I recently attended the one year anniversary of one of my favorite B&M's, and it was a splendid affair, nice people and a little food always makes for a great evening. Then I realized that the cigars being offered were from C and C and my trepidation meter went into overdrive. For those of you that don't know, these cigars are made by the guys of Cusano fame, my near seething dislike for Cusano cigars is well known to many. So in this instance I was certain that my evening would be ruined if I smoked one of these cigars, so much so that I did not smoke one at the event and instead waited until I had some time to smoke what I was sure would be an inferior product. I mean, I would rather have my pupils bored out with an old fashioned hand drill than have to smoke some of the Cusano offerings of yore. How much better could this new offering be? Well, let's take a look shall we?
The cigar is a nightmare to look at. The band work is simplistic and cheap and the cigar looks like it was rolled during a torrential rain and allowed to dry much like a raisin, the wrapper is wrinkly and mottled. An inspection of the cigar leads me to believe that it may be well made though, as I can find no areas of concern in the bunch. The pre light aroma is a trifle grassy, but there is a nice cocoa spray here as well. The pre light draw is a touch thin, but it has some floral and grassy essence that is interesting.
The cigar opens with a profile that has me rocked to my core, I don't hate it, as a matter of fact I am quite enjoying it. There are some very nice flavors of wood, tobacco and coffee in the opening notes and I am impressed with the depth and complexity in the opening moments of the cigar. This is not a Cusano, this is a C and C, and I am being spanked for my skepticism. At the back of the palate there is a grassy quality that has just enough floral earth to not be off putting. The draw is a little bit too thin for me, I prefer an effort that allows some more smoke. The burn is a bit wonky, but I don't think it will be a problem.
The first half of the cigar wanes some. The profile becomes a more mundane presentation of wood with some light brushes of pepper, but the character of the smoke is lacking and I would like some further development. At the back of the palate there are still some floral wisps, but the grassy flavors are taking over and reminding me more and more of an old Cusano, maybe I was right to begin with. The draw is still thin, but getting better as the cigar progresses. The burn has evened out nicely here.
The final half of the cigar oscillates between mediocre and good. The main profile becomes more peppery, but still maintains some nice wood flavors and perhaps some hints of coffee, but it could definitely be more complex and balanced here. At the back of the palate the grassy flavors give way to some more earthy character, but there is a bitter note here that has me bothered. The draw finally hits it's stride in the final third. The burn stays pretty solid to the end.
The finish is middling, but has some earthy tones that linger nicely.
This is not a Cusano and my early judgements were hasty, but this is by no means a home run either. I would classify this as a solid knock around cigar with little potential for much beyond an average experience.
Appearance- 81 dreadful, if you bought based on looks you would keep looking
Taste- 87 slightly above average here, but more depth and balance were needed
Construction- 86 some draw issues in the early stages preclude a higher score
Strength- 85 a very average medium
Overall- 85.75 slightly above average which is exactly what this was
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