Thursday was spend a bundle on car repair day, so after I was done straightening my back from bending over to hold my ankles I decided that it was time to have a smoke and relax while plotting the demise of everyone associated with the automobile industry. Seriously, has there ever been a greater or more ingenious scam perpetrated on the American public (aside from the current resident of the White House, WTF....)? The car was developed with planned obsolescence in mind, and boy do they make us pay for that plan. Every time I turn around it is another $500 or $1000 going out to replace this or that. What does this have to do with cigars you might ask? Simple, the more I spend keeping myself mobile the less I spend keeping myself relaxed with a nice cigar!
This cigar is right in my car pool lane. This is my favorite size for a smoke. These sizes always deliver plenty of flavor and seldom show any smoking issues in any area. I have always felt that the smaller rings are just the purest delivery of wrapper vs. filler/binder and the taste is often times legendary. The cigar itself is very well made. The wrapper is dark and has a nice sheen to it, there are some variations in the color that make it look like a swirling pool of chocolate, similar to a Snickers commercial. It feels like it might be too firm, but I can't find any plugs or soft areas. The pre light aroma is heavy with coffee notes. The pre light draw is peppery, but has some nice cocoa undertones.
The cigar opens with some flavors that are not well refined and are lacking in depth. The profile shows some scatterings of promise with some pepper, earth and cocoa notes, but they never gel into anything worth ohhhing about. At the back of the palate there is some bitterness early on that has some aspirin like qualities to it. The burn is right on the money early on. The draw is tight, but solid to this point and I am not thinking about issues.
The first half of the cigar shows little development. The profile continues with some flavors of earth, pepper and light cocoa, but there is no revelation of anything better or more refined. Illusione has impressed me before with robust and flavorful little packages, like the MK, but this one is not on the same planet. At the back of the palate there are still some bitter tones, and they are accompanied by a sharp wood flavor here. The draw is still too tight, and there is some heat coming into the smoke at this point, I slowed it down here to protect the experience without letting it go charred or scorched. The burn is exceptional and the ash holds on like a champ until the midway point.
The final half of the cigar is still a let down. The profile never shows any development and stays very static. The flavors are not unpleasant, they are just not well developed and can't provide a full experience. The main body continues to show earth, pepper and cocoa. At the back of the palate there are still some sharp wood notes and aspirin like bitter flavors that are creeping around. The draw stays tight to the end, but I am able to manage it by slowing the smoke. The burn was excellent.
The finish was middling with strong waves of pepper. When combustion is the real highlight of the cigar I have a real problem...
Appearance- 89 a nice smoke
Taste- 83 below average due to bitterness at the back of the palate, but all in all pretty average
Construction- 82 draw tightness kills this smoke, over an hour to smoke it because I had to slow it down
Strength- 85 a very average medium
Overall- 84, I was hoping for more
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