r3db4r0n
BoM Jan '11
I havent had allot of chances to review LFD sticks this year as Ive been backed up with smokes on the que, but thanks from a recent bomb from Marty (L8A) who hit me with an Air Bender, I figured Ill give it a shot.
The vitola I am going to be smoking today is the Matatan,a Robusto measuring 5X50; It sports a Dominican binder and filler with a Habano wrapper. The wrapper itself is a rich caramel colour, with minimal veining and no apparent imperfections, the body is VERY firm with little give and seams I cant even feel, I have high hopes this is going to smoke well.
Pre Light: This time around I decided to give the traditionalist view of things another go and bit of the cap of this cigar, surprisingly it came off and gave way to a relatively decent draw. Flavours from the cold draw were predominantly of spice, mild tobacco and perhaps a hint of cedar. Fragrances from the wrapper and foot produce slightly different notes consisting mainly of barnyard nuances, a strong spice and again background hints of cedar.
Lighting: The foot cherried and lit effortlessly giving way to a generous draw that produced intense floral notes coupled with cedar and a rather strong lingering spice, however, in the time it took me to type this into my netbook the cigar had already gone out, not exactly an encouraging sign.
First Third: This air bender calmed down rather quickly after the light, needing only a third of an inch before it really started to bring out its true colours. Caramel comes through on waves which transitions to a sweet cedar or perhaps a floral flavour as I draw deeper and lingers nicely thereafter. The retro-hale delivers fragrances that are equally pleasing as the draw: plenty of caramel, floral notes, cedar and what I would like to call almond sweep over the senses. The ambient burn delivers quite generous swaths of smoke on its own which carry sweet cedar and floral notes. The burn seems to be progressing rather evenly and holding ash for about an inch and a half at the end of the first.
Second Third: Coming through to the second third the long ash finally gave way, though a flavour change doesnt follow until about another half inch through the burn. The draw still continues to deliver quite a few floral notes although the caramel has receded some, spice has also become present on the finish with pleasant toasty notes lingering afterword. The Retro-hale has deepened somewhat still offering floral notes along with almond, though the cedar has dropped away leaving toasty nuances in its wake along with some spice. The ambient burn has also intensified slightly with the addition of almond to the already present floral and cedar fragrances. The burn continues to keep a rather sharp and even edge while again holding on to the ash for an inch to an inch and a half before entering the finale.
Final Third: Setting the cigar down to grab a drink, I was displeased to find in the short time I was gone the cigar had managed to extinguish itself yet again. Fortunately this proves to be a minor hindrance given the ease of relighting and the great and complex flavours the draw continues to produce. Staying true to the steady progression of this smoke, the finish comes on strong. The floral and cedar notes present through the majority of this cigar have died away; Almond has now come on as the predominant flavour with a toasty notes completing the flavour profile along with spice. Floral and cedar notes have also died away from the retro-hale leaving only almond, toasty nuances and spice for a finale closely reminiscent of the draw. The ambient burn hangs onto floral notes, cedar and almond though some toasty notes are now also present. Aside from the minor issues I have experienced struggling to keep the cigar lit, the burn keeps quite sharply until the nub without any other issues and holds on to roughly an inch of ash with a rather cool draw until I decided to let it die out.
Final Thoughts: Overall this was a fairly enjoyable smoke even despite the fact it extinguished on me twice and I had to fight to keep it lit. This Air Bender displayed some of the nicest and most enjoyable flavours and fragrances Ive yet had the pleasure of tasting in a cigar, although it was not as full as I had expected. Given the choice of smoking another Air Bender at the $7-8 price tag, I would not hesitate.
Total smoking time was about 2 hours and 15 minutes.
Cheers,
Shawn
The vitola I am going to be smoking today is the Matatan,a Robusto measuring 5X50; It sports a Dominican binder and filler with a Habano wrapper. The wrapper itself is a rich caramel colour, with minimal veining and no apparent imperfections, the body is VERY firm with little give and seams I cant even feel, I have high hopes this is going to smoke well.
Pre Light: This time around I decided to give the traditionalist view of things another go and bit of the cap of this cigar, surprisingly it came off and gave way to a relatively decent draw. Flavours from the cold draw were predominantly of spice, mild tobacco and perhaps a hint of cedar. Fragrances from the wrapper and foot produce slightly different notes consisting mainly of barnyard nuances, a strong spice and again background hints of cedar.
Lighting: The foot cherried and lit effortlessly giving way to a generous draw that produced intense floral notes coupled with cedar and a rather strong lingering spice, however, in the time it took me to type this into my netbook the cigar had already gone out, not exactly an encouraging sign.
First Third: This air bender calmed down rather quickly after the light, needing only a third of an inch before it really started to bring out its true colours. Caramel comes through on waves which transitions to a sweet cedar or perhaps a floral flavour as I draw deeper and lingers nicely thereafter. The retro-hale delivers fragrances that are equally pleasing as the draw: plenty of caramel, floral notes, cedar and what I would like to call almond sweep over the senses. The ambient burn delivers quite generous swaths of smoke on its own which carry sweet cedar and floral notes. The burn seems to be progressing rather evenly and holding ash for about an inch and a half at the end of the first.
Second Third: Coming through to the second third the long ash finally gave way, though a flavour change doesnt follow until about another half inch through the burn. The draw still continues to deliver quite a few floral notes although the caramel has receded some, spice has also become present on the finish with pleasant toasty notes lingering afterword. The Retro-hale has deepened somewhat still offering floral notes along with almond, though the cedar has dropped away leaving toasty nuances in its wake along with some spice. The ambient burn has also intensified slightly with the addition of almond to the already present floral and cedar fragrances. The burn continues to keep a rather sharp and even edge while again holding on to the ash for an inch to an inch and a half before entering the finale.
Final Third: Setting the cigar down to grab a drink, I was displeased to find in the short time I was gone the cigar had managed to extinguish itself yet again. Fortunately this proves to be a minor hindrance given the ease of relighting and the great and complex flavours the draw continues to produce. Staying true to the steady progression of this smoke, the finish comes on strong. The floral and cedar notes present through the majority of this cigar have died away; Almond has now come on as the predominant flavour with a toasty notes completing the flavour profile along with spice. Floral and cedar notes have also died away from the retro-hale leaving only almond, toasty nuances and spice for a finale closely reminiscent of the draw. The ambient burn hangs onto floral notes, cedar and almond though some toasty notes are now also present. Aside from the minor issues I have experienced struggling to keep the cigar lit, the burn keeps quite sharply until the nub without any other issues and holds on to roughly an inch of ash with a rather cool draw until I decided to let it die out.
Final Thoughts: Overall this was a fairly enjoyable smoke even despite the fact it extinguished on me twice and I had to fight to keep it lit. This Air Bender displayed some of the nicest and most enjoyable flavours and fragrances Ive yet had the pleasure of tasting in a cigar, although it was not as full as I had expected. Given the choice of smoking another Air Bender at the $7-8 price tag, I would not hesitate.
Total smoking time was about 2 hours and 15 minutes.
Cheers,
Shawn
