danthebugman
BoM Nov '10
Borrowed from Serious Cigars.
Size: 6 x 44
Wrapper: Cameroon/Corojo Hybrid
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican/Honduran
Price: ~ $6-7
Intro: AKA Cigars is a relatively new company that started up in 2011. AKA stands for American Kick Ass and I wouldn't expect anything less from a company based in Texas. They have two cigar lines out: the Hybrid and Respect. The Hybrid cigars feature some off the wall naming. For instance this particular cigar is called the ABS, short for Advanced Brain Stimulator. The Hybrid also features a unique hybrid (hence the name) wrapper leaf that is a cross between a Cameroon and Corojo tobacco produced by the Eiroa Family (think Camacho Cigars) that has been aged 5 years. The binder is a 4 year aged Ligero from the Kelner Family (think Davidoff). The fillers are 4 year aged Dominican Piloto Cubano and 5 year aged Honduran tobacco from the Kelner and Eiroa Families. I got a few samples from a fellow BOTL and they've been sitting for a while...like a year or so. On Independence Day I couldn't think of a more appropriate cigar to light my fireworks with. I didn't take any pics or notes so this'll be kind of short and off the cuff.
Prelight: Nice looking chocolate wrapper with slightly lighter colored, small veining. Seams are tight, cap is neat. The band is nice looking and stands out against the dark wrapper. Cap cut cleanly. The cold draw carried a nice woody flavor with a slight sweetness to it and a peppery tickle on the tongue. Draw was spot on.
First Third: Fired it up while there was still some daylight and I was setting off smoke bombs with the kiddo. Nice wood flavor with some sweetness to it and a little peppery kick at the end, pretty much what the cold draw had going on. After a few puffs the pepper started to dissipate and the sweetness turned into a cocoa flavor.
Second Third: Burn has been great, nice tight white ash. Flavors have been a pretty consistent wood, cocoa, and a few hints of spice. Great cigar so far.
Last Third: Had a few issues burning wonkey towards the end, but nothing major. Flavors were a little muted towards the end, but still enjoyable. Burnt my lips on this one.
Final Thoughts: All the marketing hype around the "special wrapper" that these cigars have indicates it's supposed to be some kind of mega different smoking experience. I didn't get that, but I did enjoy the cigar. While the flavors didn't really change much through the course of the cigar, I really liked what was there. The burn was good and draw posed no problems. What else can you ask from a cigar? It lasted just the right amount of time too as I finished up with it just as we were starting to pick up the aftermath of our celebration. These come in boxes of 18, which seems a little strange to me, but I suppose it makes buying a box a little more affordable. Speaking of affordability they're definitely priced (from what I've found) at a point that wouldn't deter me from picking one up if I didn't know anything about it. They're not widely available, but if you see them in your B&M or find 'em online I'd recommend trying one.
Dan
Nice review.
