Paul 84 – Light brown wrapper with a little tooth, minimal veins, rich toasted tobacco aroma on the wrapper, excellent looking cap, some soft spots, light grass on the excellent cold draw. First 1/3: Sweetness, coffee and cream, smooth, a little spice on the finish, dark gray ash, mild plus strength, medium body, long chili pepper finish, excellent draw, scalloped burn line, medium amount of thin smoke. Second 1/3: The chili pepper recedes a bit, but still prominent, toasted tobacco, lots of very hot chili pepper on the retrohale, ouch, chili pepper ramping up again, dryness in the mouth, burn corrects, leather, less smoke. Last 1/3: The chili pepper dominates all other flavors.
Rob 91 – Here is a light brown robusto. It has minimal veins with tight invisible seams. There is a triple cap crowning a very smooth, slightly oily wrapper. The stick is providing a good draw. Sparked up: It has mild to medium body, with a mouth full of smoke loaded with white pepper. At ten minutes, it is showing a slow burn with a which ash and sharp burn. The pepper has faded and has been replaced with a bevy of roasted nuts. At half way, it still exhibits a mild to medium body with a smooth roasted nut flavor. I’m now getting a slight white pepper on the back of my tongue. It still has a sharp burn. The end finished up with the same nice smooth smoke, but without the presence of the pepper, which has disappeared. This was a very pleasant smoke.
Jim 89 – A medium brown wrapper with a clearly visible triple cap. In a cold draw I can taste raisins and hay. Initial flavors are bakers spice, vanilla and a finish of some mint-like spice on the tongue. Ash is looking like a stack of dimes and is firm. Burn is slightly uneven but sharp. I rarely say this in any of my reviews but the smell that is emanating from this cigar is actually really good on its own. About halfway in, the flavors shift and I am now picking up gingerbread and licorice as the mint spice is almost not even present as the cigar has now become more creamy. I am finding this cigar very interesting and I am really enjoying the flavors. I’d say this is a medium strength cigar at best. After the last transition the cigar stayed pretty consistent until the end. Overall a pretty decent smoke!
Artie 91 – With a beautiful, rust-colored (colorado) wrapper that is oily to the max, this robusto is very enticing. Cold nose is pleasantly pungent, the draw is perfect, and the filler shows no stems at all. Can’t wait to light this bad boy… With a nice draw, this cigar lights easily and puts out ample smoke. The first inch delivers a slight red chili spice, along with a creamy, smokey, woodsy kind of flavor. The ash is a bit flakey, but there is a perfectly pointed “cinder cone”. Mid way the spice gives way to a creamy, custard-like finish with notes of roasted cashews. The aroma is delicious. As I approach the nub, a spicy, tongue-tingling sensation is ever-present. This cigar really amps up the flavor near the end, and the strength builds into a true, medium to full cigar.
Will 89 – 5.25 x 52 robusto with a dark colorado wrapper, nicely rolled with a triple cap. The cold nose drew 2 sneezes with its red pepper and barnyard aroma. The cold draw was wide open and had more horse than spice. Upon ignition I am getting dried sulphured fruit like pluots with a tangy citrus finish. At about 10 minutes in I am getting a sweet nutty profile that tastes like pistachio ice cream. Lots of smoke on this stick and it has a great draw. Initially this smoke has a medium body and mellow strength but both seem to ramp up at the 30 minute mark. The pistachio has given way to roasted cashew with a lemony zing on the finish. Overall a nice smoke, I’ll give it a 1 on the wow factor.
