the opposite direction. I do this for sheer fun. The industry reviewers carry a lot of pressure.
I see so many of my old musician friends, that made music their careers, advertising private lessons on their websites. Man, the bell tolls for thee. Unless you are in the microcosm of successful players, you have no pension or savings. I’ve spoken to several successful players, and they are struggling to find a path of solvency as they hit the elder statesmen(women) chapters of their lives.
Despite the cigar feeling like a toothpick in weight, the burn is remarkably slow.
Construction is spot on. The char line is gorgeous. The draw, which I thought might be hot, is wonderfully cool.
Charlotte and I took a Lyft yesterday and our driver was a black gentleman that is our age. And a guitarist. We had a wonderful conversation about music in Milwaukee and why it is bereft of any sort of healthy environment. It is ageist and ghost-like. It is the worst place I’ve lived for finding fellow musicians. Music comes to die in this town. Anyway, he was a rocker in the 60’s. He loves Jimi and Cream. But we also talked passionately about jazz and blues. We are going to stay in touch. I spent my entire life connected to other musicians and Milwaukee has been a disappointment. Finding guys in their 70’s that are alive with the spirit of musicology is as sparse as an hour-long boner.
The cigar. Every flavor mentioned has intensified. Beautiful blend. The spiciness of black pepper has found its proper place as a side man and not the overwhelming shredding guitarist. New flavors of caramel, herbal tea, sweet honey, café au lait aid the crazy transitions that pass through as quickly as a greasy slider does in your G.I. tract.
The Corona Gorda size is often a perfect choice for any cigar blend. I don’t understand botany, but a smaller cigar just seems to give a blend vibrance that you don’t experience in a fatter stick.
Strength is medium/full. 2” burned. 30 minutes.
I am surprised at how powerful this 4-year-old stick remains as I see the laptop screen swirl.
I read a couple of reviews from the industry guys, and they just nailed the experience. I taste the exact same flavors.
Isabela Cigars have produced a few blends that shift profiles every half inch to inch. The same goes for the Sobremesa Brûlée Blue. There is a lovely dichotomy in that while the flavor profile is increasingly rich, it is also very mellow and without any sharpness to its edges. Could be nicotine talking.
The halfway point opens a new portal. The blend is as complex as a chromatic variation of the heptatonic blues scale.
I don’t see the need to repeat descriptions of the ever-expanding flavor profile. No changes to the number of notes that the cigar presents. They become deeper and fatter with each puff. The finish lingers without any thought of an abrupt departure.
If you find this cigar, either in the 2019 or 2020 version, buy as many as you can without your wife being alerted.
I’ve got blisters on my fingers.
I’m glued to my chair and covered in ash. Not unlike what was found in the aftermath of Pompeii.
There should have been hundreds of reviews for this cigar.
I took private lessons from Wrecking Crew bassist Carol Kaye in the late 60’s. The woman was prolific in the studio and played on over 10,000 recordings. At 87, I have no idea why she is not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. This is an injustice.
Here it is: Creaminess, peanut butter, buttery croissants, chocolate, café au lait, smoked and candied almonds, vanilla ice cream, lemongrass, herbal tea, cinnamon, black pepper, honey, citrus, and aged oak.
A long sleep allowed the blend to unveil a carnival of essences.
Strength is full tilt. 4” burned. 90 minutes.
In my humble opinion, this is the finest blend that Steve Saka conceived and implemented.
Find some.
RATING: 98
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Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS
