I have no idea how I came to posess this particular cigar, but I know Ive had it in my humidor for quit a few years. Here is what I was able to dig up about this Vintage Henry Clay:
"These rough looking medium to full bodied Henry Clays were another great find in the cavernous cold rooms of Menendez y Garcia (a.k.a. Tabacalera de Garcia). While thirteen is supposed to be an unlucky number, in this case it surely was nothing of the sort. We were able to buy the factory tasting samples from thirteen previous years all in one shot! Every one of these cigars sports a real spicy USA grown Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper."
This cigar measures in at 5.62 x 46. This has a Broadleaf wrapper and a Dominican binder/filler. After removing the slightly yellowed cellophane the wrapper is rough yet supple. The cap is poorly applied but otherwise the construction seems pretty solid. The cold aroma from the foot is sweet and chocolatey. The prelight draw flavor is of aged tobacco and cedar with a surprising amount of spice. The draw has just the right amount of resistance. Once lit this starts out with some barnyard funk, sweetness and plenty of cedar. There is a little spice but it fades away pretty quickly. A solid start but not overly complex or exciting flavorwise. the snow white ash only wants to hold on for under half an inch. Supposedly this cigar is 24 years old and if thats the case it still has a nice amount of flavor left in it. Cedar is the dominant flavor and the tobacco does taste well aged. I am not usually a huge fan of this amount of cedar in a cigar but its working well here. Its more of a refined cedar flavor that I have noted in a few other aged cigars ive smoked.
At the halfway point the flavors have stayed consistent. Cedar and a sweet honey flavor are still the dominant flavors in this medum bodied cigar. This is a prettty one dimentional cigar and it is getting a little boring at this point.The burn has needed a few touchups but hasnt gotten too bad. In the final inch this Henry Clay has gotten a little bitter but not bitter enough to make me want to put it down. This has been a very slow burning cigar. Overall this was a decent smoke. It isnt one I would go out of my way for though. There wasn't anything very exciting about this cigar but it wasnt unpleasant in any way, I just got a little bored with the flavor.
