This cigar fuels the debate for the eternal question, what's in a name? Well I think I can safely say in this case that the name leads to poor imagery. No matter the inspiration for this name, the visual is of Barry Manilow at a piano wearing a bad shirt and crooning a bad song. I'm not sure about all of you, but this is not an image I want when I am about to invest some of my valuable, and often fleeting, pleasure time. Couple that with the fact that it appears Casa Fernandez made this as some sort of value cigar and the pre light thoughts can quickly turn to sweat inducing, nightmarish, images of all things cigar poor.
The cigar is cheap by premium standards, less that six bucks, and it looks it. The band and box are third rate and the cigar has a cheap look to it. The wrapper is all right, but it seems too dry to me. An inspection reveals a cigar that actually seems to be well made. The pre light aroma is of cedar and more cedar with maybe a hint of orange peel. The pre light draw is dusty tasting, but it has some muted citrus flavor to it.
The cigar opens with a profile that is actually quite pleasant and the Manilow symphony that had been in my head fades into the background as this blessedly solid opening starts to warm my palate. The core profile has some very nice notes of cinnamon, orange and light wood. At the back of the palate there is a sweet, floral note that threatens to become too much, but for now is adding some pleasant balance to the presentation. The draw is a little tighter that I usually like, but I will deal with it for now. The burn is slow and sharp while producing a dirty gray ash.
The first half of the cigar wallows a bit after the opening moments. The profile thins and shows less depth as flavors start to run together in a bready and tart presentation of wheat flavors. I think that there are still some signs of citrus here, but they are fleeting and cloaked in the tart flavor I am getting in the profile. The back of the palate transitions into a more mundane presentation of wood that smells like burning wood that is too wet to burn. This smoldering quality is adding some bitterness to the smoke at this point, and it is not a welcome development in the smoke. The draw is opening up here, I kind of wish it was shutting down. The burn is still solid to this point and I can already tell there will not be any issues in that area.
The final half of the cigar continues to languish in cigar mediocrity. The profile is still bready and wheaty, but it is really lacking in depth and complexity at this point. There are still some tart flavors here that are now less citrus like and becoming more bitter. At the back of the palate there are some papery flavors that have crept into the profile and there is still some smoldering quality here that I am finding more and more off putting. The draw is acceptable by the end, and the burn stayed solid throughout.
The finish was touch bitter and smacked of paper and wet wood. This is the one offering from Fernandez that I really don't care for so far, I hope it is not an indication of things to come.
Appearance- 82 cheap looking
Taste- 81 cheap tasting
Construction- 88 some early draw tightness takes this down
Strength- 85 a very average medium
Overall- 84.25 very sub par
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