This is an ultra premium cigar from the folks at Tabacalera Garcia. This particular cigar came from an unopened box with 3-5 years of humidor aging. It looks majestic with it's dark coffee colored wrapper and bright white band. The cigar is firm and toothy, but an inspection shows that it is supple and screaming to be smoked. The pre light aroma is an enticing mix of dark fruit and rich tobacco. The pre light draw shows some sweet earth and rich tobacco flavor.
The cigar opens with blasts of black cherry mingling with rich tobacco flavors. At the back of the palate there are excellent flavors of dark wood and earthy tones that offset some of the fruity sweetness from the front of the palate. The draw is nice, but I would prefer it to be a touch looser. The burn is sharp and even, and produces a crisp white ash.
The first third of the cigar shows little development, but it is a nice continuation of the opening moments. There are some black cherry notes, but primarily rich tobacco flavors, in the core profile. At the back of the palate some more notes of dark wood are showing through, giving the cigar a very smoky flavor characteristic. The draw continues to be just a but tight, but it is not causing issues. The burn is very impressive, and continues in razor sharp fashion holding a ponderous ash for two inches.
The middle third of the cigar picks up strength wise, moving from a solid medium into a more full showing. The profile has transitioned into a straight forward show of rich tobacco notes, that lacks some complexity while maintaining nice depth. At the back of the palate the tobacco flavors permeate and overwhelm the notes of wood that were previously noted. The draw has not opened any further, but it is not distressing the experience. The burn catches a little, but it evens out with no interference from me.
The final third of the smoke continues to be straight forward and I find myself wanting more complexity. The straight forward tobacco presentation continues in both the core profile and at the back of the palate. All in all though the cigar is still enjoyable. The draw and burn remain the same throughout the experience.
The finish is long, but shows a bit of harshness. There are notes of rich tobacco present.
Appearance- 93 a very nice looking smoke
Taste- 88 a nice profile, but more depth and complexity are needed
Construction- 91 some points off for draw, but other than that excellent
Strength- 90 I thought this was excellent, but could have used more power
Overall- 90.25 just nosing into the 90's makes this an excellent experience
Very apt description of the profile. I concur.
ReplyDelete