Alec Bradley Empire State (6x54)

Alec Bradley cigars have always been hit or miss for me.  I have loved the Prensado and Tempus, been indifferent about the Black Market and Maxx, and really did not like the American Classic.  This cigar was released back in 2010 for the New York market only.  In Florida, where I live, it was a cigar Unicorn if you will, a myth.  Imagine my surprise when I finally found some in a little old Sarasota brick and mortar.  I stole some quick glances out the front door to make sure I did not somehow end up on Long Island, I saw palm trees so I figured I was still in Florida.  I considered asking the woman behind the counter, but they already believe I am pretty strange so I just checked the GPS on my Iphone.  It confirmed that I was still in the Sunshine State, relieved I made the selection and made my way home.  As most of you know, I have a cigar radio show every Saturday (shameless plug coming! On WTMY 1280 AM in Sarasota and surrounding areas, or you can stream us live at WTMY.com), so I decided to put this cigar down and share it with my esteemed co-host as a featured cigar on the show.  This past weekend we did get a chance to sit down and give it a smoke, what follow is only my impression of the cigar, my co-host does not write a blog so you will just have to ask him what he thought.

The cigar is nice looking.  The wrapper is bold, it has a deep and rich brown coloration that evokes a vision of a roasted chestnut.  There are very few veins and the wrapper appears to contain some very nice oils.  The construction appears to be bulky, I don't care for big ring smokes, but it is well put together and I can't find any areas that concern me right off the bat.  The pre light aroma is surprisingly light, there are some hints of light wood and some light earth, but the aroma is not nearly as robust as the visual would indicate.  The pre light draw is odd, showing some sharp wood flavors that border on bitter.

The cigar opens with a profile that I can only describe as a wrongful assault on my palate.  The flavor is all wet wood, my co-host describes it as the type of wet wood that is at the bottom of the wood pile after a long winter of snow and rain and spring melt, and I can't find a way to disagree with him here, anyone that has ever lived up north knows this wet wood type because we have seen it for winters on end.  Perhaps this attribute helped in the New York area, winters are bad there and maybe they like this kind of wood.  I found it to be bitter and foul.  The back of the palate is being cascaded with putrid flavors as well, it's almost as if the cigar is over humidified, but I conducted a survey when I pulled them out of the humi and they most certainly were not.  There is a horrific aftertaste forming as well, it almost makes the throat sore.  On balance this is one of the worst starts to a cigar I have had in a long time.  Sadly, this cigar draws like a dream for me, just perfect amounts of resistance and delivery of smoke.  The burn is also very solid at this point.

The first half of the cigar continues to show serious deficiencies.  The core profile is still smacking of wet wood and the bitterness is almost overwhelming.  I am actually pretty stunned, previous Alec Bradley cigars that I did not enjoy were at least ok, this one is horrendous to this point.  The back of the palate is not gaining any positive marks either as the bitterness coming from the main profile cloaks whatever might be there.  I will point out that at the halfway point I am starting to sense that some good changes are afoot, but I also nearly chucked this beast before I got there which shows just how bad the first half was.  The draw is still very good and the burn is still moving right along.

The final half of the cigar finally starts to show some cigar like qualities.  The profile balances out and starts to show some nice wood flavors and there is some muted spice that has a cinnamon like tone to it  This development is nice and saves the cigar from getting the old el chucko, but it will not be enough to redeem the cigar overall.  At the back of the palate there is a nice earthy tone, but it is not deep enough to be particularly noteworthy.  The draw is still very nice, and the burn stays solid right through to the end.

The finish was a bit short and I still had some serious aftertaste problems upon completion, my mouth was left dry and the flavor was bitter.

Appearance- 89 a very nice looking smoke
Taste- 78 I just can't go any higher here
Construction- 93 a very nicely done cigar performance wise
Strength- 85 a very mundane medium
Overall- 86, saved by a very impressive performance from a burn and draw perspective