- Joined
- Jan 25, 2015
- Messages
- 3,788
Thanks to @MBombay_Ron for the cigar and the opportunity to review this stick.
This stick is a 5.5 X 43 Corona with a Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper, Dominican Republic Binder and a 4 country blend of filler from Honduras, Peru, Nicaragua and Dominican Republic. The stick is a beautiful light milk chocolate brown with a smooth feel and oily sheen. There are a few visible veins, no toothiness and slightly visible seams. I think the band is more appropriately sized than the previous vitolas I have smoked of this marca. The band really combines very well with the overall appearance of the cigar making it a very attractive stick to look at and hold. I gave this stick a straight cut. The pre-draw showed some light cedar notes with some yeasty bread like notes and some tea. Draw was perfect.
1st Third
Initial light was light cedar with some white pepper notes that are mild but very noticeable on the retro. Burn and draw are both excellent. Some very light saltiness can be found when the tip of the tongue is placed on the filler. Some sweet sugar cane type notes started developing about 1/2 inch into the smoke. Notes of tea were present. The pepper very quickly faded to the background but is still there. The aroma is very good with the smell of nice tobacco. Smoke production is perfect. This stick transitioned very quickly into a nice creamy smoke. There is a lot going on here. The ash held well for the entire first third and burned light grey to near white.
2nd Third
The body starts out on the light side of medium but develops quickly to solid medium. The flavor saturation is superb...light spiciness, graham notes, maltiness, tea. This is a creamy, complex blend of flavors that are coming off this smoke(changing so quickly as to make it near impossible for me to identify) all riding on a a core of toasty sweetness. Think s'more here. Some very light citrus notes (orange?) are being to appear as the 2nd third progresses. Burn and construction remain excellent.
Final Third
Some of those sweet toasty notes begin receding but not going totally away. The spiciness has picked up again. The smoke is solidly medium body and strength. Burn and draw remain excellent. Flavors remain clean, focused and unmuddled. Notes of spice, tea and some nuttiness is still there as the nub is approached. Total smoke time for me was 54 minutes.
Overall
I really enjoyed this smoke. This one is very complex with many flavors coming and going. One needs to take their time with this one to savor all the complexities that are there. This is a superb offering from MBombay. Have to admit that this one really caught me off guard. All of that being said I understand the vagaries of taste but for me this cigar just was dead on. I have heard it said that there are no great wines just great bottles of wine. I will be very interested to see others opinions of this smoke. There are some unique flavors in this blend that just worked very well for me.
Appearance/Construction-12/15
Smoking Characteristics- 23/25
Flavor- 23/25
Overall enjoyment-33/35
Score-91
This stick is a 5.5 X 43 Corona with a Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper, Dominican Republic Binder and a 4 country blend of filler from Honduras, Peru, Nicaragua and Dominican Republic. The stick is a beautiful light milk chocolate brown with a smooth feel and oily sheen. There are a few visible veins, no toothiness and slightly visible seams. I think the band is more appropriately sized than the previous vitolas I have smoked of this marca. The band really combines very well with the overall appearance of the cigar making it a very attractive stick to look at and hold. I gave this stick a straight cut. The pre-draw showed some light cedar notes with some yeasty bread like notes and some tea. Draw was perfect.
1st Third
Initial light was light cedar with some white pepper notes that are mild but very noticeable on the retro. Burn and draw are both excellent. Some very light saltiness can be found when the tip of the tongue is placed on the filler. Some sweet sugar cane type notes started developing about 1/2 inch into the smoke. Notes of tea were present. The pepper very quickly faded to the background but is still there. The aroma is very good with the smell of nice tobacco. Smoke production is perfect. This stick transitioned very quickly into a nice creamy smoke. There is a lot going on here. The ash held well for the entire first third and burned light grey to near white.
2nd Third
The body starts out on the light side of medium but develops quickly to solid medium. The flavor saturation is superb...light spiciness, graham notes, maltiness, tea. This is a creamy, complex blend of flavors that are coming off this smoke(changing so quickly as to make it near impossible for me to identify) all riding on a a core of toasty sweetness. Think s'more here. Some very light citrus notes (orange?) are being to appear as the 2nd third progresses. Burn and construction remain excellent.
Final Third
Some of those sweet toasty notes begin receding but not going totally away. The spiciness has picked up again. The smoke is solidly medium body and strength. Burn and draw remain excellent. Flavors remain clean, focused and unmuddled. Notes of spice, tea and some nuttiness is still there as the nub is approached. Total smoke time for me was 54 minutes.
Overall
I really enjoyed this smoke. This one is very complex with many flavors coming and going. One needs to take their time with this one to savor all the complexities that are there. This is a superb offering from MBombay. Have to admit that this one really caught me off guard. All of that being said I understand the vagaries of taste but for me this cigar just was dead on. I have heard it said that there are no great wines just great bottles of wine. I will be very interested to see others opinions of this smoke. There are some unique flavors in this blend that just worked very well for me.
Appearance/Construction-12/15
Smoking Characteristics- 23/25
Flavor- 23/25
Overall enjoyment-33/35
Score-91
