coastalgriff
Educated Redneck
So I picked these box pressed torpedos up on cbid based on a quick search of reviews and the item description. The cameroon binder with a maduro wrapper sounded interesting and tasty.
This cigar was a chunk. It was heavy for it's size and came tightly packed in a lightly veined, nearly black maduro wrapper. I anticipated issues with draw due to this cigars firmness. . Prelight it had a nice aroma of cocoa and rich tobacco. Prelight draw was surprisingly smooth with no issues. This stick lit up readily and evenly with no issues.
The first few puffs brought heavy cocoa and grass notes with a slightly bitter aftertaste. After about an inch it settled into rich cocoa with a hint of spice in the background. Unfortunately the bitterness level steadily rose. Although the flavor was not exactly pleasant I decided to stick it out and see where this went. The first third burnt evenly without issue. The ash was a flaky medium gray that went 2" before it fell on it's own. The smoke was abundant, cool and pretty creamy.
The second third brought a few changes. The bitterness subsided a bit and made the raw cocoa and earthy notes almost pleasant if not boring. There was still a hint of spice in the background that acted like it was ready to burst out at any time. Sadly it had done nothing yet. I had to touch up the burn once in this third. There was still an abundance of cool, creamy smoke.
The final third was a surprise. The bitterness disappeared and the spice showed up along with a sweetness in moderate levels. Rich, creamy cocoa spice swirled around in my mouth like a really good brownie. This became a very enjoyable cigar. The burn straightened out and required no corrections. The smoke stayed cool and abundant. The dud I nearly tossed became the nub I didn't want to put down.
This was a well constructed and good looking stick. Unfortunately, the flavor just didn't match. The bitterness ruined it. The final third was very tasty, but I'm not going to smoke two thirds of a cigar to get to the good part. There are plenty I can light up and enjoy from the start. I've got four more of these so I may try one again in the future. If my experience differs drastically I'll update.
This cigar was a chunk. It was heavy for it's size and came tightly packed in a lightly veined, nearly black maduro wrapper. I anticipated issues with draw due to this cigars firmness. . Prelight it had a nice aroma of cocoa and rich tobacco. Prelight draw was surprisingly smooth with no issues. This stick lit up readily and evenly with no issues.
The first few puffs brought heavy cocoa and grass notes with a slightly bitter aftertaste. After about an inch it settled into rich cocoa with a hint of spice in the background. Unfortunately the bitterness level steadily rose. Although the flavor was not exactly pleasant I decided to stick it out and see where this went. The first third burnt evenly without issue. The ash was a flaky medium gray that went 2" before it fell on it's own. The smoke was abundant, cool and pretty creamy.
The second third brought a few changes. The bitterness subsided a bit and made the raw cocoa and earthy notes almost pleasant if not boring. There was still a hint of spice in the background that acted like it was ready to burst out at any time. Sadly it had done nothing yet. I had to touch up the burn once in this third. There was still an abundance of cool, creamy smoke.
The final third was a surprise. The bitterness disappeared and the spice showed up along with a sweetness in moderate levels. Rich, creamy cocoa spice swirled around in my mouth like a really good brownie. This became a very enjoyable cigar. The burn straightened out and required no corrections. The smoke stayed cool and abundant. The dud I nearly tossed became the nub I didn't want to put down.
This was a well constructed and good looking stick. Unfortunately, the flavor just didn't match. The bitterness ruined it. The final third was very tasty, but I'm not going to smoke two thirds of a cigar to get to the good part. There are plenty I can light up and enjoy from the start. I've got four more of these so I may try one again in the future. If my experience differs drastically I'll update.
