Paul Stulac Cigars White Blinding Light
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano Maduro
Binder: Nicaraguan Criollo 98
Filler: Nicaraguan Viso & Double Ligero
Size: 6 x 52 Toro
Strength: Full
Price: $10.50

THE WHOLE MEGILLAH:
Between 2012-2014, I reviewed 15 Paul Stulac blends. Every blend was a champion. It was time to revisit the Paul Stulac line while we are still in the waning period of paleolithic man. I would like to introduce Paul Stulac Cigars to those of you who may not have had the chance to partake. You can visit my reviews here.

Around 2016, Paul receded from the big industry pow wow because it required undying fealty to the Great Green Gobs of Greasy Grimy Gopher Greed. Where profits are everything and honesty is a passing phase. Paul has never looked back. His business thrives more today than yesterday. Paul is a man that does not suffer fools. Paul is a serious man. And yet he still considers me a friend.

Paul works from his home in Canada producing not only the blends I fell in love with, but exciting new blends as well. He still maintains an office in Miami. While I maintain an office in Mayberry.

I was a man on a rampage when I reviewed the White Blinding Light in 2013. I smoked these cigars two at a time. I consumed each release like it was Hanukkah, National STD Observance, and Christmas combined. I bought my 2024 WBL sticks from Cup O’ Joes a month ago. I’ve not purchased cigars from this online retailer in the past…but the whole gamut from roaming the webpages to shipping and receiving went better than I could hope for. It took 4 days for my cigars to arrive.

The pronounced oils in the Ecuadorian Habano Maduro’s wrapper enhances the cigar-to-nose experience. Fatty notes of floral, honeysuckle, grape jam, peppery spices, dense mushroom, and buttery and salty Ritz Crackers.

The draw is bonkers good. Exactly the resistance I want and need. I thrust my bored PerfecDraw into a cantaloupe to keep it happy. I tell the PD tool not to throw the melon away. I have needs.

How do you not stare when a German super model decides to change clothes in the band’s dressing room. How do you maintain being a gentleman while leering from the other side of your mouth? If I’d known this would happen, I would have spent hours enthusiastically passive at band rehearsals while Sonja did it. Super models are cool. Female rock stars, not bad either.

I love how the WBL scolds me at the front door. A tease. Immediate notes of sweet tobacco and mild black pepper…with a weighty tobacco cypher in the early stages of promising complicated conclusions.

The cigar is built like a shit brick house. I’ve reveled in never having to question the construction of a Paul Stulac cigar.

If you were in a cover band from 1966-2010, you had to include Jimi’s “Red House” in your set. It was not an option. It was the only song in which every bass player preternaturally closed his eyes and just grooved.

Speaking of a slow groove, the WBL moves like a slow and graceful marmot about to spread its wings.

An inch in. The treasure chest opens. Honeysuckle, milk chocolate, mild red pepper, and New York egg cream. 11 years ago, I declared that I got the fizzy delight on my taste buds from the WBL. It hasn’t changed. The egg cream is Fox’s U-Bet chocolate flavor syrup, cold whole milk, and Three Stooges seltzer water. Once a psychic snapshot of a NYC kosher deli is in your head, it is impossible to send it on its way.

Flavor arenas are fanning as I remember Mussolini’s famous quote on his last day in office: “Anyone got a cigar?” It’s like sticking your hand into the bottom of your Cracker Jack box and retrieving two prizes. It’s that good. If you’ll be my Dixie chicken, I’ll be your Tennessee lamb.

Tasty notes are subordinate to the richness of this beautifully aged cigar. I rarely allowed my early reviews to see more than a month or two of home aging. Was I impatient or was I entranced by the wizardry of the Stulac?

I signed several recording deals under duress. I was brought into the managing director’s office…which is very intimidating for a young musician. And then I was handed a pen while the Suit told me to sign a 30-page contract. I asked to read it, but the mutter futter was tapping his foot and making sounds that oozed impatience. So, being the awestruck kid I was, I shrugged and sold my soul to the devil. I got a little smarter later. Not much though…

Here goes: Egg Cream, smoky meatiness, cumin, honeysuckle, jalapenos, a rich earthiness like the sands of the Gobi, maple butter, green bell pepper, and warm chestnuts from a vendor in Marylebone.

Flavors are subtle. The richness of the blend is not. I’ve barely gotten past the first third. 45 minutes to get here. Slow hand.

You have to finish every sentence with ‘y’all’ to be able to play Free Bird.

I tap out from my drivel so I can finish the first half. I want only my tunes and my slow-moving heartbeat to be in my ears while I savor this light blinding cigar.

Paul sent the following info to me. This is what happens when you try to sell a cigar in Canada. “Plain Packaging: Death of the Cigar Band In Canada.”

Smooth nuanced flavors. Blended with the forethought of being slyly finessed. A perfect salutation between savory and sweet. Yeah, sly best describes this blend.

This is one of the best cigars I’ve smoked.

The second half begins with a flourish. It’s going to get better. It’s because I know things.

Based on time with the first half, this will easily be a 2-1/2 hour cigar. It’s everything I had hoped.

The excitement rages as I do myself a solid and let the cigar rest for a couple minutes between puffs. My hand trembles as I bring the cigar to lips the same way it shakes when I pass a $50 bill to the McDonalds cashier. And receive no change.

Charlotte and I saw Joe Bonamassa at The Riverside Theater in Milwaukee. The sound sucked. And Joe was pissed off that the place wasn’t sold out. Joe was pissed off that keyboardist Reese Wynans chose to play that night with The Fab T-Birds in Miami instead of with him. Joe played like he was pissed off. Never again.

If you don’t introduce yourself to Paul Stulac cigars, well you are no friend of mine. If you don’t take the easy step to try Paul Stulac blends for the first time, you are a silly goose. For only $10-$12, you will not find a better cigar anywhere. Paul Stulac…a dying breed. A breed that produces the best cigars money can buy. A breed that isn’t looking to gouge the shit out of you…just because they can.

A full tilt cigar that is easy on the brain. Zero harshness.

RATING: 98

Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS