Gran Habano Azteca Fuerte Robusto
6 days rest
68f/68%
Soft Flame
Water
From CI:
It was actually less veiny than the $8 msrp American Puro I smoked yesterday. The seams were also tighter and the overall appearance was light years ahead of the Miami rolled stick. I was shaking my head trying to figure out why Rico's el cheapo cigar was better constructed and cared for than the expensive flagship model. Anyway, on to the smoking.
This thing was a pain in the ass to light. The blockage I spoke of earlier made it impossible to get any smoke through the cigar. After a bit of firm massaging it cleared up the blockage and smoke started rolling like a three alarm fire in a paper factory. There was copious smoke on the draw and enough resting smoke to ease any fear that it was going to go out again.
Early on the flavors were coffee, cocoa, and earth. Not an overwhelming kitchen sink list of flavors. It was more than sufficient to be interesting and flavorful. The flavors were medium in presence and lacked any harshness. There was a smooth creamy texture that was more of a feeling than a flavor. As a San Andres maduro fan I found it a pleasant start. The flavors were a nice tenor that wanted to become a baritone.
The burn was lopsided. There was a single hard vein that was almost wooden in feel that ran the length of the cigar. It burned slower than the surrounding leaf and would keep the char line from getting perfect.
The flavors were mainly earth, medium roast coffee, baker's cocoa, and a gentle spice. I couldn't pinpoint the type of spice. So, I'm not going to lie and call it any particular type. It was somewhat woody, but had a pepper undertone. I was surprised by the balance of the flavors. they weren't complex but their proportions were very similar giving everything an even keel.
Earth and coffee began to carry the day. The spice and cocoa faded to the back ground and slid in and out just enough to remind you they were there. I hit a spot where the cedar had appeared to have a dark splotch and a bit of cedar hit the flavor profile for two puffs. It reminded me of when we use cedar to cook in the adobe oven. It was smokey but a bit bright giving it a nice personality.
At this point I was enjoying the cigar. It was evident that it was still a bit young because of a slight sour note that creeped into the aftertaste. It wasn't evident in the smoke, but I was glad I had water to wash it off my palate. I have smoked one of these with six weeks on it. That taste is something that will fade over time. These are two dollar sticks and they don't get the same amount of fermentation or post roll aging as a more expensive stick. That is just a fact of the game and means you have to do some of the aging yourself.
Earth, tobacco, and wood are the main flavors at this point. Cocoa is turning to chocolate and the coffee is getting darker. They chocolate and coffee create a steady background note that the other flavors play on.
The finish is a bit smokey and toasty. The sour aftertaste has disappeared and the stick is enjoyable. At this point I am not exactly smiling like a cheshire cat, but I am enjoying the experience. This is something you can pull out as a yard gar or when you just want something simple to relax with. It doesn't demand much from you. It just wants to be your friend and help you enjoy your day.
The cocoa and coffee come back to the front. The earth and tobacco fade back and the spice ramps up for a few puffs before fading to the back again. Everything remains well balanced and tasty. The creamy texture is still there keeping things smooth but it hasn't become a defined flavor. I figure out a pace of exactly sixty seconds is perfect for keeping out any off notes and stopping the flavors from fading. The smoke is firmly in the medium body category at this point.
The ash fell as I was pulling off the band. It came off very evenly and required no touch up afterwards. I've smoked more expensive sticks that couldn't pull off that trick.
Oh, and talking about the band, I have to compliment Rico's rollers on this one. It seems like most companies apply enough glue to hold a brick on a ceiling. This one had just one well placed judicious dab of glue. It was enough to hold the band together without damaging the stick or the band. Plus it took minimal effort to pull it off.
Earth and tobacco are leading the show. A woody/cedary note is flirting in the background and then it disappears. The secondary flavors dance around looking for dominance. The coffee is becoming a dark roast and the chocolate is getting dark again. A couple of bitter puffs pass and things return to normal. The char line was definitely getting more wavy. It required a touch up to get things burning at the same pace.
The flavors were more mild than I remembered from the last one I smoked. It was a verified flavor bomb from the word go. Part of that is the six other sticks I have smoked since Saturday morning. Another part is the need for more rest time. What I'm getting a lot of is potential. This stick remains balanced but the flavors keep circling each other. They want to meld together and show some complexity, but they can't. They want to scream, but they haven't fully developed their voice yet.
One side has nearly stopped burning and I'm not going to waste time touching it up. That means the flavors are a little less present, but they are all still there. Coffee and earth take the lead. The flavors have gotten darker and deeper. The voice is venturing into baritone territory and becoming more relaxing A tiny bit of nicotine creeps into the proceedings. That may be because of extensive retrohaling. Even when the spice starts to ramp up it doesn't get irritating to the tongue or sinuses. It appears as a condiment to add some pizzaz to the proceedings without getting obnoxious.
The nub starts to get a bit mushy and I have to slow the pace to keep the heat from smearing the flavors. At 3/4 of an inch a little harshness pulls a hit and run. Then one side completely stops burning because of that large vein. The other side is still plowing forward and starting to pick up the pace. At 1/3 of an inch I need to take a piss. So, I decided to let the cigar die a dignified death and add it to the ash bin.
Overall, this is a good stick if you like San Andres maduro flavors. It presents them all well and avoids the oil sweetness that some can have. The filler tobacco seems to be well aged and chosen to compliment the wrapper well. Besides the blockage early on I can't find anything to fault with the construction. The draw actually became very good as the stick burned and it only needed a couple of touch ups as it progressed. It actually performed better than several sticks I've tried that cost four or five times as much. The flavor isn't going to be mistaken for a super premium stick. However it punches well above it's weight. You can luck into these for $9 for five on Cbid. So, it is comparable to a Gurkha price wise and gives you an experience many times better. For maduro fans this is a great humi stuffer. Give it a month or more to age and it only gets better.
Now, just for sh*** and giggles, a picture of the infamous ash can.
6 days rest
68f/68%
Soft Flame
Water
From CI:
I pulled this one out to smoke pretty early. This particular stick was wrapped in cedar that had a couple of dark spots on it. It looked like the cedar was wrapped while the cigar was a little too moist. I decided to cull it from the herd before it had a chance to mold and ruin the stick or my stash. It had very little tooth and was a pretty hard stick. It actually took a good massaging of the stick to break up a blockage. After that the draw was good if a little hard.
It was actually less veiny than the $8 msrp American Puro I smoked yesterday. The seams were also tighter and the overall appearance was light years ahead of the Miami rolled stick. I was shaking my head trying to figure out why Rico's el cheapo cigar was better constructed and cared for than the expensive flagship model. Anyway, on to the smoking.
This thing was a pain in the ass to light. The blockage I spoke of earlier made it impossible to get any smoke through the cigar. After a bit of firm massaging it cleared up the blockage and smoke started rolling like a three alarm fire in a paper factory. There was copious smoke on the draw and enough resting smoke to ease any fear that it was going to go out again.
Early on the flavors were coffee, cocoa, and earth. Not an overwhelming kitchen sink list of flavors. It was more than sufficient to be interesting and flavorful. The flavors were medium in presence and lacked any harshness. There was a smooth creamy texture that was more of a feeling than a flavor. As a San Andres maduro fan I found it a pleasant start. The flavors were a nice tenor that wanted to become a baritone.
The burn was lopsided. There was a single hard vein that was almost wooden in feel that ran the length of the cigar. It burned slower than the surrounding leaf and would keep the char line from getting perfect.
The flavors were mainly earth, medium roast coffee, baker's cocoa, and a gentle spice. I couldn't pinpoint the type of spice. So, I'm not going to lie and call it any particular type. It was somewhat woody, but had a pepper undertone. I was surprised by the balance of the flavors. they weren't complex but their proportions were very similar giving everything an even keel.
Earth and coffee began to carry the day. The spice and cocoa faded to the back ground and slid in and out just enough to remind you they were there. I hit a spot where the cedar had appeared to have a dark splotch and a bit of cedar hit the flavor profile for two puffs. It reminded me of when we use cedar to cook in the adobe oven. It was smokey but a bit bright giving it a nice personality.
At this point I was enjoying the cigar. It was evident that it was still a bit young because of a slight sour note that creeped into the aftertaste. It wasn't evident in the smoke, but I was glad I had water to wash it off my palate. I have smoked one of these with six weeks on it. That taste is something that will fade over time. These are two dollar sticks and they don't get the same amount of fermentation or post roll aging as a more expensive stick. That is just a fact of the game and means you have to do some of the aging yourself.
Earth, tobacco, and wood are the main flavors at this point. Cocoa is turning to chocolate and the coffee is getting darker. They chocolate and coffee create a steady background note that the other flavors play on.
The finish is a bit smokey and toasty. The sour aftertaste has disappeared and the stick is enjoyable. At this point I am not exactly smiling like a cheshire cat, but I am enjoying the experience. This is something you can pull out as a yard gar or when you just want something simple to relax with. It doesn't demand much from you. It just wants to be your friend and help you enjoy your day.
The cocoa and coffee come back to the front. The earth and tobacco fade back and the spice ramps up for a few puffs before fading to the back again. Everything remains well balanced and tasty. The creamy texture is still there keeping things smooth but it hasn't become a defined flavor. I figure out a pace of exactly sixty seconds is perfect for keeping out any off notes and stopping the flavors from fading. The smoke is firmly in the medium body category at this point.
The ash fell as I was pulling off the band. It came off very evenly and required no touch up afterwards. I've smoked more expensive sticks that couldn't pull off that trick.
Oh, and talking about the band, I have to compliment Rico's rollers on this one. It seems like most companies apply enough glue to hold a brick on a ceiling. This one had just one well placed judicious dab of glue. It was enough to hold the band together without damaging the stick or the band. Plus it took minimal effort to pull it off.
Earth and tobacco are leading the show. A woody/cedary note is flirting in the background and then it disappears. The secondary flavors dance around looking for dominance. The coffee is becoming a dark roast and the chocolate is getting dark again. A couple of bitter puffs pass and things return to normal. The char line was definitely getting more wavy. It required a touch up to get things burning at the same pace.
The flavors were more mild than I remembered from the last one I smoked. It was a verified flavor bomb from the word go. Part of that is the six other sticks I have smoked since Saturday morning. Another part is the need for more rest time. What I'm getting a lot of is potential. This stick remains balanced but the flavors keep circling each other. They want to meld together and show some complexity, but they can't. They want to scream, but they haven't fully developed their voice yet.
One side has nearly stopped burning and I'm not going to waste time touching it up. That means the flavors are a little less present, but they are all still there. Coffee and earth take the lead. The flavors have gotten darker and deeper. The voice is venturing into baritone territory and becoming more relaxing A tiny bit of nicotine creeps into the proceedings. That may be because of extensive retrohaling. Even when the spice starts to ramp up it doesn't get irritating to the tongue or sinuses. It appears as a condiment to add some pizzaz to the proceedings without getting obnoxious.
The nub starts to get a bit mushy and I have to slow the pace to keep the heat from smearing the flavors. At 3/4 of an inch a little harshness pulls a hit and run. Then one side completely stops burning because of that large vein. The other side is still plowing forward and starting to pick up the pace. At 1/3 of an inch I need to take a piss. So, I decided to let the cigar die a dignified death and add it to the ash bin.
Overall, this is a good stick if you like San Andres maduro flavors. It presents them all well and avoids the oil sweetness that some can have. The filler tobacco seems to be well aged and chosen to compliment the wrapper well. Besides the blockage early on I can't find anything to fault with the construction. The draw actually became very good as the stick burned and it only needed a couple of touch ups as it progressed. It actually performed better than several sticks I've tried that cost four or five times as much. The flavor isn't going to be mistaken for a super premium stick. However it punches well above it's weight. You can luck into these for $9 for five on Cbid. So, it is comparable to a Gurkha price wise and gives you an experience many times better. For maduro fans this is a great humi stuffer. Give it a month or more to age and it only gets better.
Now, just for sh*** and giggles, a picture of the infamous ash can.
