I was generously gifted this Cigar by a brother here. (Thank You again Gonz).
I don't know anything about this cigar what so ever so I am going "blind" into unchartered territory.
Size:Toro
Wrapper: Maduro
Country or origin: ?? At a guess from when smoking it, I would think that filler + binder are of Honduran origin and wrapper from Nicaragua.
Constuction. Good. Even burn and ample of smoke.. draw not too loose or hard.
The wrapper is fairly rustic and have a toothy quality. Color is not the darkest of the darkest oscuro.. more rich dark chocolate brown.
Pre-light it had a distinct chocolat scent to it and the pre-light draw reveiled a promise of woodsy and leathery tones...
At first light, this was certainly the case.. ample of woodsy notes on the pallett. A few puffs in and the chocolate note came into the picture too...
There was no harsh notes and no chemical*metallic nuances so often present in NC cigars. The strength is on the full bodied side.. the flavour however are not rich. It appears to be a slight unbalance, at this point, between strength and flavours. The Flavours are there for sure but in the background. The aroma is very intoxicating though.
At half way in. The cigar have now grown into a decently strong cigar.. the woodsy elements have been replaced by some earthy ones. However the balance between strenght and flavours are still not right.. the strength is overpowering the flavours and you have to really dig deep to taste any nuances apart from wood, leather and earth. There are the dark bitter sweet chocolate flavours present but at a very far distance. This leaves me to believe that the blender either had a long term storage in mind.. allowing the strength to subdue a bit and balance out in about 5-8 years or missed the mark somewhat according to my pallett.. I don't mind strong cigars in the slightest but I don't wanna sacrifice flavours just to get strength.. there is gotta be a balance.
At 3/4 length the cigar became boring.. no real progression in terms of flavour development. The strength increased even further (which I normally like) but there just weren't enough flavours to come along for the ride. I let it go out at the band.
This was in no way a bad cigar or the like. A fairly decent cigar in fact. It probably will gain quite a bit with some time to mellow out in strenth and let the flavours become richer. I wouldn't hesitate to try one agian in a few years time. If you are looking at a cigar for now, I wouldn't be able to recommend it as there are a zillion cigars out there that are similar and another zillion that at this point beats it. (there are 2 zillions that are worse too).
Again, Thank You Gonz for helping me explore and I appreciate your generosity! The appriciation of your gift is the same whether I would have been over the moon about the cigar or thoroughly disliked it.. as it was, it was an ok cigar but nothing more.
If anyone knows if I was totally off the mark in terms of origin.. please feel free to enlighten me.. (like you wouldn't anyway he he)
Hawkan
I don't know anything about this cigar what so ever so I am going "blind" into unchartered territory.
Size:Toro
Wrapper: Maduro
Country or origin: ?? At a guess from when smoking it, I would think that filler + binder are of Honduran origin and wrapper from Nicaragua.
Constuction. Good. Even burn and ample of smoke.. draw not too loose or hard.
The wrapper is fairly rustic and have a toothy quality. Color is not the darkest of the darkest oscuro.. more rich dark chocolate brown.
Pre-light it had a distinct chocolat scent to it and the pre-light draw reveiled a promise of woodsy and leathery tones...
At first light, this was certainly the case.. ample of woodsy notes on the pallett. A few puffs in and the chocolate note came into the picture too...
There was no harsh notes and no chemical*metallic nuances so often present in NC cigars. The strength is on the full bodied side.. the flavour however are not rich. It appears to be a slight unbalance, at this point, between strength and flavours. The Flavours are there for sure but in the background. The aroma is very intoxicating though.
At half way in. The cigar have now grown into a decently strong cigar.. the woodsy elements have been replaced by some earthy ones. However the balance between strenght and flavours are still not right.. the strength is overpowering the flavours and you have to really dig deep to taste any nuances apart from wood, leather and earth. There are the dark bitter sweet chocolate flavours present but at a very far distance. This leaves me to believe that the blender either had a long term storage in mind.. allowing the strength to subdue a bit and balance out in about 5-8 years or missed the mark somewhat according to my pallett.. I don't mind strong cigars in the slightest but I don't wanna sacrifice flavours just to get strength.. there is gotta be a balance.
At 3/4 length the cigar became boring.. no real progression in terms of flavour development. The strength increased even further (which I normally like) but there just weren't enough flavours to come along for the ride. I let it go out at the band.
This was in no way a bad cigar or the like. A fairly decent cigar in fact. It probably will gain quite a bit with some time to mellow out in strenth and let the flavours become richer. I wouldn't hesitate to try one agian in a few years time. If you are looking at a cigar for now, I wouldn't be able to recommend it as there are a zillion cigars out there that are similar and another zillion that at this point beats it. (there are 2 zillions that are worse too).
Again, Thank You Gonz for helping me explore and I appreciate your generosity! The appriciation of your gift is the same whether I would have been over the moon about the cigar or thoroughly disliked it.. as it was, it was an ok cigar but nothing more.
If anyone knows if I was totally off the mark in terms of origin.. please feel free to enlighten me.. (like you wouldn't anyway he he)
Hawkan