Alec Bradley American Blend Sun Grown Robusto
40 hours of rest after purchasing at JR Cigars
Soft Flame Light
Drinking Water
Alec Bradley seems to be one of those brands that people love to hate. I have heard it compared to Gurkha and Rocky Patel as a brand that lost it's way by whoring out to every shop that wants an exclusive. I don't know if that is true or not. I do know that searching for a corona to smoke when time is tight caused me to stumble across this blend. The corona goes for $3.96 on Atlantic Cigars and the Robusto is $4.46. It is a value blend even at full retail. So, it definitely fit my needs. When I saw this at JR for $5 I decided to take a swing and see if the flavor fit my needs as well.
The stick is well constructed with tight seams, nice oil, an average draw, and a double cap. The wrapper was actually in better shape than many $7+ dollar cigars I have smoked. The veins were a little large, but didn't hamper the burn in any way. I also liked the tooth on the cigar. It was very pronounced, almost like braille, and it was even visible in the ash.
Now on to the smoking.
The stick lit easily and started out with a very nice char line. The flavors were very present from the beginning. I was more than pleasantly surprised from the word go. I was getting strong leather, spice, and wood with just enough cream to smooth out any rough edges. I was wondering why more sticks don't start off this well.
Not much further and the burn line gets a little wavy. It is still well within the acceptable range and works to correct itself. The flavors ramp up and the introductory flavors serve as a foundation. Cocoa, cedar, and tobacco introduce themselves. All of this is less than a quarter inch.
Now the cream is keeping everything smooth, but lets be honest. This isn't the smoothness you get from significant aging or "angel's share" primings. However, this is good quality tobacco even if you won't mistake it for a $8 cigar. It had a certain rustic wholesomeness to it that I found pleasing.
We're still rolling along with a pleasing leather taste. This isn't the deep aged leather taste that reminds you of walking into Wilson's Leather. (Was that only a local thing?) It is more light and young like the smell of inspecting new wallets on the rack at JCPenney. It isn't going to weigh down your palate and get tiresome in the first third. Which for me is a good thing. I like leather in a cigar, but I don't want to feel like I'm chewing on Grandad's Korean War bomber jacket.
The creaminess and wood are there giving it a slightly rustic profile. Right now it is a simple profile that gets some invigoration from a gentle spice. Even on the retrohale the spice isn't strong enough to really bother my sinuses. So far I am more than pleased with the experience. I am also surprised that I haven't tasted any bitterness or sourness. That is something that I've experienced in cigars costing fifty percent more. So far this is a good smoke that is punching above it's weight. It isn't as polished as a Nica Rustica, but I like that. It doesn't feel like I'm being fed a glossy HollyWood version of a rustic profile. This is the real deal. A blue collar smoke that is cleaned up for Friday night dinner, but not one trying too hard to fit in.
The cocoa and cedar come back through and sit around to catch up. They're talking to me when the spice comes through and gives my tongue a quick tickle. Its like he is singing a song that gets louder as he approaches. Then he gets quiet and brooding. Spice is definitely adding to the conversation. We all trade stories for a couple of minutes.
I keep thinking that I'm surprised by the quality of this cigar so far. The char line gets wavy and then self corrects. It never gets razor sharp. However, I'm never afraid it is going to run amok either.
Now, I'm a maduro fan boy to some extent. They tend to just rock my little world. This sun grown is growing on me though. It wouldn't replace my maduros. I'm just thinking that it could be a nice change of pace in the rotation.
Suddenly we have a very spicy complexity. The flavors are all in a huddle. Since they don't wear numbered jerseys they are nearly indistinguishable. The exception is the spice. It is like a quarterback wearing a bright red mesh jersey in practice. That seems rather fitting since it is a red pepper assault on my tongue. It ramped up for a couple of puffs before this. Then when the ash fell off it started throwing hail marys with the zeal of Brett Favre in the championship. Luckily it was more accurate.
The complexity is still there but occasionally a single flavor pops out to the front. First it is cedar, then cocoa, then raisin (where the hell did that come from), and then leather. It is a pleasant experience that belies the price point.
The complexity breaks down a little bit. The flavors are becoming more distinct again and then they come back together with a dark complexity. For the first time I get a hint of harshness. It disappears pretty quickly and things go back normal. A dark kind of gooey flavor starts creeping in as the one inch mark hits and the char line goes south. One third begins burning faster than the rest of the stick. I don't bother to correct it because there isn't much time left. I can tell it is affecting the flavor as it loses some of fullness and some flavors start to disappear. With less than three-quarters of an inch left tar starts to come in to the picture. By the time I get down to one-half inch the char line is pretty lopsided and I just give it up.
For a cigar that can be had for as little as $2.80 a piece on Cbid this is a great experience. Hell for the full retail price this is a really good experience. It comes out of the gate with a mild-medium body and a medium-full flavor. There is no waiting for the second half or last third to see what this cigar is bringing to the dance. It comes out with it's blue collar popped up and big ole country smile. It never gets bitter or mean. It has enough changes to keep the smoke interesting and it pours out smoke like dollar draft at happy hour. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for these on Cbid and those other sites. It is a more than adequate humidor stuffer for those on a budget. Even for guys that just need something between their weekly $10 boutique cigar this is worth picking up a five pack to try it out.
What else can I say? Pick one up and give it a month in the humi/tupper/coolidor. Then light it up an see what happens. You probably won't be replacing your Drew Estates, but I'm willing to bet you'll be second guessing your other hold over and "every day" smokes.
40 hours of rest after purchasing at JR Cigars
Soft Flame Light
Drinking Water
Alec Bradley seems to be one of those brands that people love to hate. I have heard it compared to Gurkha and Rocky Patel as a brand that lost it's way by whoring out to every shop that wants an exclusive. I don't know if that is true or not. I do know that searching for a corona to smoke when time is tight caused me to stumble across this blend. The corona goes for $3.96 on Atlantic Cigars and the Robusto is $4.46. It is a value blend even at full retail. So, it definitely fit my needs. When I saw this at JR for $5 I decided to take a swing and see if the flavor fit my needs as well.
The stick is well constructed with tight seams, nice oil, an average draw, and a double cap. The wrapper was actually in better shape than many $7+ dollar cigars I have smoked. The veins were a little large, but didn't hamper the burn in any way. I also liked the tooth on the cigar. It was very pronounced, almost like braille, and it was even visible in the ash.
Now on to the smoking.
The stick lit easily and started out with a very nice char line. The flavors were very present from the beginning. I was more than pleasantly surprised from the word go. I was getting strong leather, spice, and wood with just enough cream to smooth out any rough edges. I was wondering why more sticks don't start off this well.
Not much further and the burn line gets a little wavy. It is still well within the acceptable range and works to correct itself. The flavors ramp up and the introductory flavors serve as a foundation. Cocoa, cedar, and tobacco introduce themselves. All of this is less than a quarter inch.
Now the cream is keeping everything smooth, but lets be honest. This isn't the smoothness you get from significant aging or "angel's share" primings. However, this is good quality tobacco even if you won't mistake it for a $8 cigar. It had a certain rustic wholesomeness to it that I found pleasing.
We're still rolling along with a pleasing leather taste. This isn't the deep aged leather taste that reminds you of walking into Wilson's Leather. (Was that only a local thing?) It is more light and young like the smell of inspecting new wallets on the rack at JCPenney. It isn't going to weigh down your palate and get tiresome in the first third. Which for me is a good thing. I like leather in a cigar, but I don't want to feel like I'm chewing on Grandad's Korean War bomber jacket.
The creaminess and wood are there giving it a slightly rustic profile. Right now it is a simple profile that gets some invigoration from a gentle spice. Even on the retrohale the spice isn't strong enough to really bother my sinuses. So far I am more than pleased with the experience. I am also surprised that I haven't tasted any bitterness or sourness. That is something that I've experienced in cigars costing fifty percent more. So far this is a good smoke that is punching above it's weight. It isn't as polished as a Nica Rustica, but I like that. It doesn't feel like I'm being fed a glossy HollyWood version of a rustic profile. This is the real deal. A blue collar smoke that is cleaned up for Friday night dinner, but not one trying too hard to fit in.
The cocoa and cedar come back through and sit around to catch up. They're talking to me when the spice comes through and gives my tongue a quick tickle. Its like he is singing a song that gets louder as he approaches. Then he gets quiet and brooding. Spice is definitely adding to the conversation. We all trade stories for a couple of minutes.
I keep thinking that I'm surprised by the quality of this cigar so far. The char line gets wavy and then self corrects. It never gets razor sharp. However, I'm never afraid it is going to run amok either.
Now, I'm a maduro fan boy to some extent. They tend to just rock my little world. This sun grown is growing on me though. It wouldn't replace my maduros. I'm just thinking that it could be a nice change of pace in the rotation.
Suddenly we have a very spicy complexity. The flavors are all in a huddle. Since they don't wear numbered jerseys they are nearly indistinguishable. The exception is the spice. It is like a quarterback wearing a bright red mesh jersey in practice. That seems rather fitting since it is a red pepper assault on my tongue. It ramped up for a couple of puffs before this. Then when the ash fell off it started throwing hail marys with the zeal of Brett Favre in the championship. Luckily it was more accurate.
The complexity is still there but occasionally a single flavor pops out to the front. First it is cedar, then cocoa, then raisin (where the hell did that come from), and then leather. It is a pleasant experience that belies the price point.
The complexity breaks down a little bit. The flavors are becoming more distinct again and then they come back together with a dark complexity. For the first time I get a hint of harshness. It disappears pretty quickly and things go back normal. A dark kind of gooey flavor starts creeping in as the one inch mark hits and the char line goes south. One third begins burning faster than the rest of the stick. I don't bother to correct it because there isn't much time left. I can tell it is affecting the flavor as it loses some of fullness and some flavors start to disappear. With less than three-quarters of an inch left tar starts to come in to the picture. By the time I get down to one-half inch the char line is pretty lopsided and I just give it up.
For a cigar that can be had for as little as $2.80 a piece on Cbid this is a great experience. Hell for the full retail price this is a really good experience. It comes out of the gate with a mild-medium body and a medium-full flavor. There is no waiting for the second half or last third to see what this cigar is bringing to the dance. It comes out with it's blue collar popped up and big ole country smile. It never gets bitter or mean. It has enough changes to keep the smoke interesting and it pours out smoke like dollar draft at happy hour. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for these on Cbid and those other sites. It is a more than adequate humidor stuffer for those on a budget. Even for guys that just need something between their weekly $10 boutique cigar this is worth picking up a five pack to try it out.
What else can I say? Pick one up and give it a month in the humi/tupper/coolidor. Then light it up an see what happens. You probably won't be replacing your Drew Estates, but I'm willing to bet you'll be second guessing your other hold over and "every day" smokes.
