DBall's Newb Blind Taste Test #3

[DBall]

jimmyk26 Cigar #9
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Initial inspection - The first thing I notice on this cigar is the smooth oily wrapper, which is dark and shows only a few veins and dark spots. When I inspect it close up, I do notice two small tears, but I don't think that they'll be a problem. As I admire the nice sheen of the wrapper of this 5.5" x 40 cigar, I confirm that the cigar is evenly packed, has a nice box pressed shape, and is topped with a clean triple cap. The wrapper has a light cinnamon, leather and sweet tobacco smell and the foot offers up a hay and tobacco aroma. The pre light draw is a bit tight and leaves a slight dry tea flavor on the palate.


Initial puffs - Although the cigar is drawing pretty poorly, I am still getting burnt wood, dark sweet coffee, and earth.

1/3 - The cigar starts out rich and smooth with tastes of roasted barley, like the dark malts used in beer making, and dry wood. The cigar continues to suffer from a poor draw; it isn't what I would call plugged, but it is hard to pull enough smoke to get a good mouth full. As this first third progresses, the wood has really come through and brought with it a grassy twang that I am starting to recognize as a characteristic of this tasting flight. The burn line has stayed even and the ash seems to be holding well.


2/3 - As I am starting the second section the burn line has wandered a bit. I think it may be due to the first of the two small tears that I saw in the initial inspection. The flavors continue to preset rich roasted barley, wood, dry cocoa, and a slight grass. It's too bad that the draw continues to be sub par. The burn line seems to be evening out, but the ash doesn't want to hang on any more. As this section is closing out, I taste a bit of nutmeg and very slight wood spice entering the mix.


3/3 - So far this cigar has been pretty consistent with its flavors and the beginning of the final section is no different. Rich and smooth, this cigar has presented enjoyable flavors considering the tighter draw and the cracks that seem to wreck the otherwise consistent burn. I had to touch up the burn with the lighter once, but it doesn't seem to be a consistent issue. As I get in to this finals section, the cigar has picked up a tannic and vegetal flavor that I think indicates it could benefit from some more aging. The cigar also got bitter as it burned through the bigger of the two cracks, but I am attributing the bitterness to the crack no the natural flavors of the cigar. As I suspected after the cigar burned through the crack it was back to roasted barley, wood, and even some leather. As the cigar comes to a close it is presenting a pretty complex and enjoyable profile that includes the best of the first two thirds and some new tastes such as leather, nutmeg, and wood spice.


Final thoughts - Despite the poor draw, I did enjoy the rich and smooth flavors this cigar had to offer. It brought me back to my home brewing days with all of the dark roasted barley I was tasting. For those of you who haven't brewed before, the roasted barley can present a slight sweetness with coffee, chocolate, and cereal flavors. I would definitely try more of these to see if the draw issue was just an occasional issue. The end of the cigar also presented a much more complex and varied experience, I think that maybe with more age this rest of the cigar could be more like the last section.


Rating: 8.5 - Rich and smooth, this cigar did suffer from a tight draw, but that didn't take away from the nice flavors.

[DBall]

Brutus2600 Cigar #9
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Next to last cigar! I can't say anymore lest I get emotional

This cigar looks to be about 5.5 x 40 (box press?). It has a few minor veins, triple cap, and a nice smooth wrapper. It looks like during the de-banding, it lost a little bit of the wrapper, which I'm hoping doesn't affect the draw.



Initial Light 8:15 - The prelight draw is a VERY strong taste of sweet tobacco, with hints of raisins, caramel, a bit of hay. The draw is smooth, not overly tight, but I think the last cigar I'm going to keep at a lower RH than I have previously, since draw has been somewhat of an issue the last couple cigars. After a toast and a light, my first draw brings hints of cinnamon, nuts, and caramel.



First Third - So far within the first few draws, I can tell I'm going to really enjoy this cigar. It's smooth, draws well, has flavorful smoke, and is holding promise to be a really good cigar. The ash is a dark gray/black and seems to be holding together nicely. I'm still getting the nutty aroma while the cinnamon and caramel have faded. The wrapper is very delicate, having seen the hole from the band being taken off, and just my lips sticking to the wrapper a little bit tore it just above the cap, but not too bad. I managed to get a picture of the ash without it dropping, then ashed it myself at about one inch, definitely adding to the points for construction. The burn line isn't razor thin, but it's even and hasn't needed any touch ups.



Second Third 8:49 - This has been a nice slow smoke. The smoke has stayed smooth and has developed sweetish (not Swedish) overtones. I still taste the nutty flavor, but coffee and caramel notes have snuck into the mix as well. Subtle, but still noticeable. It's hard to describe...but while this cigar is mild and anything but bold, the smoke seems heavy. Not the airy light smoke some other cigars produce. I hope this makes sense, I feel silly typing it up



Final Third 9:16 - While I was hoping it wouldn't, the cigar just completely unwrapped when it hit the tear from the band. I wanted to nub this cigar, because it's been pretty awesome so far, but I'll see how much more I can smoke. The flavor profile has been pretty consistent, which is to say good! And until it unraveled, the burn was great.



Finish time 9:30 - I thoroughly enjoyed this cigar, with great flavors from caramel to cinnamon, great draw, thick enjoyable smoke, and solid construction that allowed for a good burn and solid ash throughout the cigar. I'd love to smoke another one of these some time, and would add these to the future list of cigars I'd like to buy a box of some day. The unraveling at the end wasn't the cigars fault so much as an adverse effect of removing the band (which I understand was a necessity), so I can't knock any points off for that.

Appearance and construction: 1.4 out of 1.5
Smoke and ash: 1.5 out of 1.5
Burn: 2.8 out of 3
Overall flavor: 3.7 out of 4

Total: 9.4 out of 10

[DBall]

What they smoked:



1999 Vegas Robaina Familiar

jimmyk26 score: 8.5
Brutus2600 score: 9.4

Sometimes these suffer from tight draws, but when they are on, they are ON!

One more left, guys.

Another great review guys. I am sure you are sad to be staring at the final stick

Mike