kockroach
BoM August 2010/2011
I am sure that you're probably wondering "What is an 'AquaRat'"? Is this a new release? Where can I get one?
You may or may not have heard of Drew Estate's Cigar Safari, but that is where this cigar was born. On the Cigar Safari, one of the parts of the tour, is a blending session. Each participant on the trip learns about all of the tobacco at Drew Estates, and then has a chance to pick their own filler, binder and wrapper, as well as the size of cigar they would like to see rolled. The blend is then sent off to the rollers, and bundle of 10 cigars are made using the blend.
Well, back in February, one of our fellow BOTLs went on the Cigar Safari, and had the chance to create his own cigar. Rich used the T-52 wrapper with a Copote Connecticut binder (Oliva family). The filler is composed of Jalapa Criollo-98, ASP Estelli, Brazillian Mata Fina and Escorsia Jalapa. The cigar is 6 1/2 by 42 Lonsdale size.
I had a chance to meet up with him not long after he returned. He talked about the trip, and brought out the cigars from the blending sessions. Dark and oily, he opened up the bag, and the thick smell of barnyard overwhelming. He said he wasn't going to smoke one for about 6 months, so that they have a chance to settle down. About 6 months later, I recall he said that he had tried one, and thought it was good. He has happy that he had chosen a good blend.
Well, this month, he smacked me down with a number of cigars for my birthday, one of which was one of these cigars. I told him I would smoke it on my birthday, and give it a review for the board. The cigar doesn't have a name, but I thought it should. I hope JD and Steve don't mind me naming it.
In honor of the blender, aquarich....I present to you, "The AquaRat"!
The T-52 is fairly oily, dark, and very toothy. The construction is firm, but with a slight indented area about 2/3rds up the cigar. Not a soft spot though. After clipping the well-formed triple cap, the pre-light draw has a slight coffee flavor, and the wrapper gives a little pepper burn on the lips. The first third of the "AquaRat" is loaded with the flavor of roasted coffee and leather. The burn is razor straight, with a light gray ash.
The second third of the cigar still has a dominant coffee flavor, but is more complex. The leather is still present, but has been pushed to the background by cocoa. There is also some slight spice and pepper mixed within.
The cigar finishes with a dominant leather flavor, mixed with wood, spice and more pepper. The burn never waivered at all throughout the smoke. Overall, it lasted 90 minutes.
I really enjoyed this cigar, and if it were actually available in stores, I would buy more of them. I think that Rich did a great job choosing a blend on the Cigar Safari. I was supposed to go on a recent Safari, but wasn't able to. The blending session would have been great to sit through.
Thanks again for the gift, Rich!
You may or may not have heard of Drew Estate's Cigar Safari, but that is where this cigar was born. On the Cigar Safari, one of the parts of the tour, is a blending session. Each participant on the trip learns about all of the tobacco at Drew Estates, and then has a chance to pick their own filler, binder and wrapper, as well as the size of cigar they would like to see rolled. The blend is then sent off to the rollers, and bundle of 10 cigars are made using the blend.
Well, back in February, one of our fellow BOTLs went on the Cigar Safari, and had the chance to create his own cigar. Rich used the T-52 wrapper with a Copote Connecticut binder (Oliva family). The filler is composed of Jalapa Criollo-98, ASP Estelli, Brazillian Mata Fina and Escorsia Jalapa. The cigar is 6 1/2 by 42 Lonsdale size.
I had a chance to meet up with him not long after he returned. He talked about the trip, and brought out the cigars from the blending sessions. Dark and oily, he opened up the bag, and the thick smell of barnyard overwhelming. He said he wasn't going to smoke one for about 6 months, so that they have a chance to settle down. About 6 months later, I recall he said that he had tried one, and thought it was good. He has happy that he had chosen a good blend.
Well, this month, he smacked me down with a number of cigars for my birthday, one of which was one of these cigars. I told him I would smoke it on my birthday, and give it a review for the board. The cigar doesn't have a name, but I thought it should. I hope JD and Steve don't mind me naming it.
In honor of the blender, aquarich....I present to you, "The AquaRat"!
The T-52 is fairly oily, dark, and very toothy. The construction is firm, but with a slight indented area about 2/3rds up the cigar. Not a soft spot though. After clipping the well-formed triple cap, the pre-light draw has a slight coffee flavor, and the wrapper gives a little pepper burn on the lips. The first third of the "AquaRat" is loaded with the flavor of roasted coffee and leather. The burn is razor straight, with a light gray ash.
The second third of the cigar still has a dominant coffee flavor, but is more complex. The leather is still present, but has been pushed to the background by cocoa. There is also some slight spice and pepper mixed within.
The cigar finishes with a dominant leather flavor, mixed with wood, spice and more pepper. The burn never waivered at all throughout the smoke. Overall, it lasted 90 minutes.
I really enjoyed this cigar, and if it were actually available in stores, I would buy more of them. I think that Rich did a great job choosing a blend on the Cigar Safari. I was supposed to go on a recent Safari, but wasn't able to. The blending session would have been great to sit through.
Thanks again for the gift, Rich!
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