On a recent trip to my favorite New Orleans B&M, the proprietor (a very good friend of mine), struck again with something I had not heard of or seen. He excels in this area and it is the reason his shop is always a must when I am in the Quarter, hell even if you're not in the Quarter you need to go see Armando at Crescent City...tell him I sent you, after he gets done laughing he will throw you out. On second thought, don't tell him I sent you, just tell him that the Red Wings suck, he will know right away it was me that sent you. He is a class act, and his shop is fantastic for the boutique enthusiast, and if you aren't a boutique enthusiast what the hell are you waiting for! Get to his shop pronto and become one! Many of my top rated smokes the last three years were found at this shop. Ok, ok enough about Armando, he will get a big head.
This particular smoke was lain into my paws by Armando himself and he said what he always said when he get excited;"this cigar is unbelievable bro!!" I take note when Armando sings the praises, he does not steer me wrong. He put two of these in my hands, one each of a different blend, and told me to smoke them ASAP. Well it is ASAP and I am smoking one up right now. You know what that means, more hard hitting subjective cigar journalism from the Czar...
This cigar presents very well. The wrapper is luxurious and smooth and well applied, it literally seems to drip with chocolaty goodness and there are no veins to mention. The band work is bit too Room 101 and Paul Stulac for me, I mean find a new trend guys! The skulls and script is played, but it is crisp and clean and well presented, it just does not meet my tastes right now in terms of art work. A quick exam leads me to believe that the cigar is well made as I find no voids or areas that are too tight. The pre light aroma has dark wood and spice notes, with maybe a hint of dark fruit lingering around. The pre light draw has a coffee note that has some grassy tones to it. Grassy tones make me nervous.
The cigar opens with a profile that is rich and full of depth. There is not much in the way of complexity or balance here, but the core flavors are doing nicely early on. The profile smacks of coffee bean, dark tea and some light grass notes. The grass notes are disturbing me a touch, as they can tend to get dry and foul an experience, but they are not heavy here and I think they will fade if the core flavors pick up as the smoke develops. The back of the palate is full of dark wood notes and there is some cocoa in the retrohale and at the back of the palate. The draw on this cigar is a dream early on, I love a draw that shows some resistance but allows plenty of smoke to coat the palate, this cigar provides just that. The burn is razor sharp right from the start.
The first half of the smoke develops very nicely as it develops nice complexity to match the depth and richness of the opening moments. The grassy notes are slowly moving on, which is a great thing, and the core profile is developing very nicely. The main flavors are now coffee, some dark chocolate and a cinnamon like spice that is very interesting and adding a layer of depth that is much needed. There is also some hint of orange zest coming through here and the palate is tantalized to continue on. The back of the palate and the nose show some strengthening of the dark wood flavors and there is some toothy earth coming in here as well, to top it off there is a mingling of white pepper that gives the cigar some zip and keeps it from becoming too rich. The draw remains solid and continues to impress me. The burn is still right on the money to this point.
The final half of the cigar, sadly, is not as good as the rest of it as the profile comes unhinged a little bit. The core flavors are shoved to the back of the pack as a serious dose of pepper comes rushing forward to join the party. This is not always a bad thing, but here it obscures the rest of the profile and that is a shame. There are still some notes of coffee and chocolate, but they are overwhelmed by the not so subtle pepper bully. The nuance of the back of the palate is similarly lost as the pepper overwhelms everything except for the return of some grassy notes that are dry and bothersome. The draw and burn are solid to the end.
The finish is full of pepper and dry grass notes, which leaves me pondering all that could have been in this cigar that started so strong.
Appearance- 89 very nice looking, aside from some unoriginal art work
Taste- 87 a very strong start derailed by a poor finish
Construction- 93 absolutely superb
Strength- 88 medium trending full
Overall- 89.5 still a very good score, but it could have been so much more
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