Wrapper: Ecuadorian Connecticut (aged for 3 years, from 2020)
Binder: Ecuadorian Habano (aged for 3 years, from 2020),
Filler: Nicaraguan Seco Estelï (aged for 3 years, from 2020), Nicaraguan Viso Estelï (aged for 3 years, from 2020), Honduran Seco Jamastran (aged for 3 years, from 2020), Dominican Piloto Cubano (aged for 3 years, from 2020)
Size: 6 x 52 Toro Box Pressed
Strength: Medium
Price: $15.00
My cigars received 5 months of naked humidor time.
BACKGROUND:
From Somm Cigars:
“This cigar, harkening back to France and its renowned Bordeaux region, pays homage to the exceptional white wines of Bordeaux, a realm of greatness and rarity known as White Bordeaux or Bordeaux Blanc.
“Embodying the essence of those illustrious wines, the profile showcases a symphony of roasted nuts, notably almonds and walnuts, enveloped in a luxurious creaminess. The cigar boasts exceptional finesse, elegance, and a commanding presence on the palate, delivering an extraordinary experience meant to be savored daily.”
THE WHOLE MEGILLAH:
I can smell lots of stuff…floral, dried fruit, spicy red pepper, malt, coffee, cocoa, aged cedar, vanilla bean, citrus, ginger, and barnyard.
I like a solid cigar. My wife likes a rich husband. She makes do.
The cold draw presents flavors of chocolate, espresso, red pepper, cream, malted milk, citrus, and ginger.
Resistance? Spankingly good. I don’t need no stinkin PerfecDraw tool. (Dr. Rod sinks into his chair bereft and forlorn. His prosthetic wiener twitches like a boy playing on the playground see saw). This moment cost Dr. Rod $1.37. In 2025, it goes up to $1.40.
Immediate cinnamon, ginger, extensive nuttiness, lemongrass, exotic creaminess, and even more exotic curry notes. It’s bangin’. Then, 60 moments later, there is anise and rye.
The BDX Blanc begins life as a flavor bomb. Damn your eyes, Anna Karenina.
At this early juncture, I’m going out on a limb and saying Vlad outdid himself. I mean look at those gorgeous leaf stats. Go ahead, I’ll wait. They could have gone terribly wrong in the right hands.
Floating notes of cream, vanilla, cedar, and milk chocolate, creating an unparalleled smoothness. Medium strength is so hard to nail. So far, so good.
Speaking of mustiness…ever have sex with your wife on Xmas day and your butt plug accidentally flies across the room striking your cat in the head knocking him out? And when he wakes up, and he’s angry, you hand him a blunt while he taps his claws waiting for you to light it? Me neither.
Progression is on point. You gotta let your cigars ooze oils in the dankness of your humidor. The music in my earbuds has the rhythm of a drunken white man. I’m now swaying to the music. I get dizzy and stop. I dab my eyes with a tampon to wipe away the tears.
The cigar multitasks with flavors of assorted nuts, including walnuts, almonds, and peanuts. It elevates the complexity, while the cigar’s medium body makes it an ideal choice for any occasion…like your nephew’s Bar Mitzvah or his mother’s induction into the KKK as Grand Gurkha.
A long finish develops. It bathes in its own unique distinction. Time passes like a taxi whizzing by that won’t stop for you.
Around the age of 10, I was forced to take accordion lessons and at the same time I was forced to take tap lessons. How I ended up straight is beyond me…
“We had everything we needed. I had a bicycle. We had a car and good food.” …Dean Martin. That could have ended more violently if he had an accordion.
When I was a teen, I took banjo lessons from the Dirt Band’s John McEuen. I went on to test those skills when I would play the ‘Beverly Hillbillies’ theme ad nauseum for my friends. When my parents found out I was playing bluegrass, no longer a need to shell out for braces. These days, every time I speak to McEuen, he thinks I’m someone else.
Imagine you’ve just returned from a long trip across the Syrian Desert with T.E. Lawrence and you’re hungry. You arrive in Aqaba like a piece of dry toast. You are offered any type of meal you desire. First, you drink a cold glass of lemonade. And then you say the hell with food…give me a Somm BDX Blanc Toro Prensado LE. That is what I’m talkin ‘bout.
Have I ever told you the story of when I was younger and played bass with lute player T.E. Lawrence? We were both teens in 1904.
The three years I lived in London, I never saw an ice cube in my drinks. Or worse, every Guinness was a single warm string of brownness.
The cigar’s first half is consumed by idolatry to the unidentifiable thread of injudicious thoughts. I expect the cigar’s second half will follow in undeniable moroseness. Without the levity of course.
I’m totally relaxed. Drifting on a cloud stuffed with lox and bacon. This Somm BDX Blanc has magical powers of healing and redemption. Acupuncture is extra.
I use my PerfecDraw to ream my sinuses so that they can soak it all up. The PerfecRepair glue is for afterwards.
The second half is the sweet spot. I begin singing Kaddish.
Caramel joins the league of nations. The balance is the showstopper here. Sweet lemon is the perfect counterweight.
The sweet butteriness and dried fruit sends me into a spiral as I think of Hamantaschen my mother made. A Jewish cookie served around the holiday of Purim. I was a strange kid. I loved prunes at an early age. But I never connected the dots as to why I effervescently shat myself so much. I remember sitting on the toilet as a kid and staring at that big red rubber enema bag hanging from the shower rod…along with a 10-foot-long hose that had an insertion piece the size of a fist. Something about the 1950’s…I don’t know if it was a Jewish thing or a 50’s thing. But every friend’s house had one of those things in the bathroom. If it was ever used on me, I can’t remember…the memory has been successfully reverse engineered.
I cannot find redemption without over emphasizing how smooth this blend is. Oddly, the first half was covered in the warm sticky juice of being a flavor bomb. Now, the cigar is about balanced complexity and velvety transitional qualities. But you must let your sticks sleep. The reward is there. It is unfair that so many cigars are critiqued too early. I’m as guilty as the next guy…which means we smokers are either building on experience, or we’re just guessing. You pick.
If you purchase the Somm BDX Blanc Toro Prensado LE, do the absolute must ‘Let’s See’ smoke…curse out loud that you just wasted a good cigar, and then forget about them. Pretend you’re my age.
Vlada Stojanov always produces fine cigar blends that are affordable, tasty, and complex. You should check out his entire line. I’ve reviewed his Rioja (95), Sommelier Premier Cru (100), and BDX Robusto (96). Read my reviews here.
You can purchase Somm cigars in a variety of blends from sponsor Small Batch Cigar (10% off with promo code ‘katman’).
RATING: 95
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Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS
i was traumatized by that red bag while visiting my grandmother in 72. No idea what is was .
With my last name being what it is, I was educated by my middle school buddies when that became my nickname for a bit..fun
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Something I am discovering while smoking cigars is that I don’t particularly enjoy super light cigars, even if they are highly reviewed sticks.
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Copy that, son.
Phil
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