Thegreekone
Banned
Well, there are times when the planets just align and you have a total and complete experience that reminds you not only what a great cigar is, but just how restorative it can be.
I have been sick for quite a spell and a friend and I were just tired of some buzz-killers at our B&M. I don't want to spend too much time on this but you know the type. They show up and instead of enjoying the ritual, smoking experience, and camaraderie, they bitch and moan and are a real Debbie Downer. I am not saying conversation can't be substantive, but I go to my B&M and smoke so I don't HAVE TO BITCH AND MOAN, ya know?
Anyway, my friend has quite the humi, think 8x8x3 and stocked with everything, literally. He says, "I want us to smoke something epic. You decide."
Well, lets just say I just could not go there. CCs and NCs of every kind; I was frozen solid with indecision. Plus, it's his stuff. I just don't feel comfortable in that situation. I told him I trusted him and anything would suffice.
He grabs a Tat Jar and it is done. Hands me the jar and tells me to pick two. I am stunned by how beautiful they are. Beautiful in a rustic and old school kind of way. Lovely cap, closed-foot, and a strange dusty cinnamon stick kind of wrapper that is just BEAUTIFUL.
Whoa, did I just smell sweet spice with a hint of mint off the wrapper? (mint? Really? REALLY?!) Snip and draw is perfect, not wide open but not tight; I am thinking of a slightly tighter Padron. PERFECT. Pre-draw is spice, leather, and a hint of barnyard. This cigar may just be my favorite size, 5 5/8 x 46. Feels perfect in the hand and it really does look like some secret blended contraption that was constructed for "members only," and at 1,000 jars containing 19 sticks, it is exactly that. Members only being those smart enough to strike first or those wealthy and patient enough to seek and find.
I am not kidding when I tell you I am excited and I can't remember taking the utmost care in lighting a cigar. I feel like a dork. (ok, MORE of a dork) The cigar sparks, lights and burns with minimal effort.
Right from the gate I get a spicy floral blast of such complexity I am almost stunned. I have read mixed reviews, love or meh, hence, I was just shocked by the special qualities of this cigar from the get-go. Cocoa, leather, cedar, and a richness that took the best of the NC and CC world and put them together in one stick. I am sort of freaking out if you want to know the truth.
Burn and construction are par excel-lance! Razor sharp burn, the richest and savory sweet floral smoke, and a flavor I can't get enough of and continues to build and impress. I am trying not to think about this might be it for me and this cigar and trying to just enjoy and be present.
Cocoa is replaced by nuttiness and keeps getting richer. I am smoking slowly but thoughtfully and with regularity. I don't want to relight this and I hardly see a need if I play my cards right. Leather, cedar and spice are coating everything and it is just right in every way.
Last 1/3 is just so complex and rich I have given up "figuring it out" and just turned myself over to the experience. My friend and I are just nodding and laughing with an occasional, "I know, unbelievable!"
Then the conversation turned to the space. No Gurkhafied smoke, no buzz-kills, no time constraints, and no TV. As a matter of fact, we sat at a kitchen table and really turned ourselves over to this thing. Our ramblings turned to how much of this cigar we would have lost even in the morning and nobody else at the club? Then we were stunned what a shame it would be to torch something of this quality with a full house of smoke, noise, and distractions and just how much of a nuanced cigar like this would be lost. Tragic.
Are they worth the current market price? DEFINITELY, and then some! This is the quintessential special occasion cigar. Forget HTF or expensive, this cigar is on another level because it delivers in every way on every level.
I have been smoking for less than a year but I have been lucky to smoke some great cigars and I can honestly say this is not a cigar for beginners. Yes, I consider myself a newb and the only reason I think I "got it" is due to the info and variety of cigars I have smoked due to being a member of BOTL. For this, I am grateful. This was simply the most enjoyable (not best, don't even want to go there) cigar I have ever smoked, PERIOD.
Brothers and sisters, do what you have to do. It's worth it. No hyperbole, just trying to vocalize my experience and losing badly.
Enjoy.....and thanks again.
I have been sick for quite a spell and a friend and I were just tired of some buzz-killers at our B&M. I don't want to spend too much time on this but you know the type. They show up and instead of enjoying the ritual, smoking experience, and camaraderie, they bitch and moan and are a real Debbie Downer. I am not saying conversation can't be substantive, but I go to my B&M and smoke so I don't HAVE TO BITCH AND MOAN, ya know?
Anyway, my friend has quite the humi, think 8x8x3 and stocked with everything, literally. He says, "I want us to smoke something epic. You decide."
Well, lets just say I just could not go there. CCs and NCs of every kind; I was frozen solid with indecision. Plus, it's his stuff. I just don't feel comfortable in that situation. I told him I trusted him and anything would suffice.
He grabs a Tat Jar and it is done. Hands me the jar and tells me to pick two. I am stunned by how beautiful they are. Beautiful in a rustic and old school kind of way. Lovely cap, closed-foot, and a strange dusty cinnamon stick kind of wrapper that is just BEAUTIFUL.
Whoa, did I just smell sweet spice with a hint of mint off the wrapper? (mint? Really? REALLY?!) Snip and draw is perfect, not wide open but not tight; I am thinking of a slightly tighter Padron. PERFECT. Pre-draw is spice, leather, and a hint of barnyard. This cigar may just be my favorite size, 5 5/8 x 46. Feels perfect in the hand and it really does look like some secret blended contraption that was constructed for "members only," and at 1,000 jars containing 19 sticks, it is exactly that. Members only being those smart enough to strike first or those wealthy and patient enough to seek and find.
I am not kidding when I tell you I am excited and I can't remember taking the utmost care in lighting a cigar. I feel like a dork. (ok, MORE of a dork) The cigar sparks, lights and burns with minimal effort.
Right from the gate I get a spicy floral blast of such complexity I am almost stunned. I have read mixed reviews, love or meh, hence, I was just shocked by the special qualities of this cigar from the get-go. Cocoa, leather, cedar, and a richness that took the best of the NC and CC world and put them together in one stick. I am sort of freaking out if you want to know the truth.
Burn and construction are par excel-lance! Razor sharp burn, the richest and savory sweet floral smoke, and a flavor I can't get enough of and continues to build and impress. I am trying not to think about this might be it for me and this cigar and trying to just enjoy and be present.
Cocoa is replaced by nuttiness and keeps getting richer. I am smoking slowly but thoughtfully and with regularity. I don't want to relight this and I hardly see a need if I play my cards right. Leather, cedar and spice are coating everything and it is just right in every way.
Last 1/3 is just so complex and rich I have given up "figuring it out" and just turned myself over to the experience. My friend and I are just nodding and laughing with an occasional, "I know, unbelievable!"
Then the conversation turned to the space. No Gurkhafied smoke, no buzz-kills, no time constraints, and no TV. As a matter of fact, we sat at a kitchen table and really turned ourselves over to this thing. Our ramblings turned to how much of this cigar we would have lost even in the morning and nobody else at the club? Then we were stunned what a shame it would be to torch something of this quality with a full house of smoke, noise, and distractions and just how much of a nuanced cigar like this would be lost. Tragic.
Are they worth the current market price? DEFINITELY, and then some! This is the quintessential special occasion cigar. Forget HTF or expensive, this cigar is on another level because it delivers in every way on every level.
I have been smoking for less than a year but I have been lucky to smoke some great cigars and I can honestly say this is not a cigar for beginners. Yes, I consider myself a newb and the only reason I think I "got it" is due to the info and variety of cigars I have smoked due to being a member of BOTL. For this, I am grateful. This was simply the most enjoyable (not best, don't even want to go there) cigar I have ever smoked, PERIOD.
Brothers and sisters, do what you have to do. It's worth it. No hyperbole, just trying to vocalize my experience and losing badly.
Enjoy.....and thanks again.
