Kurtdesign1
03-07-2010, 10:38 PM
What an unbelievably amazing cigar. The transitions were HUGE and were so "loud" that they even took my attention away from the guys I was smoking with and made me sit back and concentrate. It was quite possibly the most captivating experience I've ever had.
The starting flavors of the cigar were terrifically creamy with what I would deem to be too much complexity. I don't have the most sophisticated palate but I can usually divide & conquer; concentrating on one taste until I can pinpoint and move past it. There was no way I could do that here. I could only really pick up a clean tobacco flavor which coated the palate in such a way that it was perceived on each surface of my mouth, much like a strong-full bodied cigar would be. The thing is, this cigar started extremely mild.
Things progressed and after the burn opened up past the first 1/2" of the perfecto tip, I got a nice tangy bean flavor that wasn't very sweet (vanilla?), but was extremely enjoyable. I was into the meat of the stick at this point and started to give some thought to what Ithought the life of this blend was. My first impression was NOT GOOD. Complexity like this has only been seen by me in some other-worldly cigars; a few pre-embargo Don Candidos and the cigars I've had from the 60s come to mind. The point is, I thought the cigar was in full bloom and had blossomed to reveal all of its potential.
I let a few friends gingerly puff off the cigar for their input and received some nice feedback. The full bodied palate coating description I stated earlier does a truly unique thing. It leaves a wonderful finish that seems to go on for minutes. The interesting part of this is that the "clean" flavor was truly clean. It stayed with me, yet didn't cloud my taste perception. The only way I can describe it is through mathematical terms. An angle is "complete" at 90degrees but can be supplemented all the way to 180degrees. Its like a 200% being, simultaneously being 100% full bodied with a long-lasting finish and 100% clean & fleeting that pollutes nothing.
The remaining cigar transitioned from about 1of5 strength up to 4of5 and the clean palate coating smoke became deep and dark & almost mushroom-like. Black pepper came in spades and evolved from a mildly musky flavor that tasted how some aged cheese can smell. All in all, I loved this cigar. I want more of this cigar. It became something I don't normally enjoy (much like last week's Oliva) but represented yet another expansion of my preferences.
This was a solid 95. If you have any, smoke them within the next 5 years and store them in a tight package until you do so. Cigars this complex with such subtleties really need to have their offgasses contained. I think there's so much thats lost when cigars like this are allowed to breathe. If I could offer any suggestions as to how this could have been more enjoyable, the initial third would have had a bit more strength and the final third would have been a bit more subtle. This is what smoking cigars is all about.
The starting flavors of the cigar were terrifically creamy with what I would deem to be too much complexity. I don't have the most sophisticated palate but I can usually divide & conquer; concentrating on one taste until I can pinpoint and move past it. There was no way I could do that here. I could only really pick up a clean tobacco flavor which coated the palate in such a way that it was perceived on each surface of my mouth, much like a strong-full bodied cigar would be. The thing is, this cigar started extremely mild.
Things progressed and after the burn opened up past the first 1/2" of the perfecto tip, I got a nice tangy bean flavor that wasn't very sweet (vanilla?), but was extremely enjoyable. I was into the meat of the stick at this point and started to give some thought to what Ithought the life of this blend was. My first impression was NOT GOOD. Complexity like this has only been seen by me in some other-worldly cigars; a few pre-embargo Don Candidos and the cigars I've had from the 60s come to mind. The point is, I thought the cigar was in full bloom and had blossomed to reveal all of its potential.
I let a few friends gingerly puff off the cigar for their input and received some nice feedback. The full bodied palate coating description I stated earlier does a truly unique thing. It leaves a wonderful finish that seems to go on for minutes. The interesting part of this is that the "clean" flavor was truly clean. It stayed with me, yet didn't cloud my taste perception. The only way I can describe it is through mathematical terms. An angle is "complete" at 90degrees but can be supplemented all the way to 180degrees. Its like a 200% being, simultaneously being 100% full bodied with a long-lasting finish and 100% clean & fleeting that pollutes nothing.
The remaining cigar transitioned from about 1of5 strength up to 4of5 and the clean palate coating smoke became deep and dark & almost mushroom-like. Black pepper came in spades and evolved from a mildly musky flavor that tasted how some aged cheese can smell. All in all, I loved this cigar. I want more of this cigar. It became something I don't normally enjoy (much like last week's Oliva) but represented yet another expansion of my preferences.
This was a solid 95. If you have any, smoke them within the next 5 years and store them in a tight package until you do so. Cigars this complex with such subtleties really need to have their offgasses contained. I think there's so much thats lost when cigars like this are allowed to breathe. If I could offer any suggestions as to how this could have been more enjoyable, the initial third would have had a bit more strength and the final third would have been a bit more subtle. This is what smoking cigars is all about.