Swag is normally short for Stuff We All Get, or in some cases is used to describe someone with incredible personal flair. In this case it has been chosen for a cigar, I can only think they meant it as the second definition I outlined above, as if this cigar has some swanky flair to it. Heck, maybe the makers believe that it is so good that everyone will go out to get some, thus living up to the Stuff We All Get moniker. Your guess is as good as mine.
The cigar presents in some pretty serious coverings that make me wonder what the maker is trying to hide. When a maker covers an entire cigar in anything other than cedar I am always very, very wary because as a consumer I can't look at the cigar before I buy it. In my view this is a tactical error on the part of the manufacturer as it removes part of the visual and tactile experience in selecting a cigar. The cigar itself, once I free it from the cumbersome outer wrappings, seems dry to me and it has a very odd reddish hue. I love the size, these smaller cigars are some of my favorites right now. It seems to be made well, as I don't detect any areas of concern. The pre light aroma is sharp and full of cedar notes. The pre light draw is tight and has some light tobacco flavor and full blasts of cedar.
The cigar opens with a profile that I can only describe as bloody awful. The core flavors are horrid, showing grass and sharp, bitter wood flavors that assail the palate with constant salvos of crappy flavor. I would sooner suck a lemon or drink paint thinner than experience this ever again. Making the experience even more unbearable is the back of the profile. There are some real bile churning events going on here as I am assaulted with more grass and tastes of bitter vegetation. The draw is way too tight for me, but maybe that is a blessing in disguise as it keeps me fully experiencing this cigar holocaust. The burn is right on the money and I can only hope that some accelerant has been put in the wrapper so this horror show moves faster. At this point I am thinking a better name for this cigar would have been Snew, for Stuff Nobody Ever Wants.
The first half of the cigar continues on towards a personal Armageddon for me. The flavor profile becomes so awful that I seriously contemplate chucking this cigar and heading for something more tasty, like a spoonful of alum or maybe a couple of shots of brake fluid. I'm not sure that I want to continue describing this sorry excuse but in the interest of my readers I will trudge on. The core profile is still of sour and bitter wood and sharp grassy flavors. The back of the palate is not better as an ashy and charred presentation of vegetation takes over as the main flavor. The draw is still too tight, but the burn is still right on the money. Still in consideration of new names mode I am now leaning towards Stan, for Stuff That Advances Nausea.
The final half of the cigar got worse. That's right, WORSE! How could this be possible you may wonder? I don't have an answer, I still have not figured it out. The profile becomes nothing but bitter and sour flavors, I can't even decipher what was supposed to be there as the bitter and sour notes just plain overwhelmed my palate. The draw is still way too tight for me, but the burn does stay solid to the end.
The finish was, well, it was a blessed event of absolution for me, the smoker, as I was able to absolve myself of the horrific experience and begin looking forward to better things, like getting bamboo shoots shoved under my fingernails.
My final name for this cigar would be nothing clever or cute, it would simply be Sorry You Wasted Your Money.
Appearance- 78 once I got past the silly paper the cigar really didn't look that good
Taste- 70 the lowest possible score for the lowest I've ever been in my cigar smoking life
Construction- 75 some points for a nice burn, but the draw was terrible
Strength- 75 medium I guess, but there was nothing complementary happening here at all
Overall- 73.75 just plain terrible
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