Surrogates Tramp Stamp (5.25x48)

When you think about a Tramp Stamp all kinds of images flash through your mind.  I think of a kinda trashy woman in some low rise jeans with the ubiquitous butterfly tattoo peeking out from above the lowered waist band.  Remember ladies, low hanging jeans reveal low hanging fruit.  I certainly don't think of a cigar, but now I guess I have to, because L'Atelier and Pete Johnson have struck with what is possibly the worst name for a cigar in recent memory.  I mean Tramp Stamp?  Come on!  Why not White Trash? Crack Ho? The list could go on and on.  The name Tramp Stamp certainly does not evoke pleasant thoughts about the smoking experience that is about to ensue.  Nevertheless I truck on and try to forget the name.

The cigar presents nicely, with the exception of the band with the little butterfly on it (WTF!) as if it weren't bad enough you named it this way you have to brand it with a Tramp Stamp of it's own?  The cigar itself is beautifully done.  The wrapper is a rich, dark brown color with few veins and some nice tooth.  The construction seems flawless to me, I can't find a single issue anywhere while I inspect it.  The pre light aroma has some nice cocoa and rich coffee tones.  The pre light draw is a touch thin, but shows some earthy notes with a nice roasted nut quality in the background.

The cigar opens with a profile that lacks power, but does show some nice flavors.  The core profile contains some wonderful coffee and hard candy sweetness as the main components, but there is also an excellent earthy tone here that binds the experience together nicely.  The back of the palate shows some nice brushes of pepper and wood, but these flavors are little bit too thin for me at this point as I prefer my cigar to have a little more power in this area.  The draw is fantastic, very easy to manage and plenty of smoke.  The burn is also very solid to this point.

The first half of the cigar develops into something that I did not expect.  The core profile becomes a very nice array of flavors that include some nice lightly creamed coffee flavors with some excellent shots of white pepper that keep the palate guessing.  There are also some nice hard candy notes that continue on throughout the first half granting some nice balance to the overall experience.  The earthy flavors have moved to the back of the palate, and this is really where they belong as this attribute provides a nice platform for most profiles to rest upon.  There is also a nice nutty quality through the nose that can't be without mention.  The draw is still performing very well at this point and I am impressed with the performance so far.  The burn is also very solid.

The final half of the cigar was a huge letdown for me, I thought we were really building into something when it all came crashing down around me.  The core profile loses all of it's sweet components in the last half as more stringent mineral notes take over and the pepper becomes almost confrontational in this area of the smoke.  I don't mind some in your face moments in a cigar, but this just doesn't work for me at all.  The back of the palate still shows some earthy notes, but they are getting lost in some strong notes of charred tobacco that are not pleasant at all.  The draw is still dead on for me, and the burn is solid all the way through.

The finish was short and charred.

Appearance- 88 a nice cigar to look at, if you ignore the band
Taste- 85 very average, good in the front part of the smoke and awful in the final part
Construction- 93 wonderfully done, cigars don't perform like this everyday
Strength- 80 medium early on, but as the maker goes for strength in the last half the strength jumps the rails and kills the profile
Overall- 87.25, saved by construction, not really a cigar I would smoke again