I continue my tour of the Viaje blends with the 2011 edition of the Skull and Bones collection. It seems fitting that I put light to flame on this cigar while watching Tiger Woods play golf, a man whose career could be symbolized by a Skull and Bones in the last two years. Of course as I smoke Tiger is in contention for his first win in nearly two years.
The name of these smokes is supposed to evoke an image of strength and a full bodied experience. If I were to judge a book by it's cover I would say that it will be just that. The wrapper is nearly black and glistens with heavy oils, it has few veins and looks somewhat intimidating despite a diminutive size. As to the dimensions of this smoke, I am no fan of short fat smokes, but this one looks pretty interesting to me for some reason. An examination reveals few flaws, of course an examination of Tiger a few years ago would yield no flaws either. My point being you can't always believe what you see. The pre light aroma is decidedly of dark fruit. The pre light draw is full of nicotine with some pepper flavors.
The cigar opens much like Tiger's first decade on the tour, nearly flawless. The profile is redolent with splendid flavors of pepper, wood and coffee. There is a slight sweetness here as well that hints strongly of pomengranate and cherry. At the back of the palate there is a deep and hearty tone of earth with a nicotine kick that puts the palate on notice. The draw is excellent, providing ample smoke with very little effort. The burn is solid and a sharp and crisp white ash is forming.
The first half of the cigar continues to perform very well, much like Tiger always did. The profile settles into a more simple presentation of pepper and wood, the sweetness fades away here and removes some complexity but the balance remains. At the back of the palate the earth notes have a complement of spice that is most pleasing and there are some sprays of a sturdy nutty flavor that is providing some nice character. The draw stays strong, though I note some tightening towards the middle of the cigar. The burn is still very solid.
The final half of the cigar closely parallels the last couple years of Tiger's career, in that there is some serious slippage in the performance. The profile becomes more one dimensional as the pepper flavors begin to dominate the front part of the palate. At the back of the palate the earthy flavors remain, but all else has fled the experience. This one dimensional development really detracts from the experience in the closing moments. The draw continues to tighten, but it does not become occluded, thus it is still smokeable. The burn stays solid to the end of the smoke.
The finish is smooth, but still shows only pepper and earth. In the end Tiger won in an impressive way by finishing birdie, birdie. I'm not sure the cigar get anything better than a double bogey in the closing moments.
Appearance- 92 a very nice looking smoke
Taste- 87 some nice moments early, declining dimensions of character late in the smoke led to deductions
Construction- 88 a nice performance, but the tightening draw in the las half hurt the score
Strength- 87 a full offering, but it could have used some more power
Overall- 88.25 a well above average experience, that could have been so much more
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