Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sumatra
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Size: 6 x 52 Toro
Strength: Medium/Full
Price: $10.00
Quantity to be Released: 150 bundles of 10 cigars.

My pre-release cigars received 6 months of naked humidor time.

THE WHOLE MEGILLAH:
Can I be an honest critic of this blend? I’m guessing, no. But then you know I would not ask you to buy these cigars if I thought they were subpar. I will not numerically rate this cigar. That would tip the scale on self-serving. So, follow me on what it’s like to smoke a Blue Lightning Sky with half a year of home humidor time.

The Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper’s aromas are full of soft floral notes with sweet overtones of honey-soaked barnyard. Slighter notes contain dark chocolate, candied almonds, and roasted coffee beans.

This is a hefty cigar full of weighty proselytizing factors…er, wait…that’s me. I pierce the toast with my trusty PerfecPunch. I often prefer the smallest of the three punch diameters which is 8mm or 5/16”. A larger hole may create problems later as man goo softens the cap and makes it sloppy. And men never want sloppy.

The airhole blows sweet nothings into my reptilian palate with super dark chocolate, almonds, honey tea, black pepper, nougat, and espresso. The Nic guts are in play.

I’ve held on to this one last cigar like a QB does his endorsement deals. I smoked a chunk of them a few months ago. I never said I was smart, only old. Which I remain to this day.

Nutty start. Earthy with strong notes of chocolate covered espresso beans. Then smaller notes of baking spices, cardamom, and black cherries. The blend is more polished with six months of age on it. It exhibits a lovely refinement. And only $9 after promo code…sorry, I will hold off my shilling till the end.

The char line is razor-like. Smoke fills the space where my afro used to be. Don’t quote me but it feels and tastes like a 1926 Serie Maduro. I smoke Padrons all the time but I’m once again getting ahead of myself. I have 5-1/2” to go. That’s a lifetime when you begin the cigar experience.

There is a dusty chocolate malt flavor. I lick my lips and my eyes smile.

I found some old Curved Air photos that I took that I will post in this review to tamper my oohs and ahhs. The first two pics show our London Covent Garden rehearsal space. In the first one, Sonja is in the background strumming her guitar. And that’s keyboardist Francis Monkman kneeling while praying to the gods of the snare drum. In the second photo, is violinist Darryl Way. We were always telling Way to comb his hair.

Strength begins just shy of medium/full. I realize Paul and I foisted strong cigars on you. But I love a blend with a kick in the pants after dinner to finish out my evening. A mild or medium cigar tastes like air after a big meal. I love smoking a Padron or a Dunbarton Meat Lovers. They cut right through. But I can’t afford to huff these expensive cigars every day. So why not a 2010 priced $10 stick? Right? I know.

I get some rye toast with sweet cream butter. I just finished supper which is a big variation on how I review. I always write a critique early a.m. before I’ve partooken, partaked, had any food. I want to prove the point that this blend cuts through the jam.

Inch one comes to an end. Complex with an earthy heartiness that frames what I like after a meal. The char line is structural, as shown below.

I don’t remember earlier sticks being flavor bombs. Tones hovered around the Nic usuals of chocolate, nuts, espresso, baking spices, creaminess, and black pepper. But they did not have the incredible depth this one possesses.

The mouth feel is decadent. I know Paul doesn’t want to hear this, but I taste a $30 Padron Serie 1926 Maduro. Why not? Why can’t we deliver the same style for a third of the price? Is it a Padron? No, it isn’t. But honestly, I might enter that guess at the top of my list if I was blind tasting it.

No one except me has any photos documenting the band Stark Naked and the Car Thieves. It was the band I joined after being approved by Stewart Copeland, Darryl Way, and Mick Jacques. American singer, George Hatcher joined later. This grainy pic shows the gig in Nottingham. The guy with the ponytail is George. And the guy on stage is my dear friend, Skip Howlett who talked me into going to Europe. It was he that took the second and third photos using my Kodak Instamatic:

Stark Naked and the Car Thieves backstage:

Inch two (30 minutes) amped up the gears into a richer, kinder, and gentler smoke. Strength is medium/full without nicotine in play. It is smooth and deluxe. Same flavors in play but thicker and dense. Transitions are not about more flavors; they are about complexity intensifying.

Yamaha instruments sponsored the first Curved Air tour. Turns out that their equipment was crap. In only one month on the road, the rep had to replace my bass rig three times. Same went for everyone else in the band that agreed to use the fledgling electronics, including the keyboards that Yamaha provided. The rep had a crush on Sonja so he showed up for gigs across Britain and Europe. Constantly telling us his gear was terrific. It got old.

The only difference between the cigar I am smoking and the cigars you bought is that after this final test run, Paul added a little more tobacco to the filler. Just to plump things a bit.

Smoky clouds look like Los Alamos during trial runs. In this case, my nads are safe in case I want to have more children.

The blend is friggin’ delicious. The powdery chocolate is immensely satisfying. As I hoped, the blend breaks on through to the other side of a heavy dinner of pork tenderloin and potatoes.

The finale of inch three is nigh. Strength remains at medium/full. No nicotine so I’m still sane. And then Sammy the Cat pukes up a juicy hairball nearby. And then a second one. Holy shit. I give him some Maalox, a cigarette, and a waffle, and he smiles. I tell him to clean it up. He shows me his hind quarters as he disappears into the sunset.

Like a Padron, the Blue Lightning Sky is not a flavor bomb. It is more than that. Complex, earthy, rich, and flavorful with a wonderfully fatty finish.

The second half will tell all. I gotta be honest. I smoked the July version after only a month and while I liked it, it is not the cigar I am smoking with 6 months of naked humidor time. Patience is a virtue.

Big hunks of ash lay in the ashtray. The burn line remains solid.

This is my only remaining Curved Air tee shirt. Our manager got his money’s worth.

The blend is smoother. Without a single crispy edge. Zero nicotine.

I take my first sip of water. The accentuation of chocolate and espresso is stunning. Black cherries take a foothold along with notes of malt, creaminess, warm cashews, and just a scoche of black pepper.

I have no idea where the good photos of my recording studio in Long Beach have gone. I renovated the place with state-of-the-art digital equipment. The photo below shows the old 8 track board. That’s me and radio DJ Marshall Thomas. I look at my 30-year-old self and wonder how I functioned at all.

The sweet spot hesitates not. It hales three steps above splendid. Sammy arrives with a mop and a dustpan. I forgive him.

This is a photo I took in the dressing room of Stewart and Sonja frolicking. They had become a thing. But she continued to have relations with me. We’d be in the middle of stuff and she would do a monologue about how much she liked Copeland. Women…go figure.

I’m down to the last third. I’ve heard from you about how strong the July release is. It’s because it needs several months of humi time. The quiet solitude softens the approach. It’s almost glossy with nuanced layers and suggestions of something much more expensive. I’m smoking the finished deal. I love it.

Without scruples, I would stack this cigar in my year end list of best cigars.

I am sensitive to nicotine. My vision blurs, my fingers do the macarena, and I can’t think straight. None of that is in play. The last third sees its strength upped to full but it is easily tolerable after a meal. Flavors juxtapose effortlessly along with its earthy heartiness. There is not a lick of harshness or heat. I’m thinking seriously of using my PerfecDraw to nub it. I can’t get enough. Have I mentioned that it’s $9.00 after promo code?

This blend has made me a happy guy. I got you guys a great smoke. The last thing I want is to offer you a blend that doesn’t please you. Only 150 bundles will be offered by end of September. $100 for 10 cigars. 120 bundles sold out in 72 hours. I hope this release lasts longer so everyone can get a taste.

Thank you to Paul Stulac…and thank you, dear readers, for your fierce loyalty. Expect the new cigars to go on sale by the end of September. And only available from Small Batch Cigar.

Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS

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