5 Vegas Series A Artisan

[BlackIrish]

Smoked this one in a blind tasting (thanks AD720!). I wrote up this review without knowing what I was smoking.

This was a robusto wrapped in a dark maduro wrapper -- a pretty nice looking wrapper for a broadleaf. Well rolled, felt satisfying in my hand. It clipped cleanly and offered an easy draw. Prelight draw gave chocolate and coffee and maduro-y goodness.

The smoke did too. Dark tobacco, bitter chocolate, black coffee, slight sweetness. Smooth and rich, with no spice to speak of. Pretty consistent throughout the smoke, with the initial flavors strengthening, and just an occasional hint of vanilla, cola, maybe black cherry. In the last third, the bitter chocolate/black coffee flavor predominated. Not at all unpleasant, though.

Burn was excellent, by the way -- straight and true to the very nub.

Overall, a very pleasant maduro smoke.