Today was my day off from my jobs and I woke up to find it sunny and brisk, but warming up. Not a particularly common occurrence this time of year and I decided to take full advantage of it.
Called a couple of buddies and met down at our local coffee shop. Dropped 4 shots over ice with a little Irish Cream and a dash of half and half and headed up to the lake.
The cigar of choice today for me was a Kristoff Maduro robusto; an attractive cigar with a shaggy foot and a tight pigtail. The wrapper is dark, but pales in comparison to the Kristoff ligero maduro that I have. Unfortunately, I didn't think to take a picture before cutting and lighting it.
Here is our location.
Let me preface all of this by admitting that I don't have a particularly advanced palate, but I'll do my best to tell what impressions I got while smoking. To compensate for my lack of ability to nail down a flavor for sure, I take lots of pictures.
Right off the bat there was a ton of flavor. Started off with a good burst of sweetness. I want to say chocolate and maybe some cedar. There was a bit of spice to it too.
Making good progress and the construction is great. I've been sitting here talking and motioning with my hands a good deal and the ash has held strong. The draw is perfect as well.
My tongue is definitely tingling a little bit and the spice is quite noticeable, but that may be due in part to the fact that I burned my tongue on the first cup of coffee this morning. lol. I'm getting a fruitish flavor. I want to say craisins. There's some underlying cream as well.
Making good progress through the cigar. Finally lost the ash. I'm proud to say that I didn't drop it on my lap like I often due.
Still getting sweetness, craisins, wood of some type, and spice. Coffee as well, but I am drinking coffee so I'm hesitant to list it. For a brief point in the final 3rd I got the flavor of meat. Didn't last long, but it did get my attention.
Finally wrapped up the cigar. Final time was just over an hour and a half. It was very enjoyable and I'm planning on tracking down more of these in the future. This particular cigar was only in my humidor for two days and was great despite having spent a week in transport.
All the way to the finish the predominant flavors were craisins, spice, and that sweetish flavor. Maybe some coffee too. Other flavors came and went and some of them I certainly couldn't identify. This is a cigar I would most certainly recommend.
This was also the first time out with my Xikar X8 cutter. It's supposed to take up to a 64 ring gauge; it certainly handled this 54 ring gauge without any problem. I find the carbon fiber to be quite attractive as well. It's relatively light and the action is very smooth.
The blades are sharp and it was a satisfyingly clean and easy cut. It has a curvature in the middle of the frame that made a good resting spot for my cigar.
I got the cutter for $23 and it is without a doubt some of the best money I have spent in quite a while.
Called a couple of buddies and met down at our local coffee shop. Dropped 4 shots over ice with a little Irish Cream and a dash of half and half and headed up to the lake.
The cigar of choice today for me was a Kristoff Maduro robusto; an attractive cigar with a shaggy foot and a tight pigtail. The wrapper is dark, but pales in comparison to the Kristoff ligero maduro that I have. Unfortunately, I didn't think to take a picture before cutting and lighting it.
Here is our location.
Let me preface all of this by admitting that I don't have a particularly advanced palate, but I'll do my best to tell what impressions I got while smoking. To compensate for my lack of ability to nail down a flavor for sure, I take lots of pictures.
Right off the bat there was a ton of flavor. Started off with a good burst of sweetness. I want to say chocolate and maybe some cedar. There was a bit of spice to it too.
Making good progress and the construction is great. I've been sitting here talking and motioning with my hands a good deal and the ash has held strong. The draw is perfect as well.
My tongue is definitely tingling a little bit and the spice is quite noticeable, but that may be due in part to the fact that I burned my tongue on the first cup of coffee this morning. lol. I'm getting a fruitish flavor. I want to say craisins. There's some underlying cream as well.
Making good progress through the cigar. Finally lost the ash. I'm proud to say that I didn't drop it on my lap like I often due.
Still getting sweetness, craisins, wood of some type, and spice. Coffee as well, but I am drinking coffee so I'm hesitant to list it. For a brief point in the final 3rd I got the flavor of meat. Didn't last long, but it did get my attention.
Finally wrapped up the cigar. Final time was just over an hour and a half. It was very enjoyable and I'm planning on tracking down more of these in the future. This particular cigar was only in my humidor for two days and was great despite having spent a week in transport.
All the way to the finish the predominant flavors were craisins, spice, and that sweetish flavor. Maybe some coffee too. Other flavors came and went and some of them I certainly couldn't identify. This is a cigar I would most certainly recommend.
This was also the first time out with my Xikar X8 cutter. It's supposed to take up to a 64 ring gauge; it certainly handled this 54 ring gauge without any problem. I find the carbon fiber to be quite attractive as well. It's relatively light and the action is very smooth.
The blades are sharp and it was a satisfyingly clean and easy cut. It has a curvature in the middle of the frame that made a good resting spot for my cigar.
I got the cutter for $23 and it is without a doubt some of the best money I have spent in quite a while.
