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09-18-2010, 12:53 AM | #1 |
Still Watching My Back
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Ashton VSG Enchantment
My mom sent me this cigar (thanks mom!), so I decided to light it up after an amazing dinner with my lovely at Mezzo, a local Italian restaurant (http://www.mezzo.ca/) For the record, she smoked a Oliva Series G Special G.
The cigar itself is beautiful to behold. 4.38" X 60. It's oddly shaped (Perfecto? Figurado?), but has tremendous charm and plenty of character because of this. The construction was flawless, and the wrapper beautiful with a slightly oily sheen. I prefer a large gauge cigar, and the 60 gauge at the fattest part feels great between the fingers. I clipped it with my Xikar cutter, and sampled the draw, which was very nice. Not too easy, nor too firm. The pre-light tastes was typical dark cigar tobacco, though a very slight sweetness to it. Since the tip is so small, there wasn't much to toast or light for that matter. It lit up easy. Within a minute, the cigar starts delivering cocoa and slightly burnt/dark coffee taste, with an earthy, leather taste thrown into the mix. It's very pleasing, especially after my large meal. Smoke is thick right off the bat (see 2nd pic) and remains thick throughout. This smoke is SMOOTH and medium body, and has such a great mouthfeel I almost want to "chew" the smoke. The cocoa/chocolate theme continues, but after the first third it gets slightly more peppery. Not enough to overpower the sublime cocoa taste, but enough to let you know it's there. It's not the most complex cigar, but the flavors and their transitions are great. Midway through, I detect a taste I'm having a hard time putting my finger on. It's only slight, but it's there. This is not a bad thing, as it gets me to really concentrate on my palate. I think I'm tasting raisins, and at other moments I think it may be a slight touch of anise. Either way it's a pleasing (though very understated) addition to this delicious stick. The final third continues the same flavor profile, but with a bit more intensity...not much. Just a really enjoyable cigar, one I wished would continue long into the night. Sadly, it lasted only a bit over an hour. I would most definitely smoke another, and recommend you give this stick a try. I think this is one of my favorite cigars I've smoked in some time...... |