Unfortunately I discovered a little over a year ago that these just are not as good as they used to be. It was to my great disappointment, as this cigar had been in my top 10 for 2007 and 2008. I believe that the tobacco changed and our boy Rocky thought he could slip one by us, the result at the end of 2008 and beginning of 2009 was an inferior cigar. I bought an entire box and was disgusted by the cigar, my only option was to lay them down and hope that they would get better.
This cigar is from a box that was purchased in October of 2008. I have only smoked one, right at the end of 2008, and it was wretched. This second cigar from the box presents well with a nice toothy wrapper that is almost black in color. I inspect the cigar and find some nice signs of aging, which is an encouraging trait in a cigar that you are hoping will come along. There are no signs of construction issues and there are no flaws in the wrapper, making the visual experience all the better. The pre light aroma has notes of chocolate and pepper. The pre light draw is very earthy, but shows some light presence of chocolate as well.
The cigar opens with a nice profile of tobacco, earth and light pepper and cocoa undertones. The depth of the flavors is acceptable, but the complexity and balance is lacking a bit. At the back of the palate there are some nice flavors of wood and earth, but again the balance is lacking. The draw is far too loose, and I notice that the roll of the cigar continues to loosen as the smoke continues. The burn is crooked from the start and the ash is flaky and chalky in texture and appearance.
The first third of the cigar continues to show some nice flavors of tobacco, earth and light cocoa but the overall impression begins to sour by the end of the first segment. At the back of the palate there are still some nice notes of wood and some spice shows through, but the flavors do not add or compliment the smoke in any way. The draw continues to deteriorate and there is heat very early in the smoke. The burn continues to wander and the ash drops flotsam all over my newly cleaned white shirt.
The middle third of the cigar begins the abysmal spiral that I feared from the beginning. The profile shows notes of charred tobacco and wood and there are sour notes permeating the experience. At the back of the palate the deterioration is complete and acrid notes are booming forward at an alarming rate. The draw continues to loosen and I am not sure what is holding the cigar together. The burn is lopsided and flaky, continuing to coat me in ash as if I escaped some Polynesian eruption.
The final third of the cigar is not worth much mention as the deterioration was complete. The finish is also not worth discussing as I rush to find my next smoke so as to purge the horrid remembrances of this rocket. The sad thing is these have improved with age! The nice thing is I still have half a box, minus two, to look forward to, excuse me while I transfer these into my Moochidor...
Appearance- 90 a very attractive looking smoke, too bad looks aren't everything
Taste- 77 the only redeeming qualities were in the first third of the smoke
Construction- 72 the draw and burn were inferior
Strength- 85 difficult to accurately rate this, so I go with average
Overall- 78.75 this is not good...enough said
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