Paul 94 – Chocolate brown mottled wrapper with medium veins, nicely executed cap, light tobacco aroma on the wrapper, entire cigar is very soft, cut both head and closed foot, good resistance on the draw, dark fruit and sweetness. First 1/3: Toasted tobacco, coffee and cream, sweetness, black pepper comes and goes, medium amount of thin smoke, very light gray ash, slightly uneven burn line, draw alternates between excellent and loose, medium strength, body and finish, sweetness and pepper fade, malt, mild retrohale, smooth with hints of acidity. Second 1/3: More volume of smoke, woody notes fade in and out, black pepper on the retrohale, creamy. Last 1/3: Medium strength and body, long finish, very smooth, some pepper on the lips, malt, coffee and cream with a good acidic balance, ash gets a little flaky. A very enjoyable smoke with excellent balance and interest.
Rob 81 – The pre-light cigar has a soft spongy feel to it. There are some visible veins with tight invisible seams. The perfecto has two closed ends, both cap and foot. Its’ color is between a light Connecticut and Colorado brown. There are several layers to the cap, but cannot tell how many as they were quite sloppily applied. The light up was very easy, as the tobacco took immediately. I am getting a bitter aftertaste to start, but as I got to the first 1/3, the bitterness took a back seat to a mild smoke. From the 1/2 way point to the finish of the stick there was a ton of smoke. It was quite mellow, however, the flavor left a bit to be desired. One dimensional creamy tobacco flavor. Light to medium in body, so there was not just much here to encourage me to revisit this specific cigar again.
Jim 90 – An interesting shaped box pressed cigar but tapered like a torpedo. Both ends of the cigar are capped!! Just for fun I only cut the head (next to the band) and tried to light it but I had a hard time getting a decent enough draw to continue. So I ended cutting the foot, lit it up and got a decent draw. I am initially getting a savory smooth smoke. I’m tasting smoked meat, dried fruit and a little cinnamon on the finish. Very nice blend and I’m initially enjoying the flavors. The draw is great, the burn started out razor sharp and then went totally uneven. It has since realigned somewhat better without assistance. The strength is mild to medium. Past the halfway mark and there is a flavor shift. I am now picking up some semisweet cocoa and the cinnamon finish is becoming more predominate. The cigar is also gaining strength. Into that last third, the savory flavors totally dropped off. Its actually get more of a minty chocolate flavor. Overall, this was an interesting cigar. I definitely enjoyed the first half better than the second half but overall really good. I got to say that I am intrigued by the double cap on both sides of this cigar and the transitions in flavors. What experience would it have been if I could smoke this from the other end?
Artie 85 – This is a strange looking cigar. Both ends are capped, and without the band it’s impossible to tell which end to light. It’s a box pressed diadema (both ends are tapered), and the wrapper is absolutely beautiful. Colorado in color, it is silky smooth with no veins. The seams are invisible. After cutting both ends, I found the draw to be very tight. But cutting away more of the foot (I think is was the foot), provided enough draw to get this stick lit. Having done so, each puff gives me an effervescent tingle on my tongue. I have, however, needed to resort to the PerfecDraw cigar tool to remove some compacted tobacco in the head. One extraction was enough to do the trick and the draw is now acceptable. As this cigar starts to get going, I get a strong cardamom flavor. It reminds me of the hot pickle relish I get at the Indian restaurant. But now I must resort to the PerfecDraw yet again…this stick has started to close up like the self-healing fuel tank of a P51 Mustang fighter. This time I had to dig halfway down the stick to penetrate a hard spot of compacted tobacco. But the draw has opened up again. 1/3 of the way in, the cigar has taken on a bitter chocolate character. As I continue to smoke, the bitterness subsides, and a meaty, black pepper quality has taken over. Near the nub, the flavor remains strong with some flavor evolution. When all is said and done, this was a cigar with strong flavor, but not a profile that I particularly enjoy. The construction was regrettable.
Will 82 – 6.5 x 60 gordo perfecto with nice milk chocolate wrapper, tapered to nipples at both ends and capped with a slight box press. Very solidly packed and heavy in hand, wrapper had a light oil sheen. I had to break out a guillotine cutter for this one as my trusty V cutter took a siesta. I clipped both ends ever so slightly and was amazed that the cold draw was so good, just a hint of firmness. The cold draw had a tangy umami flavor. Using a dual flame torch I lit this big boy up and was rewarded with an earthy mineral infused tang reminiscent of Cuban tobacco. Once the cigar opened up a bit and began to burn I got a very creamy taste like coffee and heavy cream. Very little smoke for such a gordo yet the draw is good, go figure. So far this stick is pretty creamy and very mild, very deceiving because I expect power out of such a massive cigar. About 15 minutes in and this stick is showing some other flavors like roasted cashews along with coffee and cream. The burn is absolutely terrible, in a very light breeze this big perfecto is starting to canoe, I head for the garage to get out of the 2MPH gale. This helps a bit and the cigar seems to correct itself. At the half way point everything is status quo, none of that umami that I experienced on the cold draw, very disappointed as I expected great things from this smoke. The best part of this cigar was the way it looked.
