The AB 1995 Gordo is a beautiful, if intimidating cigar. I've had it for slightly more than a month sitting at 69% rh.
Its a big cigar and encouragingly the draw is absolutely effortless.
Well, i light it and start puffing. I'm a little disappointed at how mild and delicate the body and flavors are. Its mostly a light woody flavor with hints of sweetness, a light nuttiness and a few other light flavors that are so faint i just cannot identify them. Right now the draw is a pain since i'm getting only a little bit of smoke and its weird dealing with a 60 ring gauge. Its like smoking a slightly more flavorful Montecristo Classic that everyone gets in samplers starting off. The body is mild medium, the finish short, oily and clean.
There is a learning curve figuring out how to smoke a gordo, to get the best flavors out of it. It took 30 minutes and one dropped ash for me to get in a grove where the flavors started to become much more enjoyable. The secret is to figure out that the problem is how cool a huge ring gauge burns at. Seems to be that Flavors are much better at a higher combustion temperature than you get from single puffs from a gordo. I tried taking deeper and longer draws but that was just too irritating and exhausting. Its like trying to air up one of those giant air beds with just your mouth and lungs.
I end up experimenting with a short priming puff than my regular draw, then double puffs, and then more closely placed puffs. I even start taking triple puffs to get it to burn at a much higher temperature. The flavors dramatically improved but the clean and slightly oily finish started to become ashy so purging became necessary.
Wow, after about 45 minutes, the flavors really start to blossom. The light woody flavor becomes a rich light oak and tons of sweetness starts to come out. A really rich walnut/pecan combo and hints of saltiness join the base flavor. The body becomes a nice medium and the finish becomes longer and much creamier. The burn is wavy and quite frankly you have to touch it up every 30 minutes so that it doesn't canoe. I purge before every puff combo to keep the finish clean. The sweetness really become the star in the second third and i could care less that the burn is so wonky.
After 1 hour and 20 minutes i reach the 2nd third and the flavor continues to become richer and more flavorful. On the medium length priming puff i get black pepper and salt. On the main draw i'm getting tons of sweetness, a rich oak, The walnut and pecan combo and a light milky cocoa starts to join the show (kind of like a chocolate malt candy). The finish is moderate in length, clean, and savory. I'm purging before every puff combo and the-in-between puff combo time is about 45 seconds.
The flavor remained rich and delicious for the rest of the entire duration of 2 hours and 13 minutes. Its not a flavor bomb but the AB 1995 gordo has a rich and unique flavor profile. The salt and black pepper on the priming puff and the sweet, oak, and chocolate malt on the main draw where a pure joy to smoke. This is my new favorite from Alec Bradley and its a shame that its one of those new releases that only a few people carry. Thompson jacked up the price to 7 dollars per cigar
. I should have bought the box of 20 gordos when they were available and for only $59.95 (I had a 30% off coupon code that would have made it less than 42 dollars for the box of 20). I was afraid that i would hate the Gordo so i only bought the box of 10.
I actually nubbed this bad boy until i had to take a massive piss and i couldn't figure out how to keep the cigar nub from rolling into the bottom of my "ashtray" while i was gone. They need to box press it so that it won't fkn roll when i put it down. I had to use a bent piece of cellophane to keep it rolling when i took pictures of the burn progression.
Btw, the hate towards gordos is misplaced since they are not unwieldy to smoke once you get used to them. It fits beautifully in the hand unless of course your a midget or a tiny man woman.
Well here's the rest of the burn progression:
Its a big cigar and encouragingly the draw is absolutely effortless.
Well, i light it and start puffing. I'm a little disappointed at how mild and delicate the body and flavors are. Its mostly a light woody flavor with hints of sweetness, a light nuttiness and a few other light flavors that are so faint i just cannot identify them. Right now the draw is a pain since i'm getting only a little bit of smoke and its weird dealing with a 60 ring gauge. Its like smoking a slightly more flavorful Montecristo Classic that everyone gets in samplers starting off. The body is mild medium, the finish short, oily and clean.
There is a learning curve figuring out how to smoke a gordo, to get the best flavors out of it. It took 30 minutes and one dropped ash for me to get in a grove where the flavors started to become much more enjoyable. The secret is to figure out that the problem is how cool a huge ring gauge burns at. Seems to be that Flavors are much better at a higher combustion temperature than you get from single puffs from a gordo. I tried taking deeper and longer draws but that was just too irritating and exhausting. Its like trying to air up one of those giant air beds with just your mouth and lungs.
I end up experimenting with a short priming puff than my regular draw, then double puffs, and then more closely placed puffs. I even start taking triple puffs to get it to burn at a much higher temperature. The flavors dramatically improved but the clean and slightly oily finish started to become ashy so purging became necessary.
Wow, after about 45 minutes, the flavors really start to blossom. The light woody flavor becomes a rich light oak and tons of sweetness starts to come out. A really rich walnut/pecan combo and hints of saltiness join the base flavor. The body becomes a nice medium and the finish becomes longer and much creamier. The burn is wavy and quite frankly you have to touch it up every 30 minutes so that it doesn't canoe. I purge before every puff combo to keep the finish clean. The sweetness really become the star in the second third and i could care less that the burn is so wonky.
After 1 hour and 20 minutes i reach the 2nd third and the flavor continues to become richer and more flavorful. On the medium length priming puff i get black pepper and salt. On the main draw i'm getting tons of sweetness, a rich oak, The walnut and pecan combo and a light milky cocoa starts to join the show (kind of like a chocolate malt candy). The finish is moderate in length, clean, and savory. I'm purging before every puff combo and the-in-between puff combo time is about 45 seconds.
The flavor remained rich and delicious for the rest of the entire duration of 2 hours and 13 minutes. Its not a flavor bomb but the AB 1995 gordo has a rich and unique flavor profile. The salt and black pepper on the priming puff and the sweet, oak, and chocolate malt on the main draw where a pure joy to smoke. This is my new favorite from Alec Bradley and its a shame that its one of those new releases that only a few people carry. Thompson jacked up the price to 7 dollars per cigar
. I should have bought the box of 20 gordos when they were available and for only $59.95 (I had a 30% off coupon code that would have made it less than 42 dollars for the box of 20). I was afraid that i would hate the Gordo so i only bought the box of 10.I actually nubbed this bad boy until i had to take a massive piss and i couldn't figure out how to keep the cigar nub from rolling into the bottom of my "ashtray" while i was gone. They need to box press it so that it won't fkn roll when i put it down. I had to use a bent piece of cellophane to keep it rolling when i took pictures of the burn progression.
Btw, the hate towards gordos is misplaced since they are not unwieldy to smoke once you get used to them. It fits beautifully in the hand unless of course your a midget or a tiny man woman
.Well here's the rest of the burn progression:
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