I don't claim to be a reviewer/blogger, but my buddy Eric asked me to do a guest review for his site and the result follows. A link to the site with full review, pictures, and a contest can be found here.
Quick Review:
In January 2012, Emilio Cigar Owner Gary Griffith announced plans to rename his popular and well-respected Grimalkin offering to La Musa Mousa. The Mousa, one of four planned lines for the La Musa - Melete, Aoide, and Mneme are the others - presents an enjoyable smoking experience that is an "exquisite representation of the art of cigar making" and "enable a lovely young friend [of Gary's] to achieve her dreams."
Background:
I first was introduced to Emilio Cigars by my friend ZackTheStogieMan and immediately took a liking to the brand this was even furthered by my first meeting with Gary in Esteli in May 2012. If youve never been lucky enough to meet and talk with Gary, I highly suggest tracking him down great guy with an interesting sense of humor! During the duration of our 45-minute or so conversation, Gary gave me insight into his life and journey, nut kicks, and more. One of the more fascinating topics we touched on included his muse and her association to the Grimalkin/La Musa. While its not my story to tell, I suggest you ask him about it when you get to meet Gary as it gave me a new-found respect for Gary and the cigar itself. I know I looked at the smoking experience delivered by the Grimalkin/La Musa differently before I spoke to Gary as I did after.
As a matter of full disclosure, both samples smoked for this review were received, without request, from Gary. While I greatly appreciate his generosity, that does not impact my opinion.
Cigar:
The La Musa is exactly what a cigar should look like a beautiful Habano Rosado wrapper with minimal, if any, visible oils and minor veins. I found the cigar to be very firm though this would not impact the draw. The band, while a bit plain for those who care about such things, fits with the Greek Muse theme and, in my opinion, is a step up from the creepy Grimalkin band (felt like I was being watched previously)!
After admiring the cigar, I took a straight-cut off of the cap and took some pre-light draws. An abundance of flavors hit my palate including a bit of sweetness and I could tell that this was going to be a winner. After toasting the foot, I lit the La Musa up and got to enjoying!
Smoking:
For the purposes of this review, I smoked two samples one that sat in my humidor for 7 days after I received it and one that sat in my humidor for 14 days after I received it. Typically I prefer to let cigars sit in my humidors a bit longer especially in winter months but I was eager to smoke these. The first sample had considerable burn issues and had to be touched up several times, but the second, while wavy, required no touch-ups.
Immediately off the light, I noticed a bit of spice especially on the retrohale. As the first third progressed, the spice became a bit more muted, though, and the abundance of flavors I got on the pre-light draw returned. Id say this is a medium strength smoke with a sweetness on the draw with some minor spice on the backend.
The ash stayed on the cigar pretty well perhaps an inch or so at a time but I did notice that it wasnt very tight with an intriguing flakiness to it.
As the smoking experience moved into the second third, the spiciness I noted in the beginning continued, but mainly on the backend as a creaminess joined the sweetness. The flavor remained relatively the same for me through the end. After about an hour and fifteen minutes of lush, billowing smoke, La Musa had done what she set out to do tempted me with nuance and skill and added another mainstay to my collection!
Conclusion:
While I would definitely buy this cigar again and keep it in my humidors for an occasional smoke, Im not sure its one that I would buy by the box. Ive heard rumors that this cigar is blended at the My Father factory in Esteli (Gary wont tell) and I think comparisons could be made to other lines that come from there, but Im not sure I would choose the La Musa over some of those or the fantastic AF1 or Draig K from Emilio which I absolutely love. If production of a limited release La Musa Lancero comes to fruition as is rumored, I will jump at it, though, as a huge fan of that vitola.
Quick Review:
In January 2012, Emilio Cigar Owner Gary Griffith announced plans to rename his popular and well-respected Grimalkin offering to La Musa Mousa. The Mousa, one of four planned lines for the La Musa - Melete, Aoide, and Mneme are the others - presents an enjoyable smoking experience that is an "exquisite representation of the art of cigar making" and "enable
Background:
I first was introduced to Emilio Cigars by my friend ZackTheStogieMan and immediately took a liking to the brand this was even furthered by my first meeting with Gary in Esteli in May 2012. If youve never been lucky enough to meet and talk with Gary, I highly suggest tracking him down great guy with an interesting sense of humor! During the duration of our 45-minute or so conversation, Gary gave me insight into his life and journey, nut kicks, and more. One of the more fascinating topics we touched on included his muse and her association to the Grimalkin/La Musa. While its not my story to tell, I suggest you ask him about it when you get to meet Gary as it gave me a new-found respect for Gary and the cigar itself. I know I looked at the smoking experience delivered by the Grimalkin/La Musa differently before I spoke to Gary as I did after.
As a matter of full disclosure, both samples smoked for this review were received, without request, from Gary. While I greatly appreciate his generosity, that does not impact my opinion.
Cigar:
The La Musa is exactly what a cigar should look like a beautiful Habano Rosado wrapper with minimal, if any, visible oils and minor veins. I found the cigar to be very firm though this would not impact the draw. The band, while a bit plain for those who care about such things, fits with the Greek Muse theme and, in my opinion, is a step up from the creepy Grimalkin band (felt like I was being watched previously)!
After admiring the cigar, I took a straight-cut off of the cap and took some pre-light draws. An abundance of flavors hit my palate including a bit of sweetness and I could tell that this was going to be a winner. After toasting the foot, I lit the La Musa up and got to enjoying!
Smoking:
For the purposes of this review, I smoked two samples one that sat in my humidor for 7 days after I received it and one that sat in my humidor for 14 days after I received it. Typically I prefer to let cigars sit in my humidors a bit longer especially in winter months but I was eager to smoke these. The first sample had considerable burn issues and had to be touched up several times, but the second, while wavy, required no touch-ups.
Immediately off the light, I noticed a bit of spice especially on the retrohale. As the first third progressed, the spice became a bit more muted, though, and the abundance of flavors I got on the pre-light draw returned. Id say this is a medium strength smoke with a sweetness on the draw with some minor spice on the backend.
The ash stayed on the cigar pretty well perhaps an inch or so at a time but I did notice that it wasnt very tight with an intriguing flakiness to it.
As the smoking experience moved into the second third, the spiciness I noted in the beginning continued, but mainly on the backend as a creaminess joined the sweetness. The flavor remained relatively the same for me through the end. After about an hour and fifteen minutes of lush, billowing smoke, La Musa had done what she set out to do tempted me with nuance and skill and added another mainstay to my collection!
Conclusion:
While I would definitely buy this cigar again and keep it in my humidors for an occasional smoke, Im not sure its one that I would buy by the box. Ive heard rumors that this cigar is blended at the My Father factory in Esteli (Gary wont tell) and I think comparisons could be made to other lines that come from there, but Im not sure I would choose the La Musa over some of those or the fantastic AF1 or Draig K from Emilio which I absolutely love. If production of a limited release La Musa Lancero comes to fruition as is rumored, I will jump at it, though, as a huge fan of that vitola.
