I continue my reviews of the new Pete Johnson stuff with this cigar. I recently gave the L'Atelier some rave reviews and I thought that Pete was back with that particular blend, the best I've smoked from him since El Triunfador. This cigar is again from the surrogates collection and I am caught laughing a bit, again, at the silly name that has been given to this smoke. I have no idea what it means, and to be frank as I write this full of Turkey and other fixins, I really don't have the mental energy to spend on trying to figure it out. What I can tell you is that this surrogates line has four different blends, I have already reviewed the Tramp Stamp, and I will be smoking and reviewing all of them in the near future.
The cigar presents well, all though it is slightly box pressed and it is well known among my readers and friends that I don't like box pressing as a general rule. There are some prominent veins in this very light brown wrapper and it does not look it's price, it comes off as a touch cheap looking. The band work is very simple and the overall visual impact is somewhat mundane. A quick inspection shows me that there are some loose areas in the bunch and I am worried about combustion at this point. The pre light aroma has some cinnamon notes with some light tobacco essence. The pre light draw is thin, but shows some light wisps of young wood and some floral impressions.
The cigar opens with a profile that is neither deep or particularly complex. The core flavors are some thin wood flavors that have a slight bitterness that I would associate with wet wood. There are also some floral moments in the opening salvo that alternately sweet and slightly grassy. At the back of the palate and through the nose there are some very light hints of pepper and some strange sweet impressions that are reminiscent of mild white chocolate with a hint of bitters. The profile is not what I would classify as poor, but it is not complex or faceted in terms of depth so it leaves me feeling a little bit bereft. The draw is very loose and I am already noticing heat in the draw, so I decide to manage this cigar early on by slowing my progress to avoid scorching the flume. The burn is solid, but rapid at this point, and a loose white ash is forming.
The first half of the cigar actually develops nicely. The core profile beings to show some caramel notes with a touch of cinnamon, there are still some nice wood flavors coming through here as well. These added dimensions are showing some nice balance and complexity that front part of the smoke lacked. The back of the palate continues to show mostly pepper flavors, but there are some nice light chocolate flavors that are hanging on here as well and there is also a presentation of vanilla here as well. The draw is still too loose and the heat is still present, but my management of the combustion is keeping the cigar in line to this point. The burn is slowing nicely, but the ash is still loose and flaky.
The final half of the cigar deteriorates rapidly and I attribute it to poor construction. The core profile begins to show the negative affects of heat, there is some scorching coming through and it is directly correlated to the loose draw and rapid burn I'm afraid. The flavors show some wood and light spice, but the scorching is setting them into the area of being too acrid to be enjoyable. The back of the palate and the nose are still showing some pepper notes, but they too are being muddled by the scorched flavors coming from the poor combustion. The draw is still too loose and the burn can't be slowed any further without stopping the smoke all together. Construction really hurt this cigar.
The finish was short and acrid with burned wood flavors.
Appearance- 86 simple and lacking visual provocation
Taste- 83 some nice notes in the first half, but it was all killed in the last half
Construction- 72 just very poor
Strength- 85 I think a nice medium, but the construction hurts this score as well
Overall- 80.25 very sub par
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