Esteban Carreras Connecticut Robusto (5x50)

This is a cigar that I had overlooked for some time as I smoked other, more interesting, new releases over the past several months. It is a cigar line that is not well known, but I have smoked some of their offers previously and have found them to be acceptable.

This particular cigar presents with dull looking wrapper and white band that does not stand out well. The wrapper has some veins, but I am not overly concerned. It also has a very cardboard feeling quality to it and seems dry to me. A quick inspection tells me that the cigar may be too tight and I am concerned about the draw. The pre light aroma is dusty, but has some sweet character to it. The pre light draw is thin and has some papery flavors.

The cigar opens with a very mild and thin profile that contains some sweet notes of graham cracker, but has a papery and grassy note as well. There is little depth or complexity here, and the balance is off at this point. At the back of the palate there are some whispers of spice, but more papery notes cloak the other flavors that might be present. The draw is tight, as I suspected, but it is manageable to this point. The burn is even, but the ash is a bit flaky.

The first half of the cigar progresses, but slowly. There are some nice characteristics in the front of the profile with graham cracker, cream and some vanilla notes and the balance and complexity are starting to more where I expect them to be. However, the depth of the flavors is an issue for me as they enter the mouth with pep, but leave in a somewhat flat and bitter presentation. At the back of the palate there is still a papery quality to smoke and it leaves me feeling flat about this smoke. The draw is improving, but is still tight. The burn is still nice to this point.

The final half of the cigar really comes apart. The profile transitions into a bitter, chalky presentation of leaves and vegetation. At the back of the palate there are some hints of light pepper, but the papery notes intensify and leave the palate dry. The draw and burn remain as noted in the earlier stages of the smoke.

The finish is middling, showing notes of vegetation, and some bitter light wood flavors.

Appearance- 85 a very modest, average looking smoke
Taste- 81 unfortunately not very good
Construction- 86 just slightly above average in the burn dept., but below in the draw dept.
Strength- 85 a very average mild that does nothing to complement the presentation
Overall- 84, below average