Woke up this morning and looked out the window to observe a stunningly beautiful and sunny day. There was a light breeze and it was a crisp, 25 degrees outside. Perfect day for a cigar. Hopped out of bed and headed on down to the coffee shop where I had a double espresso and a chocolate roll, grabbed a large coffee to go and went to check the mail. I found three boxes there. One from a member of another forum, one from Atlantic Cigar (who had the absolute best packaging I have ever seen from an online company. I can't recommend them enough to all of you) and a 3rd box, which I wasn't expecting.
The six lanceros were from the member on the other forum and the rest were from Atlantic Cigar.
This was the 3rd box, which I am selling unfortunately. I have an ad up in the sale section.
Anyway, I'll stop jibber jabbing so much. Got up to the lake and set up to enjoy myself on a picnic table with a book.
The cigar of choice today was a Room 101 Limited Conjura Robusto.
Pre-light inspection:
Age: Stored in my humidor from 11/13/2010 to 12/30/2010
Size: 4 7/8x50
Aroma: Earthy, with hints of cinnamon and leather
Draw: Cut easily with a Xikar X-8. Decent draw though I wouldn't mind a bit looser. Lots of sweet leather with some spice thrown into the mix.
Appearance: Rich, even brown. Uniformly firm. Very smooth cigar without any serious veins. Box press.
Accompanying beverage: Black coffee. A vertical roast from Sisters Coffee Co. called the Amber Roast.
This is the view from my vantage point.
This is how I kept time. My big gift from my mother and stepfather. I'm just a bit excited about it.
The cigar:
The first third:
The cigar seemed to light relatively easily with my Ronson lighter, but I soon discovered that the foot hadn't all quite caught for some reason. There was one point just off center that was taking a bit of effort to get going. After a little more work, I did get it going and was immediately it with a wave of heavy spice with woody undertones. The smoke reminds me a bit of chocolate while I sit there and ruminate in it. That spice that was sitting so heavily in the throat has faded away a good deal and I'm now picking up definite hints of leather as well as another flavor that truly made me pause. I spent a good couple of minutes trying to put a name to this because I know it's a flavor I've tasted before. I finally just settled on calling it "spiced meat" in my notes, which is the only decent way of describing it. It truly reminded me of a full, hearty meal and I loved it. At this point the smoke output is much better and the burn is improved, though still not great. Right in the final part of the first third the spice has truly died down and I'm getting a strong cedar flavor.
I've seen this lake many colors. Green, gray, brown, black. During the summer, it is quite rare to see it so blue.
The Second Third:
The second third amps back up again. That odd, but delicious, meaty flavor is still present and the spice has returned. It's not as spicy as the initial flavor blast, but it's still leaving a very pleasing warmth on my palate. Chocolate has moved to the forefront and is going quite nicely with my cup of coffee. If only I could convince the coffee to stop cooling down. The ash is still holding on very strong at this point. I bumped it against the table and it is still hanging in there quite tenaciously. I'm impressed. Nearing the final third, I'm tasting leather again, and for a rather brief period of time I tasted pasture. This wasn't unpleasant, but it was very noticeable and very distinctive. It didn't last long.
You can see here the chunk I took out of the ash.
My sister joined me shortly before the halfway point.
Final Third:
Nearing the final 3rd the ash finally dropped. It held for over half the cigar, which thrilled me to no end. I did a quick flame purge and was rewarded with a fireball that shot out about 4 inches. Couldn't get a decent picture of it unfortunately.
Anyway, the flame purge had considerable effect on the profile. I was hit once again with a heavy wave of spice. It was very much like cayenne and it was fantastic. Cedar is now a big player in this game and is an interesting combo with that much spice. A little ways into this final third the spice dies down and chocolate is back in the picture along with more leather. Right towards the end I got a handful of puffs that I swear tasted like squash, but they were gone almost as soon as they came. The smoke ended strong with heavy notes of coffee and leather. It was easily nubbed.
I had to stop because I burned my fingers
Overall Impression: This was a very good and relatively long smoke. There were lots of flavor shifts in the cigar, but it remained pretty steady in the overall profile. A complex cigar, but it doesn't waver far from it's core flavors. The main, and really only, issue I have with this cigar was the burn. It required multiple touch ups and that wrapper simply didn't want to keep lit. Other than that it was great.
Final Smoke Time: 12:43-2:30 1 hour and 47 minutes
Would I recommend?: Yes. If you can find these for a decent price I think they're definitely worth giving a shot. At MSRP I think they're a little proud, but you can find them for a little cheaper here and there on occasion and it's certainly worth picking at least a few.
Some Random Photos: I missed my camera there for a couple of weeks. Had to order a charger since I lost my other one.
Tools of the trade:
Sunlight, sisters and old cedar stumps:
An inquisitive little squirrel:
Probably not everyone appreciates scrap lumber as much as some of us Pacific North Westerners, but this is a fun shot.
Fun shadow:
The six lanceros were from the member on the other forum and the rest were from Atlantic Cigar.
This was the 3rd box, which I am selling unfortunately. I have an ad up in the sale section.
Anyway, I'll stop jibber jabbing so much. Got up to the lake and set up to enjoy myself on a picnic table with a book.
The cigar of choice today was a Room 101 Limited Conjura Robusto.
Pre-light inspection:
Age: Stored in my humidor from 11/13/2010 to 12/30/2010
Size: 4 7/8x50
Aroma: Earthy, with hints of cinnamon and leather
Draw: Cut easily with a Xikar X-8. Decent draw though I wouldn't mind a bit looser. Lots of sweet leather with some spice thrown into the mix.
Appearance: Rich, even brown. Uniformly firm. Very smooth cigar without any serious veins. Box press.
Accompanying beverage: Black coffee. A vertical roast from Sisters Coffee Co. called the Amber Roast.
This is the view from my vantage point.
This is how I kept time. My big gift from my mother and stepfather. I'm just a bit excited about it.
The cigar:
The first third:
The cigar seemed to light relatively easily with my Ronson lighter, but I soon discovered that the foot hadn't all quite caught for some reason. There was one point just off center that was taking a bit of effort to get going. After a little more work, I did get it going and was immediately it with a wave of heavy spice with woody undertones. The smoke reminds me a bit of chocolate while I sit there and ruminate in it. That spice that was sitting so heavily in the throat has faded away a good deal and I'm now picking up definite hints of leather as well as another flavor that truly made me pause. I spent a good couple of minutes trying to put a name to this because I know it's a flavor I've tasted before. I finally just settled on calling it "spiced meat" in my notes, which is the only decent way of describing it. It truly reminded me of a full, hearty meal and I loved it. At this point the smoke output is much better and the burn is improved, though still not great. Right in the final part of the first third the spice has truly died down and I'm getting a strong cedar flavor.
I've seen this lake many colors. Green, gray, brown, black. During the summer, it is quite rare to see it so blue.
The Second Third:
The second third amps back up again. That odd, but delicious, meaty flavor is still present and the spice has returned. It's not as spicy as the initial flavor blast, but it's still leaving a very pleasing warmth on my palate. Chocolate has moved to the forefront and is going quite nicely with my cup of coffee. If only I could convince the coffee to stop cooling down. The ash is still holding on very strong at this point. I bumped it against the table and it is still hanging in there quite tenaciously. I'm impressed. Nearing the final third, I'm tasting leather again, and for a rather brief period of time I tasted pasture. This wasn't unpleasant, but it was very noticeable and very distinctive. It didn't last long.
You can see here the chunk I took out of the ash.
My sister joined me shortly before the halfway point.
Final Third:
Nearing the final 3rd the ash finally dropped. It held for over half the cigar, which thrilled me to no end. I did a quick flame purge and was rewarded with a fireball that shot out about 4 inches. Couldn't get a decent picture of it unfortunately.
Anyway, the flame purge had considerable effect on the profile. I was hit once again with a heavy wave of spice. It was very much like cayenne and it was fantastic. Cedar is now a big player in this game and is an interesting combo with that much spice. A little ways into this final third the spice dies down and chocolate is back in the picture along with more leather. Right towards the end I got a handful of puffs that I swear tasted like squash, but they were gone almost as soon as they came. The smoke ended strong with heavy notes of coffee and leather. It was easily nubbed.
I had to stop because I burned my fingers
Overall Impression: This was a very good and relatively long smoke. There were lots of flavor shifts in the cigar, but it remained pretty steady in the overall profile. A complex cigar, but it doesn't waver far from it's core flavors. The main, and really only, issue I have with this cigar was the burn. It required multiple touch ups and that wrapper simply didn't want to keep lit. Other than that it was great.
Final Smoke Time: 12:43-2:30 1 hour and 47 minutes
Would I recommend?: Yes. If you can find these for a decent price I think they're definitely worth giving a shot. At MSRP I think they're a little proud, but you can find them for a little cheaper here and there on occasion and it's certainly worth picking at least a few.
Some Random Photos: I missed my camera there for a couple of weeks. Had to order a charger since I lost my other one.
Tools of the trade:
Sunlight, sisters and old cedar stumps:
An inquisitive little squirrel:
Probably not everyone appreciates scrap lumber as much as some of us Pacific North Westerners, but this is a fun shot.
Fun shadow:
