DBall's Newb Blind Taste Test #3

[jimmyk26]

Yep, #8 is in...this is almost going too quickly.

[DBall]

jimmyk26 Cigar #8
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Initial inspection - This cigar is roughly 6"x 43, another 'big' cigar in this tasting flight. The first thing I notice about this cigar is the peanut butter smell off of the wrapper, it's as if I just opened up a two pack of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. As I continue smelling, there is also a slight sweet tobacco scent behind the peanut butter. From the foot I am getting more sweet tobacco and cinnamon. The wrapper has a slightly toothy texture and light brown color; it is a great looking wrapper with very few veins. It also has a great triple cap, it almost looks like a quadruple cap (has that ever been done?). I can detect no soft spots so it seems to be well constructed. The pre light draw is easy and there is cinnamon and spice on the palate.


Initial puffs - There is a rich burnt wood with a strong pepper spice right away. After the initial blast of flavor, the cigar picks up a slight sweetness that seems to linger. The smoke is easy drawing and rich.

1/3 - This first third is spicy and woody with a lingering earth and leather. Surprisingly the draw is the loosest draw of the whole tasting flight, which makes me slightly concerned about how it will perform throughout. The burn has been uneven and the ash is fragile. There is a slight spice and sweetness through the nose that makes me think of those peanut butter cups again. The as soon as the smoke hit my palate, the flavor explodes with spicy, earthy, grassy richness. The burn has also evened out.


2/3 - The second third starts off with rich tangy spice that is just fantastic, yep I think I just got giddy about this cigar <insert big smile on my face>. It is hard to pull out the exact flavors that make up the expereince, but there is a wood spice coupled with a slight chocolate and peanut sweetness that makes way for a slight lingering grassiness. The burn is has stayed pretty even and the ash seems to fall off every 1/2' or so. There is even a bit of caramel sweetness on the finish. The cigar is fabulous right now.


3/3 - The spice has settled down a bit in on the palate, but it is still part of the profile. To use a term from Coffee tasting, I would describe this cigar as bright with poignant flavors. Leather has now made itself known. The ash still seems to be weak and falls off with out much warning. Also of note, it has been pretty windy out today so I have had to do some lighter touch ups, but it didn't seem to affect the flavors or the smoking experience. There is even a bit of a metallic taste that isn't bad but rather enhances the whole complex set of flavors. This cigar continues to deliver powerful and complex flavors all the way to the bittersweet end.


Final thoughts - ...mmm....
Well that pretty much sums it up. I felt like this cigar was almost out of my league, I could pick out the flavor profiles, but there was so much complexity that I am not sure I got everything. Not that I couldn't pick out all of the flavors given more time and cigars, but rather this cigar makes me realize that I still have a lot of work to do to improve my palate. It was a flavor experience that I don't think I have ever had before in a cigar. Start to finish there was rich spice, earth, and sweetness. The only small issue was the easy draw, I would have preferred it slightly firmer. Considering how fantastic the rest of the cigar was, the draw wasn't even really a problem.


Rating: 9.9 - I don't know if I could rate a cigar higher.

[DBall]

Brutus2600 Cigar #8
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Upon initial inspection this cigar looks to be about 6 x 42. The construction is very nice, beautiful smooth wrapper, triple capped, no major veins, and as with most of Dan's other cigars, has some light plume.



Initial light 8: 25 - The prelight draw plays the taste of sweet tobacco with a hint of raisins over my tongue. It's a little tight, but as with my previous experiences, I'm not too worried because they usually open up. Having some draw problems, my first draw doesn't bring too much smoke, but the cigar is flavorful from the beginning, bringing to my attention hints of vanilla, hay, and nuts.



First Third - What smoke I can get is creamy, smooth, and flavorful. I'm getting caramel notes, along with the nutty flavors before. There is virtually no spice or pepper notes on this cigar, it's mild, smooth, and definitely has good flavor. The ash is a nice white/gray, with a very even and sharp burn line. Attempting to massage the cigar a little bit to open up the draw, I feel what appears to be a pretty significant stem that isn't visible, but you can definitely feel it. I'm worried this might be the draw problem, which means I'll have that throughout



Second Third 9:02 - I think the cigar is finally opening up, or at least is opening up enough that I don't have to draw so hard my cheeks hurt. The ash is pretty consistently dropping every 3/4"-1". I'm still getting creamy smoke, with hints of toffee thrown in there on top of the nutty flavors of before. While the good flavors in this cigar aren't screaming in my face, the whispers of toffee there, or caramel here, are really making this cigar enjoyable despite the draw issues towards the beginning. On a side note, I just purged because the cigar was getting a little bitter, and I got a HORRIBLE aroma that smelled exactly skunk. I hope that doesn't return!



Final Third 9:33 - Unfortunately I'm still getting some strong skunk overtones. Not all the time, just occasionally, which being a surprise makes it that much worse. I think it's done doing that now, but for a few minutes there it was quite unpleasant. Unfortunately, the flavor bouquet that I was enjoying so much has seem to all but have disappeared. It's not bitter, or bad flavored, but on the other hand there aren't any flavors to write home (or CA) about either. For all intents and purposes it appears this cigar has flat lined. I guess if a cigar is going to do that however, better the last part than the beginning!



Finish Time 10:05 - While the draw was an issue at the beginning, the cigar was a flavor bomb that made any draw issues immaterial. Burn was phenomenal, I didn't have to touch up or relight this cigar at all. With the draw opening up after the first third it really seemed like this cigar was going to finish strong and become a highlight of my weekend, however with the veritable spray in the face by a skunk and the subsequent disappearance of any flavor, it left me wishing I could've just smoked the first half of the cigar twice. Still, I do take into account that it WAS an enjoyable smoke at the beginning, so I can't let the final impression of the cigar sully my entire experience.

Appearance and construction: 1.2 out of 1.5 (pts off for draw issues/major stem)
Smoke and ash: 1.5 out of 1.5
Burn: 3 out of 3
Overall flavor: 2.6 out of 4 (full pts for the first 2/3rds, no pts for the final 1/3rd)

Total: 8.3 out of 10

[DBall]

jimmyk26 Cigar #10
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Blind Tasting #10:

Initial impressions - As I pull this cigar out of the bag, I notice a few tears in the wrapper: two near the band area and one around the middle of the cigar. I Grabbed my pectin and did a quick fix on the tear near the middle, this should correct any issues that that tear would cause. I left the other two alone because they didn't look like they would be a problem. Beyond these wrapper issues, the cigar has a nice brown wrapper that is smooth and doesn't show many veins. Construction seems even and I can feel no soft spots. When I bring the 5.5" x 32 cigar up to my nose I smell granola and cinnamon from the wrapper and a very sweet tobacco scent from the foot. The pre light draw is easy and leaves just a light hay flavor on my palate.


Initial puffs - There is a burst of burnt wood and dark cocoa sweetness that quickly transitions into a slightly bitter coffee and wood. The cigar is drawing easy and the smoke is plentiful, I just need to draw slowly so as not to burn the cigar too quickly.

1/3 - This first section is dominated by the wood and bitter coffee that I tasted initially. Despite the burn line being slightly askew, the ash holds for 3/4". The most remarkable aspect of this cigar so far is the very easy draw, with just a little bit of puffing power I get plenty of smoke.


2/3 - As the second third begins, there is a slight transition from the wood and bitter coffee to a grass and cereal with a very light honey note on the finish. The ash continues to hold well and the burn line has straightened out. There isn't much to report on the flavors at this point, I am glad that the cigar has transitioned away from the bitter coffee notes. As this third comes to a close there is a light toffee flavor that is followed by the return of the bitter flavor. This time it comes in with a grassy note to it.


3/3 - At this point I am just wishing that the bitterness would subside, because it is making the cigar difficult to enjoy. I think that the draw is too easy and it is probably causing the harsh flavor. Drawing very slowly to try and counteract the loose draw doesn't seem to help either. Interestingly, I did pick up a very faint banana bread flavor at the beginning of this final third. It didn't last long though. As I approach the end, the cigar is burning pretty hot and I am not getting anything other than heat and bitterness on my palate. I am going to have to put this one down much earlier than I expected.


Final thoughts - Well I don't think that this cigar is going to get a fair rating from me due the loose draw that likely lead to lots of bitter flavors through out the smoking experience. There were some hints of good flavors including cocoa, honey, toffee, and banana bread which leads me to believe that if this cigar was smoking better it might have had a complex and varied flavor profile. Alas, this cigar didn't live up to that potential.


Rating: 5.5 - It had a loose draw, bitter flavors, and only hints of goodness.

[DBall]

Brutus2600 Cigar #10
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This being my last cigar, I'd just like to stop and take a second to thank Dan for this amazing opportunity. I've learned so much about Habanos and more about even myself as a cigar smoker in general. So, having said that, here's my final DBall blind review...

Cigar number 10

This cigar is about 5.5 x 36, has a silky smooth wrapper with light plume on it. The construction is good, with no soft spots and no major veins.



Initial Light 1:19 - The prelight draw leaves a bouquet of flavors, leaving me tasting chocolate, coffee, and caramel. It draws a bit tight, but not overly so as some previous cigars. The initial light brings the taste of more coffee and caramel, although there is very little smoke.



First Third - This cigar is very enjoyable so far, minus the minimal draw making it hard to get any significant smoke. I'm continuing to get hints of coffee, but also a nutty aroma that's almost almond-esque. The smoke is smooth and creamy. The burn, while having started off a little crooked (probably my fault), has corrected itself almost perfectly. The ash is holding on nicely at almost one inch, and for such a small RG cigar, that's nice to see!



Second Third 1:39 - The cigar has opened up a lot more, the smoke is still creamy, and I'm still getting that nutty almond flavor, although the coffee has faded. Light cinnamon notes have started to develop, although they are very subtle. The burn has stayed consistent, ash is a beautiful gray/white, and the delicate wrapper has mostly stayed together except for a small part near the end, which I hope won't end like last time!



Final Third 1:57 - This has been a fairly consistent cigar, not too much development or decline, so I'm still enjoying the same flavors as previous. The cigar has unraveled yet, so I'm hopeful I can nub this cigar like I'm intending to! Not having smoked this cigar fast, but at a fairly relaxed rate, I'm kind of surprised that it's gone so quickly.



Finish time 2:10 - I enjoyed this cigar, but it wasn't one of my favorites of this blind review series. I'm glad it was a good cigar though, because ending with something that wasn't enjoyable would've been, well, sad, lol. Nothing about this cigar screamed "awesomeness" in my face, it was like taking a leisurely Sunday drive down a straight road, not a lot of change, but good and enjoyable nonetheless.

Appearance and construction: 1.4 out of 1.5
Smoke and ash: 1.3 out of 1.5
Burn: 2.8 out of 3
Overall flavor: 3.5 out of 4

Total: 9 out of 10

[DBall]

What they smoked:



1998 Partagas Charlotte

jimmyk26 score: 5.5
Brutus2600 score: 9.0

What a surprise... this is a box of cigars I hide from myself because they are SO FRIGGIN' AWESOME. I'm astonished that James disliked it as much as he did. Think of it this way, you don't have to be like everyone else who is searching for them like mad men...

[DBall]

What they smoked:



2000 Hoyo des Dieux

jimmyk26 score: 9.9
Brutus2600 score: 8.3

Wow... what a difference in scores. These came out of the same box and were side by side.