Brutus2600 Cigar #7
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I woke up nice and early this morning before the heat and the noise of the day. Made a pot of coffee, got everything all situated, and went to go grab DBall's 7th cigar to review. As I was taking it out of the numbered five finger baggy, I made the sad realization that there are only 3 cigars left after this! However, after that, I made the exciting realization that I was still going to get to experience 3 more great cigars!
Upon initial inspection this cigar looks to be about 6 x 32. The construction is only slightly rough, I wouldn't say the wrapper is bad, nor would I say it was perfect either. It is nice and firm without any soft spots, and has nice triple cap on it, and I think I see a little plume as well.
Initial Light 7:40 - The prelight draw brings the taste of sweet tobacco and is a little loose. Toasted the foot, lit the cigar, and off we go! The first draw brought a little spice, hints of cream, and produced big beautiful amounts of white smoke.
First Third - The initial spice I tasted is now developing into a more peppery taste that hits me on the back of my tongue. I'm also picking up hints of leather and another prominent flavor that I can't pin down. The ash is a dark gray with white streaks, and only holds on for about a half an inch. There is this...soured? Almost bitter flavor that purging isn't getting rid of. It's almost like food on the verge of going bad. Very strange and haven't had that in a cigar before. Thank goodness that seems to be fading though.
Second Third 8:05 - The bitterness is completely gone by now. The burn is fantastic, not what I've come to expect from this RG. It's even staying lit and hasn't required any touch ups. This cigar has been overall very mild, flavors being almost hard to discern. I'm still picking up minor hints of leather and grassy notes however.
Final Third 8:35 - I got distracted and let the cigar go out. After a relight it's right back to it's mild mannered self again. I guess that's kind of telling about this stick. While good, it doesn't captivate me like other cigars do. The wrapper is a little loose around the last part and has created a slightly uneven burn, but nothing significant.
Finish time 8:52 - While this stick wasn't exciting, that's not a bad thing, it just makes this mild stick a great early morning smoke. As Jimmy stated earlier in this thread, this whole experience has really changed my perspective on RG sizes, and I've come to appreciate the smaller RG significantly. Something this size is almost more comfortable to me now than a 50+ RG stick. While I'm not sure if I'd actively seek this cigar out again, it is something I could see myself enjoying if I found a good deal on them.
Appearance and construction: 1.3 out of 1.5
Smoke and ash: 1.5 out of 1.5
Burn: 2.8 out of 3
Overall flavor: 2.5 out of 4
8.1 out of 10