Wrapper: Undisclosed
Binder: 17-Year-Old H-192 Dominican Cuban Seed Hybrid, Ecuadorian HVA
Filler: Peruvian Pelo de Oro, Dominican, USA
Size: 4.5 x 60
Strength: Medium
Price: $12.00
Factory: Kelner Boutique Factory, Dominican Republic
My cigars received 3 months of naked humidor time.
THE WHOLE MEGILLAH:
I’m a fan of Principle Cigars. Most of the time, they produce a hit. I double down because this company often works with the Kelner Boutique Factory who is among the most consistent producers of quality cigars.
I reviewed the Principle Aviator Series 10th Anniversary Petite Cochon Volant in November of 2024 and loved it. Like most cigars, opinions are mixed. A few months ago, I bought a large swath of their blends for review. So here we go…
How does a cigar taste? Do we care just as much about the design of the cigar band on the stick? Just a few of my favorite things to ponder. Yes, to question 1…and no to question 2. Often, the Joe Camel approach is taken to dress up a pig for market.
There is no flow of air because the cigar is closed at both ends. I snip both. Some smokers enjoy putting torch to closed foot as originally designed by the blender. Just the right resistance for my taste. Out of the corner of my sharp eyed proboscis, I see my PerfecDraw doing curls while doing deep knee bends. It’s ready to be put in the game. With one snap of my wrist, I knock my PD out cold. I will instate concussion protocol when it awakens.
The wrapper’s scent is damn fine with notes of seriously aged tobacco, cinnamon, smoky nutmeats, boutique black coffee, pepe le pew pepperiness, and vanilla crème.
The cold draw intensifies those flavors.
For $12, this cigar has a fancy pedigree with even fancier leaf stats.
Sour start. Lemons climbing up my leg. Squeeze me baby till the juice runs down my leg. I paid $2100 for my new ’69 Chevy Impala Custom. It’s a shame that photos are long gone because who wouldn’t want to see my strategically placed four light bars and my kick ass Pioneer sound system.
The sourness retreats. It is replaced by extreme creaminess, mixed nuts, brown sugar, milk chocolate, café au lait, vanilla custard, black pepper, and fresh carnations. Will the Bauble become a flavor bomb? I hope so.
The boot scoot of strength is a nice medium. No warmup time was required. Like most, I need my first cigar of the day to take it easy as coffee is the only sustainable compound in my body.
The char line is regimental in its accomplishment.
Flavors begin to smooth out. They are merging and coagulating. My sinuses pick up on the lovely aromas…most representing the finely aged tobacco. Retrohaling is fun while it lasts. But it eventually burned out my fistula and now I’m prone to sinus issues. I have trained my brain to pick up on flavors using my crumbling sinuses the way retrohaling did. Doesn’t happen overnight, but it works as a good substitute.
Svengoolie. Met Richard Koz in 1983. Butch Patrick and I were sweeping America promoting our music project. We did the WGN morning show where we shared the spotlight with Peter Tork. That night, we had a club date with Mr. Monkee. Tork traded one of his Monkees tee shirts for one of my Eddie and the Monsters tee shirt. I won. Decades later, Butch recreated the Monsters tees which is very cool.
For that event, we taped a two-minute video welcoming the throngs to the party. Butch nailed me with real lemon cream pies. In the photo below you can see that no matter what the trauma, I never let go of my cigar.
The next day, we did a taping with Svengoolie. Mind you, this was the 80’s. Cocaine was everywhere. It was Halloween. I hired Al Lewis to do his Grandpa Munster thing at a huge party at the Hollywood Palace where Tiger Beat Magazine and Life Magazine gave away tickets for some unlucky soul to go to Transylvania with Eddie Munster. Koz invited us to his annual trick or treat party at his authentic haunted mansion. While the throngs partied downstairs, some of us were invited to party upstairs with Koz. I never saw so much cocaine in my life. By 2am, I was burned to a pulp and I reminded Butch we had another full day of promotions. Butch refused to leave as the white death was like lava flowing from Mt. St. Helen’s. We got into a big fight. Butch demanded I give him a few hundred bucks so he could contribute to the party. I refused. I left in a huff. Butch left in a minute and a huff a few hours later. It got worse when we landed in NYC…to be continued.
Burnt caramel shows up. Damn. Unexpected as the entire flavor profile shifts to a more refined balance. Included are notes of cumin, white pepper, sassafras tea, buttered rye, and golden raisins. Nice. I love transitional blends.
The burn is johnny on the spot and the ash is a structurally sound:
Levels of complexity, richness, and depth are aligned. Normally, one of these sought after traits is ahead or behind the other. In this case, there is synchronicity. If you too are also a fan of Kelner based blends, you can’t help but notice the quality from first puffs.
Savory v. Sweet is 50/50. My favorite type of blend.
Caramel leads the pack.
Sometimes I drink black coffee. Other times, I like some cream with it. Try smoking this cigar with the latter. Both tobacco and beverage are accentuated nicely with this pairing.
The first half is gone at the 45-minute mark. A fetching slow roll without sudden jerks or interruption of flow.
Expensive lighters…what are they good for? First, how often do you smoke a cigar? This is the tell for your choice of lighters. I smoke several times per day so I need a device that can take punishment. I used my S.T. Dupont Maxi jet for 10 years without a hint of failsafe. But it eventually lost the ability to manage flame height. My S.T. Dupont Ligne is a delicate lighter and not for daily use. A great implement for herfs to show with pride to your buddies. My new lighter is the S.T. Dupont Biggie Flat Torch Flame. Its wide berth gives an impeccable experience…but it is missing the all critical butane window. I’ve used countless brands of lighters over 6 decades. Xikar is useless for the everyday smoker. Never had one that lasted more than 3-6 months. Planned obsolescence. Stick with S.T. Dupont. There is a serious initial outlay of cash, but they last forever.
The second half is a flavor bomb. In a subtle sort of way. Nothing bitch slaps my palate. Rather, the assault is a top-notch directed affair. Strength never becomes more than a pleasant morning medium. The spiciness is casual. The depth of richness is exemplary. Complexity never zooms ahead to the next level but no matter…overall, this is an excellent cigar.
I once spent an afternoon driving lead singer Lee Ving of the punk band Fear in the backseat of my 1977 Datsun station wagon. My buddy Steve Snyder (KNAC radio) needed an interview with the man. We saw the band at the Whisky the night before and their front man scared the shit out of me. The original plan was to hang at a Sunset Strip coffee shop, eat, talk, and record…but Lee said, ‘Fuck that.’ For two hours, we drove around Hollywood with the boys being chauffeured by me. Ving turned out to be the funniest man I had ever met…his stage persona was just that. I constantly fucked up the recording machine’s levels with my laughter…pissing Snyder off. Enjoying this, Lee continued his quest to crack me up. Near the end of the bizzarro world encounter I put the cassette of my band doing a rendition of Hound Dog (Little Richard on keys) in my tape player…not 4 bars played before Mr. Ving screamed, “Take that shit out of my ears.” I didn’t laugh for the remaining 30-minute tour of the island.
For a cigar only 4-1/2” long, the smoke time is elongated and pleasurable. Construction is flawless. The key to this cigar’s behavior is its requirement for home recognizance in your humidor. But as in the similar Casdagli blends, 3-4 months is all that’s needed for the cigar blend to shine. After your first ‘Let’s See’ smoke the week that you receive your sticks, let ‘em sleep.
The cigar ends with a flourishing consistency. How often do you get a $20 stick for only $12? These are limited and nearly gone, so don’t panic but move quickly or you gotta wait till next year.
RATING: 96
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Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS
