jimmyk26 Cigar #7
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Here is round #7
Initial impressions - Another long and skinny cigar, this stick measures 6" x 28 and is wrapped with a medium brown leaf that shows a few veins and has a couple imperfections and discolorations. To the touch, it appears well constructed with only one slight soft spot and a slight indentation that shadows the band that was once there. The cap is so well applied that it is hard to make out the three layers. Not a beautiful cigar. The wrapper smells of dark chocolate and sweet tobacco while the foot presents an aroma of hay. The pre-light draw is easy with only a slight hint of hay left on the palate.
Initial puffs - There are rich coffee, chocolate and wood flavors in the first few puffs, with a pepper spice running through the nose. There was a little run away burn that seems to be correcting itself.
1/3 - Wow this is smoking quickly. The rich flavors carry right on through into the first third picking up a bit of sweetness and creaminess. Now the burn line has pretty much corrected itself. The ash is droping every quarter inch or so, probably due to the windy conditions were I am smoking right now. Rich chocolate and earth coating my palate and the spice is nice and strong through the nose.
2/3 - It is almost hard to keep up with the thirds of this cigar because it is smoking more quickly than I am used to. The tip did develop a little bit of tar which I cut off, this doesn't seem to have affected the cigar and I'll try to smoke this a bit slower for the rest of the review. For its size, this cigar has been smoking exceptionally well with a surprising amount of smoke for its ring gauge. While the earth and chocolate have remained steadily since the beginning of the cigar, it has picked up a bit of hazelnut and wood on the finish which seems to linger quite a while. I have struggled a bit with keeping this cigar lit, it seems that if I put the cigar down to type it goes out. It has relit easily and has picked up right where it left off each time.
3/3 - For just a brief bit, the cigar presented a slight metallic taste that seemed out of place. It left quickly and doesn't seem to be coming back. Otherwise, this is cigar has been very consistent from start to finish. A smooth easy draw with rich earth and chocolate flavors that linger on the palate, it has a nice bit of sweetness. Other than the need for attention and relights, this cigar has burnt evenly and smoked very well. The wood and pepper spice through the nose have started to linger on the palate. After the spice became more pronounced the cigar started to get a bit bitter and the flavors faded.
Final thoughts - Although this cigar wasn't overly complex, the earth, chocolate, wood, and spice flavors were quite enjoyable. This makes me wonder if the complexity of the smaller ring gauge cigars have limited potential due to the fewer leafs that make up the cigar. Surprisingly thick and rich smoke indicated that this cigar was well constructed and made for a very nice, if short, smoking experience. I think that I wouldn't have had to relight the cigar so much if I wasn't doing the review. I would definitely smoke more of these if I had the chance, but I think that this cigar lacked the complexity to be a great cigar.
Rating: 8.9 - A good cigar that had an enjoyable, straight forward flavor profile.