Benzopyrene
BoM June 08
Wow, very nice!!!!
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BOTL UPCOMING MAINTENANCE
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Review Contest Cigar 2!!!!!!
- Thread starter Benzopyrene
- Start date
lol.. Sounds good and something that we may all enjoy!!!
Benzopyrene
BoM June 08
Anyone else had a chance to smoke this stogie yet???
Not yet... I have smoked 10 cigars in the past two days.. lol.. and have about 16 more to go.. lol..BLind tasting panel..
OK Gents. I had the op last night to strike up #2 while the W&K's were at the DIA.
So...
The preview I have is of a nicely rolled, well capped stick with a wonderful earthy / wood aroma. There were 2 medium size (but not too bad) veins running one side of the stick. The cutting of the cap was a pleasure. Very clean using my Xikar cutter. The prelight draw was very nice and full with floral/fruity taste and a slight peppery taste left on the lips. I could tell it was going to be a nice draw and it was.
The lighting was great. Without a hitch. Though the burn was a little wiggly throughout the smoke. But, not enough to have to rescue it. It seemed like it had a memory but kept over correcting. I did set this boy down a couple times for about 5 and had to relight. But there were not any issues with it.
As I smoked away, I enjoyed the creaminess of the first 1/3. From there it started to pick up the peppery taste that I had a felling was going to appear. The strenghth picked up for about an inch from there and leveled out for the balance of the ride.
The draw was exceptional with smoke to match. I have a hard time with comparing smoke aroma due to the fact that I enjoy the smell of a cigar no matter what it is. I will have to work on that.
The ash was a little rough due to the wiggle of the burn. But not that crazy. It lasted about an inch before bailing.
Overall:
I enjoyed this stick very much. The burn was a little freaky, but other than that, a very nice choice. I would keep a few of these around.
Appearance: 14/15
Ash: 7/10
Draw: 10/10
Burn: 8/10
Smoke: 10/10
Flav/Blend: 18/20
Uniq: 8/10
Finish: 13/15
Total: 88/100
So...
The preview I have is of a nicely rolled, well capped stick with a wonderful earthy / wood aroma. There were 2 medium size (but not too bad) veins running one side of the stick. The cutting of the cap was a pleasure. Very clean using my Xikar cutter. The prelight draw was very nice and full with floral/fruity taste and a slight peppery taste left on the lips. I could tell it was going to be a nice draw and it was.
The lighting was great. Without a hitch. Though the burn was a little wiggly throughout the smoke. But, not enough to have to rescue it. It seemed like it had a memory but kept over correcting. I did set this boy down a couple times for about 5 and had to relight. But there were not any issues with it.
As I smoked away, I enjoyed the creaminess of the first 1/3. From there it started to pick up the peppery taste that I had a felling was going to appear. The strenghth picked up for about an inch from there and leveled out for the balance of the ride.
The draw was exceptional with smoke to match. I have a hard time with comparing smoke aroma due to the fact that I enjoy the smell of a cigar no matter what it is. I will have to work on that.
The ash was a little rough due to the wiggle of the burn. But not that crazy. It lasted about an inch before bailing.
Overall:
I enjoyed this stick very much. The burn was a little freaky, but other than that, a very nice choice. I would keep a few of these around.
Appearance: 14/15
Ash: 7/10
Draw: 10/10
Burn: 8/10
Smoke: 10/10
Flav/Blend: 18/20
Uniq: 8/10
Finish: 13/15
Total: 88/100
Benzopyrene
BoM June 08
Nice review! You guys have til friday to get this review posted! Cheers!
smokin it now...review on monday...bad keyboard at home
Just finished it,, Please sir may I have some more:smokingbo
I sure as heck hear that!
Altercall
I beat you all May '08 :)
Now for the one I know you've all been looking forward to...:dunno:
I want to take you guys through my exact experience with this cigar, so I'll try to go by my notes as much as I can.
The first thing I noticed about this cigar was the yellow cello. I've seen cigars a year or so old that are this color, and I've seen a OR Anejo that's this color. I'll guess that it's about 1-2 years old, though.
Out of the cello, it was a nice sizes medium brown Robusto. The wrapper was pretty clean with a triple cap. There were thin stems that I could see running the length of one side of the cigar. They did not think they would affect the burn, just distracted from the appearance of the cigar. The other side of the cigar looked beautiful. I actually took a few seconds to just stare at the cigar. The foot looked pretty good, maybe a little uneven on the packing (heavy on the outside), but it should have a nice draw. There was one issue with the wrapper, though. I guess I just have bad luck, but there was a cut about an inch or so from the head of the cigar. It was only a few mm long, but it was through the binder.
I wet the cigar before cutting it and noticed a very intense spiciness on the cigar, the kind that tingles your tongue. The first thing I though was, "Opus?" I snipped it with my Xikar scissors and lit it with the blowtorch light at the cigar shop. It lit easily and the draw was perfect.
Just like the wrapper, the start of the cigar was all spice. The spiciness was not unpleasant, but it was in your face. Still tingling on the tongue. I was almost affraid to exhale the cigar through my sinuses, but I did anyway. It was very spicy, but pleasant. The spice had a smoothness and a airiness too it that made it sting a little, in a good way. I could not do this too much, though.
The same spiciness lasted through the first inch of the cigar. I noticed an undertone of cocoa in the cigar, but it was covered up for the most part by the spice. I made sure to cover the cut in the cigar the whole time and got a very nice volume of smoke. Nice and white, holding together very well. Through the first inch the burn was off, but I let it go as it acted like it wanted to catch up on it's own.
After the first inch, the flavor started to change. The spiciness started to drift off and by 1 1/2 inches it was becoming bitter. I decided to even up the burn and got a little more of the spiciness that I had before. I assume it was the tobacco that was catching up from the first inch or so. At this point I thought two things, "I really liked that spiciness at the beginning," and "this reminds me of the last Opus I had". Now it's been awhile since I had an Opus, so I could be way off on that memory.
The bitterness didn't last for long, maybe a few minutes at most. It started burning off again, too. I had been watching the ash, which was still holding, and it had gone from a very impressive white ash to more of a yellow and dark grey ash. I think that can be marked up to the lighter torching the ash when I evened the burn. The rest of the way the ash returned to the clean white color at the start.
As I approached the 1/2 point of this 5 inch cigar, I again exhaled the cigar through my sinuses and got the same tingling spiciness as before, though the cigar did not have much discernible flavor. Just as I thought that, I started picking up a new flavor. There was not enough to discern it, but I thought I'd like it.
Right then, at the 1/2 mark, the cigar started having draw issues. I wasn't getting much smoke. After 5 minutes of this, the cigar ashed and went out, dead cold! "Right as I was getting interested," I thought. I lit it back up, and within a minute I knew exactly what cigar this was, well kindof. It was an old friend. The best way to describe it, thanks to Luke's rules, was a smooth spice with some floral notes, some nuttiness or earthiness mixed in, but a taste that I know and love. I normally just call it smooth.:yes:
As I approached the 2/3 mark on the cigar I stopped getting smoke. I would draw and draw and would only get smoke every 4th draw or so. I mean absolutely no smoke, then all of a sudden a mouthful. The weirdest thing I've experienced. The only thing I can imagine is that I didn't have the hole in the wrapper covered completely. After 5-10 minutes of this it went out again. I lit her back up and made sure I had that hole covered. still had a little of the problem, but I managed with it.
Thankfully I got through the cut, but by that point it had caused the wrapped to crack the whole way. A flaky wrapper, weird burn, hot on the fingers... I still nubbed it!!!
Ratings:
Appearance: 12/15
Ash: 9/10
Draw: 8/10
Burn: 6/10
Smoke: 8/10
Flav/Blend: 19/20
Uniq: 9/10
Finish: 14/15
Total: 85/100
And it would easily have been 10 points higher without the things that I chalk up to being the cut in the wrapper.
I want to take you guys through my exact experience with this cigar, so I'll try to go by my notes as much as I can.
The first thing I noticed about this cigar was the yellow cello. I've seen cigars a year or so old that are this color, and I've seen a OR Anejo that's this color. I'll guess that it's about 1-2 years old, though.
Out of the cello, it was a nice sizes medium brown Robusto. The wrapper was pretty clean with a triple cap. There were thin stems that I could see running the length of one side of the cigar. They did not think they would affect the burn, just distracted from the appearance of the cigar. The other side of the cigar looked beautiful. I actually took a few seconds to just stare at the cigar. The foot looked pretty good, maybe a little uneven on the packing (heavy on the outside), but it should have a nice draw. There was one issue with the wrapper, though. I guess I just have bad luck, but there was a cut about an inch or so from the head of the cigar. It was only a few mm long, but it was through the binder.
I wet the cigar before cutting it and noticed a very intense spiciness on the cigar, the kind that tingles your tongue. The first thing I though was, "Opus?" I snipped it with my Xikar scissors and lit it with the blowtorch light at the cigar shop. It lit easily and the draw was perfect.
Just like the wrapper, the start of the cigar was all spice. The spiciness was not unpleasant, but it was in your face. Still tingling on the tongue. I was almost affraid to exhale the cigar through my sinuses, but I did anyway. It was very spicy, but pleasant. The spice had a smoothness and a airiness too it that made it sting a little, in a good way. I could not do this too much, though.
The same spiciness lasted through the first inch of the cigar. I noticed an undertone of cocoa in the cigar, but it was covered up for the most part by the spice. I made sure to cover the cut in the cigar the whole time and got a very nice volume of smoke. Nice and white, holding together very well. Through the first inch the burn was off, but I let it go as it acted like it wanted to catch up on it's own.
After the first inch, the flavor started to change. The spiciness started to drift off and by 1 1/2 inches it was becoming bitter. I decided to even up the burn and got a little more of the spiciness that I had before. I assume it was the tobacco that was catching up from the first inch or so. At this point I thought two things, "I really liked that spiciness at the beginning," and "this reminds me of the last Opus I had". Now it's been awhile since I had an Opus, so I could be way off on that memory.
The bitterness didn't last for long, maybe a few minutes at most. It started burning off again, too. I had been watching the ash, which was still holding, and it had gone from a very impressive white ash to more of a yellow and dark grey ash. I think that can be marked up to the lighter torching the ash when I evened the burn. The rest of the way the ash returned to the clean white color at the start.
As I approached the 1/2 point of this 5 inch cigar, I again exhaled the cigar through my sinuses and got the same tingling spiciness as before, though the cigar did not have much discernible flavor. Just as I thought that, I started picking up a new flavor. There was not enough to discern it, but I thought I'd like it.
Right then, at the 1/2 mark, the cigar started having draw issues. I wasn't getting much smoke. After 5 minutes of this, the cigar ashed and went out, dead cold! "Right as I was getting interested," I thought. I lit it back up, and within a minute I knew exactly what cigar this was, well kindof. It was an old friend. The best way to describe it, thanks to Luke's rules, was a smooth spice with some floral notes, some nuttiness or earthiness mixed in, but a taste that I know and love. I normally just call it smooth.:yes:
As I approached the 2/3 mark on the cigar I stopped getting smoke. I would draw and draw and would only get smoke every 4th draw or so. I mean absolutely no smoke, then all of a sudden a mouthful. The weirdest thing I've experienced. The only thing I can imagine is that I didn't have the hole in the wrapper covered completely. After 5-10 minutes of this it went out again. I lit her back up and made sure I had that hole covered. still had a little of the problem, but I managed with it.
Thankfully I got through the cut, but by that point it had caused the wrapped to crack the whole way. A flaky wrapper, weird burn, hot on the fingers... I still nubbed it!!!
Ratings:
Appearance: 12/15
Ash: 9/10
Draw: 8/10
Burn: 6/10
Smoke: 8/10
Flav/Blend: 19/20
Uniq: 9/10
Finish: 14/15
Total: 85/100
And it would easily have been 10 points higher without the things that I chalk up to being the cut in the wrapper.
Benzopyrene
BoM June 08
Hey I like reading the long ones as well. Remeberthis is a contest, and in the end the Person who's reviews are best received by the board gets one of all the cigars we smoked!:dance:
Benzopyrene
BoM June 08
Very nice review btw!