javajunkie
BoM July '12
so the first stick i burned for morrisjohn's blind review pass was an impressive 6 1/4 x 52 (i think, BP makes ring gauges seem smaller) toro. thing was just gorgeous, with a butt ugly CBL wrapper of almost uniform color, perfect cap, PRONOUNCED press, and closed foot. (and please, no guessing until the reveal, kids!). of note was some almost metallic specs IN the wrapper; at first i thought it was foil of other detrius off the band, but it seemed imbedded in the leaf itself.
there was no prelight aroma off the body or foot, as it was cold as hell down here (next selection was carried in my breast pocket for that reason), but the curb appeal alone had my interest. a clean straight cut gave a cold draw of sweet dried fruit, like cherries or prunes, and maybe some good grape jam, over a core of leather.
gently lighting the closed foot (an aside: i LOVE the aesthetic of closed feet on cigars, and yet it honestly makes it more difficult to light cleanly. oh well, first world problems), i am met with BIG ASS BROADLEAF flavors! no, really, BIG ASS BROADLEAF. cannot underscore that enough! heavy and rich texture on the palate, pale hint of ammonial youth on the back palate/ low sinus, with a nice pop of spice in the nose. lots of sweetness over TONS of dark savory notes. into the first third, there is an almost alcohol-like quality on the palate-sinus juncture, almost as if cognac (remy 1738?). as soon as the first ash dropped at 1", the spice came bac BIG to grab my attention.
a lot more pronounced into the second third, the savory notes getting darker and richer, still ebbing and flowing with the spice on the nose.
i will be honest here and say i lost most of the second third. it's just gone. this is partly due to a schedule change at work, but mostly due to a lulling, almost hypnotic quality to the smoke. there were a lot of rock and roll aspects to this, but by this point i had it pegged: i put the magic music machine on tool's "lateralis" and just went with it. heavy bass and rhythmic repetition, this was a metal mandala, a trance inducing repetition of pattern in taste and texture.
the final third has opened up in draw and smoke production from firm and controlled to loose and limber, not lost and uncontrolled but rather well stretched-out, really just shy of fully open. the home stretch was very smokey and meaty, very primal. sorry to our veggi brethren, but it was the urge to wrassle something to the ground and devour it. dessert is over, no more sweet stuff, you need animal protein! there was a small wrapper tear that did NOTHING to the performance. finished just shy of full power and into full body.
SUMMARY: i really don't fully believe in a blind smoke, as we all have biases. this was big bold connecticut broad leaf (might have mentioned that), and that is a weakness of mine. BUT, this was also fabulous in the blend execution and construction. add to that the fact that i actually lost time to this smoke, and my final rating is 96/100. for clarification, here is what that scale means to me:
>80, nope, pass
80-85, interesting, but nothing new
85-90, sure i'll burn that
90-95, must have, would consider giving up dairy for a steady supply
95-99, this s#1t will get you in trouble, worth giving up meat over
100, i'mma go to jail over this
thanks for sharing, kids, and big ups to John for hosting the party! o)
EDIT: also had this smoke pegged within the first half inch. had yet to burn one, though, so it made the experience all the better!
there was no prelight aroma off the body or foot, as it was cold as hell down here (next selection was carried in my breast pocket for that reason), but the curb appeal alone had my interest. a clean straight cut gave a cold draw of sweet dried fruit, like cherries or prunes, and maybe some good grape jam, over a core of leather.
gently lighting the closed foot (an aside: i LOVE the aesthetic of closed feet on cigars, and yet it honestly makes it more difficult to light cleanly. oh well, first world problems), i am met with BIG ASS BROADLEAF flavors! no, really, BIG ASS BROADLEAF. cannot underscore that enough! heavy and rich texture on the palate, pale hint of ammonial youth on the back palate/ low sinus, with a nice pop of spice in the nose. lots of sweetness over TONS of dark savory notes. into the first third, there is an almost alcohol-like quality on the palate-sinus juncture, almost as if cognac (remy 1738?). as soon as the first ash dropped at 1", the spice came bac BIG to grab my attention.
a lot more pronounced into the second third, the savory notes getting darker and richer, still ebbing and flowing with the spice on the nose.
i will be honest here and say i lost most of the second third. it's just gone. this is partly due to a schedule change at work, but mostly due to a lulling, almost hypnotic quality to the smoke. there were a lot of rock and roll aspects to this, but by this point i had it pegged: i put the magic music machine on tool's "lateralis" and just went with it. heavy bass and rhythmic repetition, this was a metal mandala, a trance inducing repetition of pattern in taste and texture.
the final third has opened up in draw and smoke production from firm and controlled to loose and limber, not lost and uncontrolled but rather well stretched-out, really just shy of fully open. the home stretch was very smokey and meaty, very primal. sorry to our veggi brethren, but it was the urge to wrassle something to the ground and devour it. dessert is over, no more sweet stuff, you need animal protein! there was a small wrapper tear that did NOTHING to the performance. finished just shy of full power and into full body.
SUMMARY: i really don't fully believe in a blind smoke, as we all have biases. this was big bold connecticut broad leaf (might have mentioned that), and that is a weakness of mine. BUT, this was also fabulous in the blend execution and construction. add to that the fact that i actually lost time to this smoke, and my final rating is 96/100. for clarification, here is what that scale means to me:
>80, nope, pass
80-85, interesting, but nothing new
85-90, sure i'll burn that
90-95, must have, would consider giving up dairy for a steady supply
95-99, this s#1t will get you in trouble, worth giving up meat over
100, i'mma go to jail over this
thanks for sharing, kids, and big ups to John for hosting the party! o)
EDIT: also had this smoke pegged within the first half inch. had yet to burn one, though, so it made the experience all the better!
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