Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
Binder: Brazilian Mata Fina
Filler: Honduran, Nicaraguan
Size: 6.25 x 46 Lonsdale
Strength: Medium/Full
Price: $20.35
Date Released: Originally 2012
Quantity Released: Regular Production
Factory: La Gran Fabrica Drew Estate
My cigars received 6 months of naked humidor time.
THE WHOLE MEGILLAH:
This stick barely has aromas. I can pick out mild barnyard and that’s it. The fantail smiles at me until my PerfecPunch beheads it.
The cold draw is mild with light notes of chocolate, green grapes and barnyard.
First puffs detect a very woody texture along with some earthiness, dark chocolate, malt, and espresso. So, nothing mind bending.
I reviewed this cigar in 2015. I loved it. But then I report that Drew Estate sent me the cigars along with a nice ball cap. Hmm. Was I a stooge? Probably. But as recently as 10 years ago, it was common for manufacturers to send reviewers free cigars. Everyone got them. I wasn’t special. Well, I am, but not in the way you’re thinking. Or maybe I am.
I checked out some reviews. 75% thought the cigar was only so-so. The other side of the fence loved it. Those that did allowed the cigar to age. There is a delicate balance when it’s right to smoke a blend at its height. No cigars are ready to smoke on receipt and while we all know it, we can’t help ourselves. Self-loathing follows after wasting a good cigar. But some cigars age out. This is not the first time I’ve called out Viaje for that. They seem to be dead ringers for a fence post after a year. The golden hour for Farkas’s blends seems to lay at 6 months to 9 months.
I now get chocolate Bapka with rye seeds and salt.
The thing that will give this double sawbuck stick the edge is complexity and depth. So far, there is none of that as I finish the first half inch.
We were in Amsterdam looking for hash because the Paradiso Club was closed on Mondays. Damn! The band’s American lyricist, a very nice older lady (40), told us where her connection was. She gave us a map. Yes, she traveled with the band. Her name was Norma Tager. She died an untimely death from cancer. Sweet woman. And my only other Jewish comrade in London.
Stewart Copeland and I took off on our journey. The city is peppered with canals which are used for both travels but are also lined with thousands of house boats.
You could always tell where to buy weed because the houseboat had it growing on its roof. A not very subtle advertising gimmick. But you didn’t know its quality; so, you took your chances. And even though we were all on the management payroll and “rock stars,” we were still relatively poor. Magical management accounting ledgers.
As the first inch dissolves into history, its positive thoughts bring forth some complexity that rounds out the corners. I am a simple man. I need to know how much a cigar costs for me to review it. I understand the reasoning for blind tasting but does that take the bias out of the reviewer? I don’t think so.
The map got us hopelessly lost. And we started knocking on doors of houseboats asking for directions. One boat invited us in, and we were shocked at what we saw.
An American man in his 50’s, garbed like a feudal king, was sitting on an honest to God regal throne. Gathered at his feet, were half a dozen young boys in their underwear. The décor was a homage to Liberace. The walls were covered in photos of partially clothed young men. It was like being in the middle of Satan’s lair. He kindly gave us the right directions and then we did a Three Stooges shtick of trying to get out the door…elbowing each other. Amsterdam was a strange place in the 70’s.
Goodness is kicking in. Like the dumbfuck I am, I smoked one about a week after receipt. I smoked an inch and put it down. After smoking for 60 years, you’d think I’d be smarter. You’d be wrong.
I taste the Connie Broadleaf. Since I can’t remember anything before I woke up this morning, I can’t give you a sommelier’s version of what this means. I just taste it and think of Saka. He’s the master of this leaf. By the way, he doesn’t send me shit. Ever.
The woodiness is spectacular. I never say that. It’s not cedar. Since I don’t lick a lot of wood, I cannot pin it down. But the taste places me in a lumbermill after a storm.
We got to the right boat. I impressed upon Stew that he should knock instead of just announcing we were there. But nobody told Stew anything. And Stew was a big guy; so, he had a false sense of power. We were young.
The door opened, a fist was thrown into Stew’s face, and he crumpled like a cheap suit. I charged the big burly man and gave him one punch to the neck. I was aiming at his nose but my fro sometimes got in the way of bar fights.
I stepped over his squirmy body that had Copeland’s foot on it and walked over to a big desk. On top was a chunk of hashish the size of a dinner plate and about 2” thick. I broke off a piece, put some Guilders down to pay for it and told Stew to count to five so I could get out of there ahead of him.
Our felled dealer’s roommate showed up and apologized for him. As an apology, he offered to take us back to our hotel across town. He pointed to a dinghy tied to the houseboat. It was the same size as the one Tom Hanks used in the movie, “Splash.” Maybe 6 feet long and 4 feet wide.
The canal was rough from all the tourist boats. We bobbed up and down and swished from side to side. We thought we were going to die. It took 20 minutes and I couldn’t hear Stewart’s screams over mine.
We got back to the hotel totally seasick. We handed the hash to the other band members and then Stew and I retired to our rooms to lay down. We had a concert that night and so we rested, knowing our mission was successfully completed.
The first half was refined and classy once past the first inch. The flavors can be ignored as they filled the menu of any typical cigar that starts with chocolate. There is a wonderful rich quality. Strength began at medium but by the end of inch number two, it is a hearty medium/full. As the second half begins, strength alters my vision.
The burn is good. A straight cut of a char line. The roll is slow. Rollers that knew what they were doing constructed these cigars.
Copeland and I always smoked hash in a pipe. Europeans and Brits rolled cigarette filled joints. I was unable to do that as tobacco made me dizzy and ill. In the middle of the last song of the night, the violinist did a long solo which was the rhythm section’s excuse to put a packed pipe in our mouths and huff like bunny rabbits. We went back onstage totally blitzed and finished the tune. It was not uncommon for Curved Air to get several encores. Thankfully, the head roadie would refill the pipe for us so that we had respite in the dressing room.
The blend is now elegant. But it is not especially unique. It’s a solid cigar that takes its price tag seriously. Its Velvet moniker accurately describes the blend.
Despite the cigar not being a big cigar, it takes its time. The first half took 45 minutes.
I’m still hoping that I have an encounter with Copeland when his 66 city speaking tour hits Milwaukee on July 30. I don’t expect to hear from him or his man, Gio until a week before. I have no idea what to wear. Should I get a nice blazer with a rock ‘n roll tee shirt? Or go in cutoffs and a foam cheesehead. The tour is being filmed. I want to look stunning the way that only a 76-year-old man can. Stew is 2 years my junior. He is also touring with an orchestra playing tunes by The Police and slamming away at his drums like a young man. No idea how he does that at his age.
The second half is delicious. The strength is kicking my ass. I still have a couple of inches to go. I hang a spittoon around my neck just in case.
Despite the full tilt strength offsetting my enjoyment of the cigar, I choogle right down to the nub because it is a tasty morsel. Is it worth $20? Maybe. Depends on your finances. Is it a special occasion cigar? No. As I said, it is an elegant smoke but if you are a curious smoker, there are options for you.
Sponsor Cigar Page sells the Liga Privada Único Serie Velvet Rat. If you have a Cigar Page Plus membership, the cigar is $14 in a fiver and $13 in a 10-count box. You can read about membership HERE.
RATING: 94
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Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS
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