Sizes: 7 x 48
Body: Full
Filler: Nicaraguan
Binder: Sumatran
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Rosado
Pre-smoke
Scent of Wrapper: This cigar had a very prominent and distinct smell. At first, I couldn't figure out what it was, although I knew I smelled it before. So I asked my girlfriend if she could figure it out. She immediately smelled it, made a funny face, and turned away disgusted. "It smells like the elephant house at the zoo!" I nodded my head in agreement. Now don't get me wrong, to me its not a terribly bad thing, just an indication of how much this cigar smelled like hay.
Scent at Foot: As the foot of this cigar was closed by the wrapper, it smelled exactly the same down there.
Appearance: Churchill sized. 7" x 48 ring gauge. great looking cigar. my mouth is watering. the head cracked a little bit after cutting it with my palio, but nothing major.
Wrapper: nice even reddish brown color, no splotches, or big veins. very pretty
Feel: seemingly perfect construction. packed slightly hard, but theres not bumps, or soft areas
Tongue: no discernible taste. slightly tingly
Flavor on Draw: couldn't draw too well with the closed foot, so i picked nothing up here.
Smoke
Taste: This was a very tasty smoke. Started off with some tea flavors, like regular tea (earl grey?), seemed to be a bit light. Could have been that the draw was still fighting the closed foot.
After the foot was burning pretty well, the flavors (and volume of smoke) seemed to pick up some more. I detected a bit of a salty flavor. Almost like cured ham. Sounds weird, but I guess I can describe it better as a meaty taste with a salt taste. I could still pick up the tea. Definitely some straw / hay taste in there, but that could be the strong scent of the wrapper throwing me off.
Honestly, this is one of the most complex cigars I've smoked to date. It took some real brainstorming to figure out what exactly I was tasting. Almost overwhelming.
On top of all the flavors I've listed already, there was some definite scotch type flavors...oak, pete, and some other woody flavors. Maybe even some smoky goodness(like smoked food type flavor).
Flavor Changes: while this was a very complex smoke, many different flavors, it seemed to stay consistent throughout. I could always pickup these flavors throughout the whole smoke.
Strength: i'd call this a medium bodied cigar honestly...that is until you hit the 2/3rds mark. Then I got a gut-punching nic buzz.
Feeling: not much early, like i said, but it packed a big punch towards the end
Scent of Smoke: rather pleasing, non-offensive smoke. couldn't pick up any particular smell
Heat on Fingers and in Mouth: didn't smoke too hot at all.
Draw: firm draw, it takes a little effort to smoke it at first. Not a whole lot of smoke to start. Later on, it opened up for me and produced a lot more flavorful smoke.
Finish: not too long of a finish, except for the buzz it gave me
Other Aspects of the Cigar Smoking Experience:
a. nice even burn until 1/2 way, then i had to fight with it to keep it lit
b. light grey / white ash, firm, not flaky, fell off in 1" increments
c. a little peeved that the label peeled off some of the wrapper when i took it off
Final Rating: 8.8, I really enjoyed this cigar. While I don't get to enjoy Churchill sized smokes often, I'm glad this one kept my attention throughout the 2 hours it was lit. I'd recommend everyone try this. Its so flavorful that you're bound to find at least one flavor in there that you like. Definitely not a cigar to take lightly. Probably not a good herf cigar either as you really do need to sit down and focus on nothing else but the cigar and its flavors.
Body: Full
Filler: Nicaraguan
Binder: Sumatran
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Rosado
Pre-smoke
Scent of Wrapper: This cigar had a very prominent and distinct smell. At first, I couldn't figure out what it was, although I knew I smelled it before. So I asked my girlfriend if she could figure it out. She immediately smelled it, made a funny face, and turned away disgusted. "It smells like the elephant house at the zoo!" I nodded my head in agreement. Now don't get me wrong, to me its not a terribly bad thing, just an indication of how much this cigar smelled like hay.
Scent at Foot: As the foot of this cigar was closed by the wrapper, it smelled exactly the same down there.
Appearance: Churchill sized. 7" x 48 ring gauge. great looking cigar. my mouth is watering. the head cracked a little bit after cutting it with my palio, but nothing major.
Wrapper: nice even reddish brown color, no splotches, or big veins. very pretty
Feel: seemingly perfect construction. packed slightly hard, but theres not bumps, or soft areas
Tongue: no discernible taste. slightly tingly
Flavor on Draw: couldn't draw too well with the closed foot, so i picked nothing up here.
Smoke
Taste: This was a very tasty smoke. Started off with some tea flavors, like regular tea (earl grey?), seemed to be a bit light. Could have been that the draw was still fighting the closed foot.
After the foot was burning pretty well, the flavors (and volume of smoke) seemed to pick up some more. I detected a bit of a salty flavor. Almost like cured ham. Sounds weird, but I guess I can describe it better as a meaty taste with a salt taste. I could still pick up the tea. Definitely some straw / hay taste in there, but that could be the strong scent of the wrapper throwing me off.
Honestly, this is one of the most complex cigars I've smoked to date. It took some real brainstorming to figure out what exactly I was tasting. Almost overwhelming.
On top of all the flavors I've listed already, there was some definite scotch type flavors...oak, pete, and some other woody flavors. Maybe even some smoky goodness(like smoked food type flavor).
Flavor Changes: while this was a very complex smoke, many different flavors, it seemed to stay consistent throughout. I could always pickup these flavors throughout the whole smoke.
Strength: i'd call this a medium bodied cigar honestly...that is until you hit the 2/3rds mark. Then I got a gut-punching nic buzz.
Feeling: not much early, like i said, but it packed a big punch towards the end
Scent of Smoke: rather pleasing, non-offensive smoke. couldn't pick up any particular smell
Heat on Fingers and in Mouth: didn't smoke too hot at all.
Draw: firm draw, it takes a little effort to smoke it at first. Not a whole lot of smoke to start. Later on, it opened up for me and produced a lot more flavorful smoke.
Finish: not too long of a finish, except for the buzz it gave me
Other Aspects of the Cigar Smoking Experience:
a. nice even burn until 1/2 way, then i had to fight with it to keep it lit
b. light grey / white ash, firm, not flaky, fell off in 1" increments
c. a little peeved that the label peeled off some of the wrapper when i took it off
Final Rating: 8.8, I really enjoyed this cigar. While I don't get to enjoy Churchill sized smokes often, I'm glad this one kept my attention throughout the 2 hours it was lit. I'd recommend everyone try this. Its so flavorful that you're bound to find at least one flavor in there that you like. Definitely not a cigar to take lightly. Probably not a good herf cigar either as you really do need to sit down and focus on nothing else but the cigar and its flavors.
