Every once in awhile a gimmick cigar comes along that makes me scratch my head and say, why has that not been done in the industry before? It makes so much sense! I mean necessity is the mother of invention, someone much smarter than I am once said that, and in this industry there is need for new things and new ideas. I mean didn't we need a chisel? A pigtail? A double wrapper? A barber pole? The list of genius goes on and on and....cough cough wheeeezzzz....(Choking sounds emanate from the area as I strangle the charlatan that had momentarily seized control of my keyboard)
Let's bring this back to reality. I hate gimmicks, they are for a marketplace that has bipolar disorder and can't decide what they want when the answer is staring them in the face with hundreds of years of pedigreed history, cigars have been around forever and while some are bad and some are good the cigar world has trucked on for centuries without crazy ideas. What is going on with people these days? Is there really a huge demand for a trapezoid shaped cigar with a ring gauge that is somewhere near smoking an actual barber pole? I would submit that there is not, yet this cigar will be a huge hit in the sclerotic marketplace because it is new and interesting to some. Pavlov has rung the bell and the drooling hounds have come running! (two reviews in a row with the Pavlov mention, if you don't know what I mean get off your considerable duff and look it up, I'm here to talk about cigars)
Along comes this bad boy. The cigar is huge and looks somewhat like a pressed and brown bar of gold from some ancient Spanish galleon. It is very dark, nearly black really, and it is ponderous and clumsy looking. The cutting, lighting and smoking can only be described as clumsy as well, there is just not a good way to do any of it. The pre light aroma is of over brewed coffee and anise. The pre light draw is slightly bitter and has some nicotine tingle along with it. The good news is I can't detect any construction issues, the bad news is there could be an entire limb from a maple tree in it and I wouldn't be able to tell because of the considerable girth however, mmmmmmmmmmm maple! How awesome would that be?
The cigar opens with a profile that is flat and one dimensional, it shocks me right out of my maple dreams. The core profile shows only notes of over brewed coffee, kind of like the stuff that overnight truckers drink when they arrive in the greasy spoon at 4AM. It is not great, and it is the only thing going on in the smoke here so I am not very happy. The back of the palate shows some very dry wood and paper notes and is very flat and bland. The draw is too tight, and I actually cut a little deeper to see if it opens up some, sadly it really didn't. The burn is one hot mess at this point, with a huge canoe forming right away. It is almost impossible to evenly light a ring gauge this large without putting on the flame retardant suit and having your friend use his Flame Thrower that he "salvaged" from his time "in country".
The first half of the cigar does not develop into anything. The core profile continues to show strong charred coffee flavors and there are some hints of anise trying to sneak in, but it is almost too fleeting to notice. This is really a one dimensional experience, ironic considering the in your face three dimensional appearance. The back of the palate is still dry and smacks of wood, paper and dust. The burn has evened out nicely, but I anticipate it will be hit or miss for the rest of the experience. The draw is still too tight for me and I am thinking that will continue as well, you just can't pack this much tobacco in without making it too dense.
The final half of the cigar continues to show a very flat and one dimensional experience. The core profile sticks with the mundane and bitter coffee flavors that have dominated the experience. The back of the palate is still dry and full of wood and paper flavors. This really way not a very good profile at all. The burn had a few more issues along the way, but all in all it was acceptable. The draw stayed too tight all the way through.
The finish was bland and full of dry wood flavors.
This was a gimmick gone wrong in my opinion. It's a shame too, because they had a winner with the Concert series.
Appearance- 88 points for interesting concept
Taste- 81 one dimensional and that dimension was poor
Construction- 82 draw was poor and the burn had issues
Strength- 81 medium to full, but it did nothing for the smoke
Overall- 82.5 not very good at all
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