So this is a Pete Johnson collaboration with some dude I have never heard of. This always makes me nervous because these types of things have led to so many god awful cigars in the past. Dude A says to Dude B (whom happens to be in the cigar industry) that he loves cigars and would like to make one of his own. Dude B (being a good friend says it is tough to do, but I can help), thus the process begins. Intentions are good, but Dude A doesn't have the stomach for the job or the patience to develop a palate and Dude B is a busy guy and can't oversee everything, and it's not his cigar anyway so he just guides Dude A for a bit then goes away. Dude A then launches some dog rocket for everyone to drop 9 bucks on and Dude B makes his residuals for a bit and everyone is happy when CI buys the rest of the cigars that don't sell (about 99.9% of those made by Dude A) for about .000001 cents per smoke and a bag of tobacco that had been in an aging room since about a week ago....
I don't think that is what happened here, but the story proves a point. Don't get in the cigar business if you have money and no brains, passion and no palate and glory but no guts.
This particular cigar presents with very simple band work and box presentation, this is not indicative of anything but I like to point out when a cigar looks cheap and costs over 6 or 7 bucks, as this one does. That indicates to me that they spent the money on making a quality smoke not fancy packaging right? Right?
So I begin my examination and find that the wrapper here is not very appealing, it is somewhat mottled and not very oily and is somewhat sandpapery to the touch, I would call this tooth except it is too dry. The construction is shoddy and I detect several soft spots in the bunch that I think could cause a problem. The pre light aroma is vegetal and smacks of heavy minerals. The pre light draw is grassy and dry. To say that my mouth was watering at this point would be a severe understatement.
The cigar opens with a profile that is all black pepper and dry grass, it is not appealing and it has little character or depth. At the back of the palate Dude A is killing me with some sort of musty, mildew like flavor that is tripping my gag reflex and I am considering a quick spew into my date's wine glass. The draw is a little tight to start, but I don't think it will cause any problems since I am likely to launch this beast if it continues to insult my palate in this way. The burn is nice and even, and that is the only good thing I can say about the opening moments of this smoke.
The first half of the cigar settles down a bit and so does my urge to vomit. The profile begins to show some cinnamon like spice, but there is a heavy dose of mineral here that is bordering on being metallic and I am concerned about the development of the cigar over the next half. At the back of the palate the grassy notes have found their home and I am wishing they had gone next door. The draw is acceptable at this point and the burn is performing well.
The final half of the cigar does nothing to really change my mind about Dude A's capabilities. The profile continues to be of strong mineral flavors with all too fleeting notes of spice. At the back of the palate the grass still burns on and my throat is drying from all of this crazy dry smoke. The draw maintains acceptability, but I am having to supply some effort in the final third and this causes heat in the smoke. The burn stays strong throughout.
The finish leaves me in need of a tongue scraper, I feel like I just sucked on pennies for an hour.
Appearance- 81 an ugly, cheap looking smoke
Taste- 74 nothing here was really worth noting
Construction- 85 I will be merciful and call it average
Strength- 81 medium I guess, but hard to judge when the profile is so off
Overall- 80, just not good, but Pete gets a pass because he has hit so many home runs for me over the years
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