Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sumatra
Binder: Connecticut Broadleaf
Filler: Nicaraguan Jalapa and Estelí
Size: 5 x 50 Robusto ~ Box Pressed
Strength: Full
Price: $15.50
Date Released: Debuted in 2023 and then rebranded from Metapa to Askum in February 2024
Quantity Released: Regular Production
Factory: Tabacalera Fernandez Nicaragua
My cigars received 5 months of naked humidor time.
THE WHOLE MEGILLAH:
Both the Maduro and Claro cigars are slick looking. A nearly sharp box press with a huge pigtail on its cap. The cigars are firm with serious weight, have oily appearances, and a minimum of veins.
I like that the cigars are shipped without cellos. It requires us to take extra special care but then we are not animals, so we cope.
Aromas from the wrapper exude notes of dark chocolate, espresso, baking spices, barnyard, blackstrap molasses, and sandalwood. Note: These cigars are manufactured by AJ Fernandez.
Removing a large pigtail can be daunting. I have no fear as I use the PerfecPunch. Tasking the 11mm(7/16”) punch, it easily takes the cap without damaging the pretty pigtail.
Reviews are mixed for this blend. This only means that the cigar is not consistent. Never a good sign. And as it comes in at the 2025 median price of $15.50, you have a million choices to spend your wife’s money.
The cold draw is all about chocolate malted milk. A throwback to the 1950’s where I spent my childhood. We loved our hot Nestles but the powdery additive to cold glasses of milk never fully dissolved. Even kids with little choices stuck their noses in the air and preferred Hershey’s chocolate syrup for their lactose fix. We made up for this inedible version when we hit the movie theaters and bought chocolate malted milk balls. There is also some cool mint in play as I draw air from the stick. And notes of cinnamon, clove, espresso beans, cedar, and black pepper.
My industrial sized fans and air purifiers are blasting, so I’m good to go. I’m caffeined up. I peed. And my hair is combed.
It is difficult to judge the judges who previously reviewed this blend. No one divulges how long they possessed their cigars. A month? A year? 5 minutes? I smoked a couple too early. Both the Maduro and Claro need several months of home incarceration before being taken seriously.
First up is a huge swath of chocolate powder. As kids, we would sneak into the pantry and take gullets full of Ovaltine for a quick fix. This is the Aksum Maduro at first swipe.
Initially, this blend could be any number of AJ blends. But the Connie Broadleaf binder gives it a nice edge that makes me think of Dunbarton. A twist on a theme.
The Braintrust convened at my house in Long Beach: Butch Patrick, David Glenn, Rick Martin, and I. We were in the final phase of organizing the music video for the single, “Whatever Happened to Eddie?” It was a warm sunny afternoon. We smoked us some joints, just enough toot to put up with each other, and a few Diet Cokes. I ordered pizza.
The burn ain’t so hot. An inconvenient truth to all my samples. The char line is irregular but I hold back using a torch to fix it. If it doesn’t self-correct, I will step in. The burn is moving like wildfire. The heft of this cigar belies this unpleasant reality.
The chocolate dominates. Black coffee, cedar, cinnamon, and black pepper take up the slack.
My front door was open. Through the screen door, we heard a monumental car crash. I was near the door when it happened and saw a car hitting the dip in the road and then flying out of control. The car had to have been going 60mph. Glenn’s car was parked on the curb and received a direct hit from behind. It projected his car a hundred yards before rolling to a stop. The aggressors had just robbed a liquor store and were making their getaway.
The char line corrects itself. I dab my forehead with a hemorrhoid wipe. The sweat makes a beeline for the cleft in my arse.
I love the chocolate. It is nearly infusion-like but without the cloying sweetness. In fact, it tastes like the old Hershey Bittersweet chocolate bars; renamed as Dark Chocolate. I’m betting that this is merely suggestive but I taste tiny marshmallows that give this blend a creamy overtone. And then more flavors fall in line: lime zest, brown sugar, clove, nougat, graham cracker, and a sudden depth that was missing in the first inch. As you can see below, the char line is reactive to my complaints:
The quick burn slows. Clearly, that first inch did not receive proper filling. This happens once in a while. It seems to happen when a cigar is mass produced and the best rollers are not used.
The sound system in the stolen car was blasting hip hop. Concert level. Four guys fled from the crashed car in different directions. One ran up my driveway and into my backyard. Another guy flew through my screen door, flooring me. He ran out the back door. The cops were only seconds behind.
Some reviewers dismissed the cigar outright while others made the blend their betrothed. I believe timeliness is the answer. A lot of critics waste no time in dissing a cigar that came out weeks or only a month earlier. I will jump the gun if a cigar is worthy of your attention but to nail it to the cross without sufficient home aging, that’s just dumb.
A lush blend. Full of sophisticated and distilled flavor points while reaching deep down and providing depth.
The cops drove just as fast down my residential street and encountered the same dip. Their cars flew into the air. Butch, David, Rick, and I were on the floor of my living room deafened by the hip hop. And then I yelled, “The DOPE!!” We all scrambled to the upright position and started throwing weed, little gram bottles, and paraphernalia into drawers and behind the couch. A clown car line of cops ran through my living room yelling, “Where are they? Where are they?” In unison, while still holding the evidence, we pointed at my back door.
I’m reminded of Paul Stulac Red Screaming Sun and the Stulac Blue Lightning Sky Katman Edition. $5 less. And if I may shill for a moment, the Stulac/Katman cigar will return in two weeks for a very limited time. $9 after promo codes.
The first half was dicey. It began with a maudlin approach that had me fearing I had a dud. The blend bounced back admirably with a complex and transitional quality that possibly makes this a go-to cigar. Rich and swanky. The second half will tell the truth.
We dusted ourselves off and went out front. We saw a dozen cop cars parked precariously everywhere. Doors open. Sirens on. And nobody anywhere. The neighbors were annoyed at the crash, to put it mildly, but even more so with the loud music coming from the stolen car. I walked over and turned it off. Some freaked and told me that maybe the cops needed that as evidence. I rolled my eyes.
The cigar falls from my ashtray. I pick it up and falls into the ashtray. Is the cigar trying to escape and evade? Dunno.
David saw his car a football field away and brought his hands to his face. We walked down the block where the crushed tin can was still in its death throes spitting water from its radiator and leaking gas from the tank. The length was reduced to no more than 6 feet. It had been accordioned into an empty sardine can.
Foundation calls the strength as full. Yet, the first half never exceeded medium. Into the early stages of the second half, the strength becomes medium/full. Not a lick of nicotine. Every appendage on my body works perfectly. The cigar never required multiple sips of water. Always a good thing.
15 minutes later, the cops returned. They had two guys in cuffs. The other two got away. The police captain was there and spoke at length with me. He cringed while asking how fast his officers were traveling. I told him, he grimaced and shook his head. He apologized profusely to David who was in shock. Butch was white. Rick was laughing uncontrollably. I was shaken up as my house became a thoroughfare for crooks while being the scene of the crime. The next day, I was out back and found a knit cap that one of the robbers lost in the fray. I kept if for years. Until the fun had worn off and I finally inspected it for cooties.
This was a good cigar, if not great. But with so many choices for your $15, it is hard to give it the dog whistle of 96. If I were you, I’d head to Paul Stulac and try the Red Screaming Sun or the White Blinding Light or the Classic line. All excellent cigars that run $9 after promo code KATMAN. The Stulac/Katman cigars are merely a whisper away as of this writing. Stay tuned.
You can purchase Foundation Aksum Maduro or Claro from sponsor Small Batch Cigar. Take 10% off with promo code KATMAN.
RATING: 92
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