- Joined
- Nov 15, 2014
- Messages
- 453
This evening, I dug into my humi looking for something to keep me occupied longer than an hour. Most of you don't have a problem when the urge strikes you, but lately, I've been obsessed with finding the tastiest, shortest smoke I can get my hands on. Therefore, digging through a mountain of 4x40's, 5x46's, and Baitfish, I finally spied a gifted cigar from a brother who swore up and down that he didn't mean to drop that many sticks in the box, honest he didn't...
But I digress. Apparently Rocky Patel wasn't his style, and he passed on two or three handfuls of assorted sticks to me, which I figure I should start ashing without delay, as he told me not a one of them was younger than 3 years old.
Tonight, the victim is a toro or possibly double corona sized Edge Corojo that has now been in my possession for a couple weeks.
Smoking conditions: Approximately 2130 at lighting, 48-50 degrees, RH about 63% (outside, not humi level). Wife is feeling a bit under the weather, hence my ability to pontificate to the forum.
Initial impressions/pre-light: I'm marveling at the beauty of the wrapper, first off; the color is so even and devoid of veins that I'm wondering if Mr. Patel hasn't engaged in some kind of wrapper homogenization technology, or possibly food-grade dye or something. Seriously, this thing is way even toned and smooth. Just beautiful. It gives off a very mild tobacco aroma with a hint of cedar, probably more from humidor age than the tobacco itself. From the pre-light I'm honestly not very enticed at the prospect of 90 or so minutes with this cigar. The pack is VERY firm, nearly to the point of hard, but not quite. It takes real effort to cut briskly, as it puts up noticeable resistance to my Xi2 cutter.
Lighting: It takes a considerable amount of time to light. My interest begins to pique, as I think to myself, "Maybe there is still some life in this stick, after all..."
I light with my Moretti quad jet, so no draws are necessary, but it did take 2 20 second or so rounds of fire and some blowing on the foot to get that ligero down the pipe to stay lit.
First third: As usual, the first 5 or so puffs don't yield much other than some tobacco flavor, and as the wrapper begins to warm, a sweetish, somewhat herbal aroma. Nothing exciting yet. The draw is quite firm, not to the point that I'm suspecting a plug, but noticeably tighter than I would have expected. Smoke output is on the low side. An inch in, notes of a sweet wood emerge, with a touch of peppery spice and a sweet raisin tobacco flavor that reminds me of Levi Garrett. (Those of you from the South, or baseball players will remember that flavor, the rest of you, I'm less confident, but maybe you've tried it.) The ash forming is very solid, roll of dimes tight, and is remarkably gray for an NC.
Second third: Normally I ash around 1", sometimes 1.5", but the ash was so well formed, I decided to let it fall naturally. It made it to the halfway mark with no issues, and a wind gust knocked it off. A squat cone of cherry is revealed under that 2-ish inch long ash. Complexity begins to show, as the flavors don't really change, per se, but they intensify, and a honeyed sweetness creeps in on the finish. Spice is picking up, although strength is still about a solid medium, maybe edging toward high-medium. Nothing overbearing, but it definitely makes its presence known. The cap peels off, probably due to my own fault, the draw is still very firm, and my mouth isn't as dry as I'd normally like. No unraveling, though, so I just keep marching through this increasingly interesting stick.
Final third: An earthy undertone with hints of coffee and clove, or maybe cinnamon/anise pop in. The honey undertone leaves the party, and the raisiny tobacco backbone keeps the smoke moving forward. Strength really stepped up, it shoots up the scale to medium-strong, perhaps even a low-strong Nic-kick. An aroma jumps out at me all of a sudden that reminds me of an antique store; leather, maybe? I don't nub this one, just because the draw hasn't opened up like I thought it would, instead I let it go out with maybe 3/4" left.
I started the review thinking that I would thank my benefactor for the smoke, but ultimately that it wasn't my style. Wrong! Instead, its complexity and superior construction have made me turn the corner on this stick. I wouldn't say it's a box-worthy smoke for me, since I don't often smoke for nearly 2 hours at a sitting, but I'd keep a fiver or two around for nice evenings, or to watch a ball game. On my scale, I'd rate it an 88, maybe a 90, it's tough to judge on just one, but at any rate, I'd smoke another, maybe in a smaller vitola to see if a smaller RG made it any more fun to smoke.
Many thanks to Stin187, and to you all for struggling through my rather wordy, unfocused review.
But I digress. Apparently Rocky Patel wasn't his style, and he passed on two or three handfuls of assorted sticks to me, which I figure I should start ashing without delay, as he told me not a one of them was younger than 3 years old.
Tonight, the victim is a toro or possibly double corona sized Edge Corojo that has now been in my possession for a couple weeks.
Smoking conditions: Approximately 2130 at lighting, 48-50 degrees, RH about 63% (outside, not humi level). Wife is feeling a bit under the weather, hence my ability to pontificate to the forum.
Initial impressions/pre-light: I'm marveling at the beauty of the wrapper, first off; the color is so even and devoid of veins that I'm wondering if Mr. Patel hasn't engaged in some kind of wrapper homogenization technology, or possibly food-grade dye or something. Seriously, this thing is way even toned and smooth. Just beautiful. It gives off a very mild tobacco aroma with a hint of cedar, probably more from humidor age than the tobacco itself. From the pre-light I'm honestly not very enticed at the prospect of 90 or so minutes with this cigar. The pack is VERY firm, nearly to the point of hard, but not quite. It takes real effort to cut briskly, as it puts up noticeable resistance to my Xi2 cutter.
Lighting: It takes a considerable amount of time to light. My interest begins to pique, as I think to myself, "Maybe there is still some life in this stick, after all..."
I light with my Moretti quad jet, so no draws are necessary, but it did take 2 20 second or so rounds of fire and some blowing on the foot to get that ligero down the pipe to stay lit.
First third: As usual, the first 5 or so puffs don't yield much other than some tobacco flavor, and as the wrapper begins to warm, a sweetish, somewhat herbal aroma. Nothing exciting yet. The draw is quite firm, not to the point that I'm suspecting a plug, but noticeably tighter than I would have expected. Smoke output is on the low side. An inch in, notes of a sweet wood emerge, with a touch of peppery spice and a sweet raisin tobacco flavor that reminds me of Levi Garrett. (Those of you from the South, or baseball players will remember that flavor, the rest of you, I'm less confident, but maybe you've tried it.) The ash forming is very solid, roll of dimes tight, and is remarkably gray for an NC.
Second third: Normally I ash around 1", sometimes 1.5", but the ash was so well formed, I decided to let it fall naturally. It made it to the halfway mark with no issues, and a wind gust knocked it off. A squat cone of cherry is revealed under that 2-ish inch long ash. Complexity begins to show, as the flavors don't really change, per se, but they intensify, and a honeyed sweetness creeps in on the finish. Spice is picking up, although strength is still about a solid medium, maybe edging toward high-medium. Nothing overbearing, but it definitely makes its presence known. The cap peels off, probably due to my own fault, the draw is still very firm, and my mouth isn't as dry as I'd normally like. No unraveling, though, so I just keep marching through this increasingly interesting stick.
Final third: An earthy undertone with hints of coffee and clove, or maybe cinnamon/anise pop in. The honey undertone leaves the party, and the raisiny tobacco backbone keeps the smoke moving forward. Strength really stepped up, it shoots up the scale to medium-strong, perhaps even a low-strong Nic-kick. An aroma jumps out at me all of a sudden that reminds me of an antique store; leather, maybe? I don't nub this one, just because the draw hasn't opened up like I thought it would, instead I let it go out with maybe 3/4" left.
I started the review thinking that I would thank my benefactor for the smoke, but ultimately that it wasn't my style. Wrong! Instead, its complexity and superior construction have made me turn the corner on this stick. I wouldn't say it's a box-worthy smoke for me, since I don't often smoke for nearly 2 hours at a sitting, but I'd keep a fiver or two around for nice evenings, or to watch a ball game. On my scale, I'd rate it an 88, maybe a 90, it's tough to judge on just one, but at any rate, I'd smoke another, maybe in a smaller vitola to see if a smaller RG made it any more fun to smoke.
Many thanks to Stin187, and to you all for struggling through my rather wordy, unfocused review.
