Wrapper: Nicaraguan
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan (Estelí, Ometepe, Condega, and Jalapa)
Size: 6 x 52 Toro Box Pressed
Strength: Medium/Full
Price: $14.00
Factory: Nicaragua American Cigars S.A. (NACSA) Estelí, Nicaragua.

My cigars received two months of naked humidor time.

THE WHOLE MEGILLAH:
Without using pro lights, getting a cigar to look its best in photos is tricky. I had my usual ugly duckling pic ready but then I noticed the cigar sitting provocatively in the ashtray and it looked oddly beautiful. A golden rod version of a Thomas Bros map.

The wrapper has mild aromas of floral honey, barnyard, Dijon mustard, and baked goods.

This nearly flat cap is an example of an easy choice for my PerfecPunch to go to work. The airflow is on the money. Cold draw notes are anise, bitter coffee, slight peppermint, cinnamon graham crackers and spicy hot peppers.

Bam. Instant flavor cell: cheesecake with graham cracker crust, sweetened lime juice, earthy, the taste of a bakery through your nose walking through the door, cashews and almonds, a scoche of black pepper, toasty grapefruit, and fresh blueberries. I smoked one the other day on a dirty palate and tasted none of these flavor points. I’m fresh this morning with nothing other than coffee disturbing my palate. The first cigar of the day is precious.

I give good advice when I tell you to let your cigar rest between puffs. 2-3 minutes refreshes the palate. Do I heed my own wisdom? Rarely. Except when I write a review. I slow it down into waltz time. Caramel shows up in this blend at half an inch. I don’t feel the other flavors in the far reaches of my mouth. Rather, the notes are linear from the tip of my tongue to the back of my throat. It’s early.

The burn becomes funkadelic. Patience until there is none. We think that we have a controlled environment in our humidors. We don’t. Are we close? Yeah, sure. Our cigars can be affected by barometric pressure as well as other perceived threats. ‘Sure Seal’ technology on humidors is iffy at best. Storing your cigars in plastic tubs may halt the environment but the sticks are living in plastic hell holes.

Caramel becomes the blend’s mainstay at one inch burned. Rich fruitiness moves to second in line. Flavors begin to widen to include a soft-landing zone in the widest regions of my mouth. Don’t retrohale. It will screw up your sinuses permanently. It takes a long time but no one gives up on cigar smoking because a doctor tells you to do so.

Growing up in the 1950’s meant watching The Three Stooges daily after school. Only afterwards, did we go out and play cops and robbers. By the early 60’s, full length motion pictures had Joe Besser taking over for the deceased Curly Joe. It was a little tough accepting Besser as he had big shoes to fill. Seeing the Stooges in a movie theater and in color was a wonderful experience. In ’63, I entered a local Curly Shuffle contest. I came in third. I practiced for weeks. Moe Howard would guest on the local L.A. station KTLA on the Skipper Tom Hatten show in the afternoons. The world stopped in SoCal when Howard showed up. He looked sad. He look tired. And worst of all, he looked old. He was in his 60’s and for kids, it was ancient. But he did his schtick and kids everywhere applauded and laughed. Imagine a world without those special guys.

I gotta fix the wonky burn. Strength is medium.

If I had blind tasted this cigar, I would not have concluded that this is a Nic puro. It reeks of Ecuadorian, Peruvian, and Dominican. How does Gellis do that?

It’s very cool that this is a regular production cigar. And that after promo codes, the cigar hovers around $12.50. A bargain in today’s market.

As the first third ends, I find the blend surprisingly smooth and elegant. I expected something completely different from a Nic puro.

And the cigar goes out. OK so maybe the construction ain’t that hot. But maybe it’s me. Maybe it’s you. I feel like a stumble bum with my efforts to keep things consistent…and I’ve been doing this for 60 years. This is the great frustration of every smoker.

As the first half ends, medium/full strength kicks in. My eyelids begin to flap uncontrollably. My uvula vibrates. The giant tufts of hair on my lobes sway to the beat. The second half will be dangerous.

There is a prickly taste beneath my tongue. It is lime citrus and cinnamon with a hint of nutmeg. We expect lots of spiciness from Nic blends. This one, not so much. It seems to be baking shelf varieties instead of the pepper varieties. I’m surprised that the blend shows refined qualities with only two months of humi time.

I sip coffee seeking influences. Yeah, it works. Gotta be careful when choosing libations. Especially with expensive cigars.

The only time I walked a steel beam I stupidly chose a narrow 4” flange exterior window wall support on the 33rd floor. Without a harness. The wind was whipping. I had to discover a problem with the connections. Making it worse, I had to duck underneath the 3-line cable guardrail cantilevering my entire body into space. Never did that again. If the G.C. had found out, I could have been banned from the job site. You gotta do what you gotta do. The stupid shit you do when you’re young.

While the blend is smooth, it also possesses a crispness. Seems like a dichotomy but I get to evaluate my content and express things that would otherwise get lost in translation of verbally blurted out disconjointed thoughts. This made sense in my head. Moe, Larry, cheese.

Curly craved the company of people. He didn’t want to be alone. Yet, he had few friends.

I began this excursion thinking the cigar might be a flavor bomb. Not even close. Flavors become subliminal in the second half. A hearty baseline that gives the spectrum of richness and complexity a place to flourish. It is transitional only in its development as a good cigar. Never boring. A perfect example of the I like it or I don’t. I like it.

This blend should do very well with extended humidor time. Being a regular production cigar takes the pressure off. Smoke a few too early and you won’t be disappointed. I am considering making this blend one of my go-to’s.

You can purchase the Gellis Family Absolutos in both Toro and Corona Gorda sizes from sponsor Small Batch Cigar. Take 10% off with promo code KATMAN.

RATING: 94

Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS

Tags: cigar reviews, cigar reviews by the katman, cigars, Gellis Family Absolutos Toro | Cigar Reviews by the Katman, katman, kyle gellis, phil kohn