ChefboyRG54 Blind Review Stick "A"
Robusto?
Beautiful dark brown wrapper. It's a sparkling mess...like someone dropped the cigar into finely cut glitter...like the sun reflecting off of fluffy white snow. The wrapper is leathery with beautiful veins that enhance the wrapper's appearance. Very well done triple cap.
A strong waft of cedar hits my senses when I stick my nose to the foot. Sweet tobacco threw the cold draw..
Time to get Ray Charles on your ass.. (Blame RASS for the reference)
The beginning is very tame... It's not one of those cigars that you light up and catch a punch in the face of harsh peppery tones. There's a soft butteriness to the smoke...there's not a lot of smoke, as it's hard to pull out the flavors just yet. Im hoping the draw will open up here as I get through the first inch.
Earthy, buttery smoke. There's some salt left on the lips and tongue. The smell of this cigar is warm and toasty. I just got lost in watching this stick self correct its burn line.. it new exactly what to do...pretty cool. There's some sweetness that lightly lays on top of leather, earth, peanut skins, all wrapped inside a buttery smoke.
The draw has opened up a little, like I'd hoped. It's burn line likes to spiral down the cigar, self correcting along the way. You can see the diamond like shimmer that's strewn across the wrapper, sitting on the burnt remnants of ash...first time I've ever seen that. I'm leaning towards an Illusione....88 Maduro.
The body and flavors both sit at about medium. This smoke is very smooth... There's never a worry that you'll singe your nose hairs off.. So you can feel free to retro without restriction. I'm getting into the second third and I'd be lying if I didn't say that I am left wanting when it comes to smoke production. The smell is wonderful and the flavors are clean and well balanced but the smoke.. dammit...WHE'RE YOU AT! Mmmmm some tangy pepper just zinged out my nose. I've just envisioned a comic book style review, with pictures and text bubbles *ZING*
I'm enjoying the new found peppery retro. (Which is picking up towards the end of the second.) the smoke carries a sweet tune. Along with wood, leather, pepper and a now dry earth. The buttery smoke seems to be most prevalent on the soft, slow draws... The peppery twang (when I say twang, I'm referring to a citric twang) comes on the long hard draws where I'm found trying to get a nice mouthful of smoke. There's a light spice laying on the tongue on the finish.
I'm almost into the final third. This has been a very enjoyable smoke so far. If there was more smoke production, I'd be thrilled with it. The finish is bringing on a richness to the flavors.. Still medium in body. Wowza, a blast of pepper just welled up my eyes....I see this stick has brought some fireworks for the finale..the buttery smoke seems to have been replaced by a peppery cream. You can get lost in the visual appeal of this cigar. I find myself rolling it through my fingers, watching it twinkle back at me, like looking into a kaleidoscope. Probably one of the most beautiful cigars I've had the pleasure of smoking. The ash is stiff and could probably hold on for a couple inches, though I've been snapping mine off at about the 1"1/2" mark (and I mean literally snapping, you can feel it pop off under the pressure)
The flavors in the final third have completely morphed on me. Rich and "loud"; better watch that retro now fellas. The strength has picked up and if you love a nice zesty retro, you will love where this cigar takes you in the end. I usually drink water when reviewing but Ryan sent along some black tea that I had to give a whirl. To be honest, it cleanses the palate nicely, I'm getting a sense of smoking a pipe in this final third. It's zesty, robust and tingles your senses with dark woody flavors. The citrus/sweet pops on the finish and balances out the profile. What a finish. I'm going to have to think twice about my earlier prediction of the 88 Maddy.... I'm not so sure now..we will see.. It is a different size than I'm used to. The stick and smoke have stayed cool, down to the nub. Thank you Ryan for providing this stick for all of us to review....Rasshat..
Smoke time: 1hr 25mins
Score: 89/100
I really enjoyed the stick, but I would have liked a better draw/more smoke production. I don't want to have to fight for the smoke. Although this is something that comes with only having one smoke for the review. It's a blind review, so fack it.
I guess I'll just stick with my first guess Illusione 88 Maddy although I really think its something else, I just can't put my finger on it. If it comes to me, I will change my answer (if it's before the reveal)
