LigaPrivadaFanboy
Unrepentant Hoarder
I believe this is a 56x6.5 - will confirm later...waited to smoke these for so long since the size is daunting to noobs like me. This specific cigar has been resting bout 8-9months.
cold draw of raisins, coffee and pepper - yes it was a freebie - didn;t pay $20 for this MOFO
@ light - nice draw of peppr muted spice and milk chocolate
BTW, it was effortles to get a perfect light on this despite being not so coordinated right now
first third:
draw is absolutely effortless with a nice aftertaste of espresso and a hint of leather
There's alittle bit of sweetness I haven't been able to place yet
Been resting this for 6mo as I have bettre smokes as my go-tos, but this has been a nice surprise so far
Pairing: Captain morgan and coke after about 10 shots of Macallan Cask strength - I think this is a significant factor WRT enojying the cigar as my palate is now primed with fruit, cinnamon and caramel.
Hitting every 2 min with zero hint of going out. Licking my upper lip after a draw gives me hints of cedar and brown sugar.
Retrohale is smooth and chocolately, barely buring my eyes through the sinuses. Subtle hints of black pepper and caramel.
Burnline is fairly straight so far @ 12min in (just waming up I know) - 2min / draw seems to be the ticket here
Routinely finding myself not wanting to wait 2min between draws depite how cold it keeps the smoke
At this point I'm leaning toward medium body and ful flavor - mouth is coated in nice leathery-chocolate mix
For the record, I've smoked 2 MoW Armadas before, this is the first non-dud IMHO, one was this exact vitola, the other was a SE perfecto that sucked
@16min a hint of a floral note develops while carmael strengthens and pepper takes a back seat
@19min got about 3/4" ash sticking on...pepper is dying down and floral notes picking up
No change in retrohale, very nice!
For those interested, the CCOM COM club gives you 3 of these free for signup. So far (unfortunately) this is the best stik ever included from them
22min: smoke is a full-on medium...expecting to hit its stride soon
24:30: settles in to a very nice dark hot chocolate flavor..if you;ve ever had real hot choc in Spain this is a dead ringer!
hitting every 2m30s now, with zero hint at going out...I appreciate this consistency so much
burn is not razor-sharp but far from in need of correction at this point - 1"+ of ash hanging on..resting in a xikar crystal ashtray between hits
I think I have 3 more of these...if they are all this good (time will tell) I might consider buying more in the future...def not boxworthy yet at $400/bx!
I think these are a score on special but FAR from a $20 stick considering a FFOX PL is $13.
1"+ of ash dropped after laying down on tray gently @ 31m
FYI, RH outside here in PNW is 75RH, with cigars resting @ 65RH
reaching 1/3 point at 33m, mellowing out a great deal
retrohale much smoother now, chocolate/floral mix apparent with no spice, leather or cedar apparent
3min/hit is probably optimal the way this burns so dan slow, but hard to control myself
french inhale picks up a tiny bit of leather
FYI I'm taking 2-3 draws every 2-3min
38min in - stil zero corrections needed..cut with acuban crafters guillotine and lit w/ an el cheapo triple burner
hot chocolate is the predominant aftertaste still
I hear these ramp up from medium to full as they progress to the last 1/3 - we shall see...definitely enjoying every draw so far
40min in now
@43m retrohale is butter-smooth!
tiny hint of cedar developing and mixing with hot choc nicely!
46m: leather and a slight tinge of pepper developing on retrohale. Cedar is stil ther with the choc.
48m: taking 3-4 draws every 3min now to keep it from going out. Going to pick up te pace.
@50m a woodsy note developing - I fucking HATE woodsy/mushroomy flavoris in cigars - AB SCR is the epitome of this
@52m a massively uneven burn develops - 1" off on one side....will see if it corrects soon
@54min - BRB need another rum & coke
@58 min a peninsula developed while rsting in the tray...draw is still strong like I wasn;t away for 5min
@1hr, about 3/4" ash droped off..no woodsy notes...I think maybe pepper and caramel are developing.. The burn has self-corrected at this point too
a little more buttery than before, and the strength IS picking up
stil 2-3 draws at a time, but every 90s-2min now
1h3m: espresso coming back into the picture - choc notes are almost gone
1h5m: still nice cool draw, retrohale is gentle now, french inhale picks up a little dark chocolate
IMHO, the Armadas a WAY more complex now than 8mo ago...
Still not box-worthy due t $20/stick.
1h9m same as above
espresso/cedar mix picking up now
still zero corrections needed...also the best draw of any stick short of the San Lotano Oval Pyramide
last third is starting now @ 1h14m...strength is picking up and leather/cedar mix is dominating...dk choc has moved to the aftertaste in a subtle way
well into the last 1/3 now...brn sugar mentioned earlier is long gone...pepper is building with strong espresso notes
@1h18m hitting 2x every 90s now out of impatience...still smoking nice and cool
@1h20m flavors are becoming muddled...stil enjoyable and the burn line is extremely even
caramel notes are also long gone at this point
becoming T52-ish in terms of strength and coating of the mouth
retrohale is harsher now with strong pepper notes
solid 1" ash hanging on here now
got bored witht the last 2" and put it out
would rate this a solid 83-86 on the halfwheel scale of scrutiny. Not boxworthy but will enjoy the others I have.
If you read this whole thing you are fucking AWESOME!!!
cold draw of raisins, coffee and pepper - yes it was a freebie - didn;t pay $20 for this MOFO
@ light - nice draw of peppr muted spice and milk chocolate
BTW, it was effortles to get a perfect light on this despite being not so coordinated right now
first third:
draw is absolutely effortless with a nice aftertaste of espresso and a hint of leather
There's alittle bit of sweetness I haven't been able to place yet
Been resting this for 6mo as I have bettre smokes as my go-tos, but this has been a nice surprise so far
Pairing: Captain morgan and coke after about 10 shots of Macallan Cask strength - I think this is a significant factor WRT enojying the cigar as my palate is now primed with fruit, cinnamon and caramel.
Hitting every 2 min with zero hint of going out. Licking my upper lip after a draw gives me hints of cedar and brown sugar.
Retrohale is smooth and chocolately, barely buring my eyes through the sinuses. Subtle hints of black pepper and caramel.
Burnline is fairly straight so far @ 12min in (just waming up I know) - 2min / draw seems to be the ticket here
Routinely finding myself not wanting to wait 2min between draws depite how cold it keeps the smoke
At this point I'm leaning toward medium body and ful flavor - mouth is coated in nice leathery-chocolate mix
For the record, I've smoked 2 MoW Armadas before, this is the first non-dud IMHO, one was this exact vitola, the other was a SE perfecto that sucked
@16min a hint of a floral note develops while carmael strengthens and pepper takes a back seat
@19min got about 3/4" ash sticking on...pepper is dying down and floral notes picking up
No change in retrohale, very nice!
For those interested, the CCOM COM club gives you 3 of these free for signup. So far (unfortunately) this is the best stik ever included from them
22min: smoke is a full-on medium...expecting to hit its stride soon
24:30: settles in to a very nice dark hot chocolate flavor..if you;ve ever had real hot choc in Spain this is a dead ringer!
hitting every 2m30s now, with zero hint at going out...I appreciate this consistency so much
burn is not razor-sharp but far from in need of correction at this point - 1"+ of ash hanging on..resting in a xikar crystal ashtray between hits
I think I have 3 more of these...if they are all this good (time will tell) I might consider buying more in the future...def not boxworthy yet at $400/bx!
I think these are a score on special but FAR from a $20 stick considering a FFOX PL is $13.
1"+ of ash dropped after laying down on tray gently @ 31m
FYI, RH outside here in PNW is 75RH, with cigars resting @ 65RH
reaching 1/3 point at 33m, mellowing out a great deal
retrohale much smoother now, chocolate/floral mix apparent with no spice, leather or cedar apparent
3min/hit is probably optimal the way this burns so dan slow, but hard to control myself
french inhale picks up a tiny bit of leather
FYI I'm taking 2-3 draws every 2-3min
38min in - stil zero corrections needed..cut with acuban crafters guillotine and lit w/ an el cheapo triple burner
hot chocolate is the predominant aftertaste still
I hear these ramp up from medium to full as they progress to the last 1/3 - we shall see...definitely enjoying every draw so far
40min in now
@43m retrohale is butter-smooth!
tiny hint of cedar developing and mixing with hot choc nicely!
46m: leather and a slight tinge of pepper developing on retrohale. Cedar is stil ther with the choc.
48m: taking 3-4 draws every 3min now to keep it from going out. Going to pick up te pace.
@50m a woodsy note developing - I fucking HATE woodsy/mushroomy flavoris in cigars - AB SCR is the epitome of this
@52m a massively uneven burn develops - 1" off on one side....will see if it corrects soon
@54min - BRB need another rum & coke
@58 min a peninsula developed while rsting in the tray...draw is still strong like I wasn;t away for 5min
@1hr, about 3/4" ash droped off..no woodsy notes...I think maybe pepper and caramel are developing.. The burn has self-corrected at this point too
a little more buttery than before, and the strength IS picking up
stil 2-3 draws at a time, but every 90s-2min now
1h3m: espresso coming back into the picture - choc notes are almost gone
1h5m: still nice cool draw, retrohale is gentle now, french inhale picks up a little dark chocolate
IMHO, the Armadas a WAY more complex now than 8mo ago...
Still not box-worthy due t $20/stick.
1h9m same as above
espresso/cedar mix picking up now
still zero corrections needed...also the best draw of any stick short of the San Lotano Oval Pyramide
last third is starting now @ 1h14m...strength is picking up and leather/cedar mix is dominating...dk choc has moved to the aftertaste in a subtle way
well into the last 1/3 now...brn sugar mentioned earlier is long gone...pepper is building with strong espresso notes
@1h18m hitting 2x every 90s now out of impatience...still smoking nice and cool
@1h20m flavors are becoming muddled...stil enjoyable and the burn line is extremely even
caramel notes are also long gone at this point
becoming T52-ish in terms of strength and coating of the mouth
retrohale is harsher now with strong pepper notes
solid 1" ash hanging on here now
got bored witht the last 2" and put it out
would rate this a solid 83-86 on the halfwheel scale of scrutiny. Not boxworthy but will enjoy the others I have.
If you read this whole thing you are fucking AWESOME!!!
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