Cigarro: Bespoke Basilica C #1
Fábrica: Kelner Boutique Factory
Country: Dominican Republic
Capa: Brazilian Cubra
Doble Capote: Nicaraguan (Condega) & Dominican H-192
Tripa: Dominican Havana Vuelta Seco - Dominican Havana Vuelta Abajo Viso - Peruvian Pelo D’Oro Viso - Nicaraguan Jalapa Viso
(Thanks for the info Katman)
Dimensions: 6 x 52
Vitola: Toro "#1"
Production: Regular Release/Core Line
MSRP: $19.00
Prelude "Before The Flame"
Bespoke Cigars is an up and coming cigar manufacturer hailing from Estonia and is run by Jeremy Casdagli. They either work with or have worked with a couple factories. One being Kelner Boutique Factory. The Basilica C #1, which is a product of KBF, has a medium brown wrapper that is uniform in color. There are a few visible veins and the majority of the seams are tight. It is rolled with a clean shaggy foot, exposing a small amount of naked filler and finished off with a triple cap. It's presented with double bands, one being the Bespoke Cigar band, and just below it there is a portrait of an older man. My senses tell me he is family in some way to Bespoke Cigars, but I could be completely wrong. The aroma is mild. I'm not really picking up much on the nose, a little hay maybe some cedar.
1/3 "The Appetizer"
The first few puffs inpart a good bit of woody notes. While the retrohale produces a good bit of black pepper in the nose. The woody notes, which I discern as cedar, are accompanied by a natural tobacco. There is a vegetal flavor to it and the first third carried on with these notes. They worked well each other and no one note really took over the profile. Nearing the end of the 1st I get a real to life lemon peel flavor.
2/3 "Main Entrée"
Into the second third and the lemon peel is the highlight flavor note. I don't mean it is the most upfront flavor, but that it is carrying the profile in its given capacity. There are notes of nuts and coffee. A clay flavors enters the picture and things remain as they are. There is a good balance between flavors and either the lemon is growing or I'm just not accustomed to the flavor so I really focused in on it. Pepper increased ever so slightly to add a little more depth to the profile.
3/3 "Dessert"
The flavor profile stayed about the same during the last third. The plus side to this is no bitterness or harshness. I did notice some additional flavors of hay but nothing game changing towards the end.
Intensity
I felt that the body was medium-full at best and I would put the strength at a medium plus.
Construction
This is a very well constructed cigar. The dense light grey ash holds on long and the burn rate is tad on the slower side. While I did need a couple touchups it was nothing too much. The char line was razor sharp for a good portion of the cigar and never got out of hand.
Closing Thoughts
I thought this was a solid cigar. It performed well, and delivered a nice flavor profile. I thought the lemon peel flavor was very unique, but I also felt the blend lacked a little in the complexity department. If you are looking for something a little different yet classic this would be one of those smokes to seek out. With these retailing at close to 20 dollars I would say these fit right in with other celebratory cigars, not only for the price, but that the flavors aren't all that hidden. You can smoke and enjoy the moment socializing and not miss out on too much that it has to offer. I am looking forward to some of the other offerings from Bespoke which can be obtained at the moment from Biggs in Chicago, and according to the site there may be a few others.
Smoking Time: 2 hours 22 minutes
Pairing: Zero Water
Scoring: 87/100
Pairing: Zero Water
Scoring: 87/100
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