I will be honest, I have never really heard anything but some passing mention of this cigar. I consider myself a knowledgeable cigar guy, so when I have not heard of something I am both surprised and skeptical. For those reasons it was with great trepidation that I plopped down the seven plus dollars for this smoke. In my view it is very rare to not hear much about a cigar because the experiences of smokers are so polarizing, there is almost always some positive or negative buzz about every cigar out there, on this one I had heard nothing.
The cigar presents in a pedestrian fashion. The wrapper is too dark to be done naturally, so I'm guessing that there is some chemical process that has taken place, that is a cigar don't in my book but I have had some that I really enjoyed. The wrapper is full of veins and it does not appear to be of particularly high quality as there are many flaws as well. The cigar seems too firm to me and I am concerned about draw issues. The pre light aroma is chemical like, but I sense some pepper as well. The pre light draw is woody.
The cigar opens with a profile that is full of pepper and minerals, it is not particularly deep or complex, but it is not terrible either. At the back of the palate there are some nice notes of dark wood and earth, but I would like more here as well. The draw is acceptable to me, but I would like it to be a little bit more free. The burn is even and solid at this point.
The first half of the cigar is very one dimensional. The profile is full of mineral notes and it is threatening to become metallic as the cigar progresses. I don't know about you, but I like my cigars to have other flavors, mineral like qualities are not enough to hold up on their own. The back of the palate is showing some wood flavors as well, but there is a sharp licorice like note that is sneaking in here as well. The draw is opening up, but I still want more from this area. The burn is holding strong and is the most solid attribute of this smoke.
The final half of the cigar improves, but it is still nothing more than average at best. The core profile has some pepper flavors with some more hints of minerals, but there is a nice spice coming on here that I wish had been around throughout the smoke. At the back of the palate a nice earth tone has taken over and I again find myself wishing that this more solid backdrop had been around for the entire experience. The draw stays the same, not bad, but not great. The burn is solid throughout.
The finish is short and full of mineral flavors that leave the palate with a metallic feeling that is not pleasing.
Appearance- 87 somewhat interesting, but not really
Taste- 83 below average overall, but some late changes nudged this up some
Construction- 86 slightly above average on burn, below average on draw
Strength- 85 middling and medium, basically pointless
Overall- 85 average, very average, in fact right on the number for average in my system of scoring
No comments:
Post a Comment