I gotta be honest here. The first time I had one of these, I really didnt enjoy it that much. It seemed pretty one-dimensional to me. I got some cedar and some spice, and that was about it for the whole smoke. And there was a bit of harshness about it that never went away. I got two fivers of these blind on one of the auction sites on the recommendation of somebody, cant remember who, for 3 bucks a stick. I put one in my on-deck box and put the rest in my storage box. After about a week in the on-deck box, I sparked one up and had the experience I just described. I figured, okay, Ill let them rest for a while and if nothing else, somebody will maybe want to trade for these. After all, I had heard good things and someone will probably want them. After about six weeks of resting, I figured Id try another one, and take the opportunity to write my first review. Please be patient with me
.here goes
I took some pictures, but my camera isn't that great, my photography skills are lacking and I was sitting in the shade in Baghdad.
0/3
The presentation is very nice and clean looking. There's a little "v" on the bottom of the band, and the cedar sleeve is tucked under it. Take off the sleeve and a very well constructed cigar is under there. The roll is nice and uniform, tightly packed with no soft spots. The wrapper is a nice, smooth medium brown shade with a few veins that are really quite small. The cap is perfect and you cant really tell where cap meets wrapper. The pre light aroma is a mixture of cedar, barnyard, and maybe a little bit of vanilla. I get a perfect V cut, and the pre light draw is fine with just enough resistance. Time to spark it up.
1/3
After toasting the foot, it lights up easily and evenly. I give it a couple good puffs to get it going, and it puts out a nice amount of dense smoke, but Im getting some of that same harshness that I got with the first one. Uh-oh. So, Ive got the thing going well and decide to let it sit and chill for a few minutes before continuing the smoke. As it turns out, Im glad I did. I get maybe a little less than an inch in, and voila! Harshness hasnt just decreased, its gone. Hmmmm....maybe I smoked the first one too quick? Now what I have is some light cedar, nuts, and vanilla creaminess. The finish is fairly short with some light spice. Were in the low medium range here, and all of a sudden, Im thinking this is going to be a nice enjoyable smoke. The burn is straight, and any small flaws self correct quickly with no help from me. Draw is right on the money. The ash is sturdy and grayish-white. Not flaky at all, but I wouldnt try an ash stand on it. At the end of this third, the vanilla is really starting to pick up along with some more nuts, and the finish has gotten somewhat longer with some still-fairly-light spice. The ash finally falls at close to 2 inches.
2/3
As we get into the second third, ever present cedar and that light spice is showing up some more, competing with the vanilla. The creaminess is still there, although maybe not quite as much as before. It seems as if the spice that was in the finish before is kind of trading places with the vanilla and nuts, which now seem to be more in the finish, which, by the way, has gotten considerably longer now. We really have more or less the same predominant flavors here, theyre just kind of moving around on the palette, maybe. The body is pretty much medium, the draw is perfect and the burn is still quite straight with a sturdy ash. Toward the end of this third, the vanilla is back toward the front, the nuts and cedar are still there, and have been joined by a little hint of something almost fruity I cant quite place ..maybe raisins? The ash hangs on for about an inch and a half.
3/3
The last bit has seen the vanilla really make a comeback, almost like a hazelnut cream now, but not quite as sweet. The nuts and cedar are still there and the creamy, spicy finish has gotten to be nice and long. I would say the body has hit solid medium by now, and the harshness I half expected to return never did. The burn got just a little raggedy toward the end, but nothing too bad. Im definitely getting some raisin in the finish now, along with a nice spicy kick for the last bit of the cigar. Total burn time from foot to nub was a little over an hour.
Wrap it up ..
Overall I would say that this stick was fairly consistent throughout, and although I usually go for something a little more full-bodied, I really enjoyed this smoke. After the experience I had with the first one, I really wanted to pay particular attention and see if I could put my finger on what it was that I didnt like about it. Im guessing maybe the first one was a bit dry and the little extra rest might have helped it out too. Whatever it was, this smoke changed my mind, and Im glad I gave it another chance. If youre a full body kind of guy, this may not be for you, but I really enjoyed it. At three bucks a stick, I would call it a solid value, though they retail normally for 5-6 bucks. Im going to put one fiver of them down for a year or so of rest and revisit them. I'll gift one along with some other choice morsels to a buddy that just got in country, and smoke the other two after some more rest.
0/3
The presentation is very nice and clean looking. There's a little "v" on the bottom of the band, and the cedar sleeve is tucked under it. Take off the sleeve and a very well constructed cigar is under there. The roll is nice and uniform, tightly packed with no soft spots. The wrapper is a nice, smooth medium brown shade with a few veins that are really quite small. The cap is perfect and you cant really tell where cap meets wrapper. The pre light aroma is a mixture of cedar, barnyard, and maybe a little bit of vanilla. I get a perfect V cut, and the pre light draw is fine with just enough resistance. Time to spark it up.
1/3
After toasting the foot, it lights up easily and evenly. I give it a couple good puffs to get it going, and it puts out a nice amount of dense smoke, but Im getting some of that same harshness that I got with the first one. Uh-oh. So, Ive got the thing going well and decide to let it sit and chill for a few minutes before continuing the smoke. As it turns out, Im glad I did. I get maybe a little less than an inch in, and voila! Harshness hasnt just decreased, its gone. Hmmmm....maybe I smoked the first one too quick? Now what I have is some light cedar, nuts, and vanilla creaminess. The finish is fairly short with some light spice. Were in the low medium range here, and all of a sudden, Im thinking this is going to be a nice enjoyable smoke. The burn is straight, and any small flaws self correct quickly with no help from me. Draw is right on the money. The ash is sturdy and grayish-white. Not flaky at all, but I wouldnt try an ash stand on it. At the end of this third, the vanilla is really starting to pick up along with some more nuts, and the finish has gotten somewhat longer with some still-fairly-light spice. The ash finally falls at close to 2 inches.
2/3
As we get into the second third, ever present cedar and that light spice is showing up some more, competing with the vanilla. The creaminess is still there, although maybe not quite as much as before. It seems as if the spice that was in the finish before is kind of trading places with the vanilla and nuts, which now seem to be more in the finish, which, by the way, has gotten considerably longer now. We really have more or less the same predominant flavors here, theyre just kind of moving around on the palette, maybe. The body is pretty much medium, the draw is perfect and the burn is still quite straight with a sturdy ash. Toward the end of this third, the vanilla is back toward the front, the nuts and cedar are still there, and have been joined by a little hint of something almost fruity I cant quite place ..maybe raisins? The ash hangs on for about an inch and a half.
3/3
The last bit has seen the vanilla really make a comeback, almost like a hazelnut cream now, but not quite as sweet. The nuts and cedar are still there and the creamy, spicy finish has gotten to be nice and long. I would say the body has hit solid medium by now, and the harshness I half expected to return never did. The burn got just a little raggedy toward the end, but nothing too bad. Im definitely getting some raisin in the finish now, along with a nice spicy kick for the last bit of the cigar. Total burn time from foot to nub was a little over an hour.
Wrap it up ..
Overall I would say that this stick was fairly consistent throughout, and although I usually go for something a little more full-bodied, I really enjoyed this smoke. After the experience I had with the first one, I really wanted to pay particular attention and see if I could put my finger on what it was that I didnt like about it. Im guessing maybe the first one was a bit dry and the little extra rest might have helped it out too. Whatever it was, this smoke changed my mind, and Im glad I gave it another chance. If youre a full body kind of guy, this may not be for you, but I really enjoyed it. At three bucks a stick, I would call it a solid value, though they retail normally for 5-6 bucks. Im going to put one fiver of them down for a year or so of rest and revisit them. I'll gift one along with some other choice morsels to a buddy that just got in country, and smoke the other two after some more rest.
