Wrapper: Ecuadorian HVA
Binder: Brazilian Arapiraca
Filler: Brazilian Mata Fina, Dominican Corojo, Nicaraguan Criollo ’98
Size: 6.5 x 50/60 Salomon
Strength: Medium
Price: $26.50
Quantities released: 1,000 boxes of 8 cigars.
Tobacco has been aged 14 years prior to being boxed.
THE WHOLE MEGILLAH:
Hello men.
Knowing how limited a release this is, I wanted to give you a heads up. Whether you want to spend this kind of dough on a single cigar is up to you.
Technically, with 14 years of aging, this cigar should be raring to go. I gave this cigar a mere month of naked humidor time.
Sometimes a cigar smells like something other than a cigar. In this case, it’s summer fruit, spring floral notes, and gooey caramel. Hardly any barnyard.
The cigar is a 5lb bar bell. No way it’s dangling from my lips. This thing has dick written all over it.
Hell yeah, it’s plugged. Tighter than a nun’s corset on Mother’s Day. One carefully placed swoosh and the cigar is clear of detritus. I could go on and on about the cigar’s construction and its draw, but then I’m not a bonehead cigar industry reviewer who rates a cigar poorly because a bunch of leaves aren’t perfect. PerfecDraw solves the dilemma. 4 words.
Rich beginnings. Warm…like nestling in the armpit embrace of a Russian dead lifter.
And the cigar goes out.
Immediate and fat notes of dill pickle, pretzel, caramel creaminess, bitter cocoa, and tart tangerine. Very savory. No natural sweetness in play.
Wastes no time getting to complex features of when the real part is zero, purely real numbers, compound variables, subsets of the plane, and my love will turn you on.
Half an inch in and the blend soars. I can’t believe I’m smoking a catalog brand.
Coffee with cream, kiwi, leather pantaloons, fried corn, and mighty despair. I believe I’ve covered the inevitability of using the flavor wheel to death. Are we not exhausted from reading bullshit flavors? Yes, we are. I’m tired of writing them. Do I like the cigar? Or don’t I? What else is there?
A savory and complicated smoke. I like it. And you know Mikey doesn’t like anything.
Construction rarely pops up in conversation. But in this case, I’m smoking a Sherman tank. Just beautiful. The second half will tell all but from this early vantage point, this baby is worth a BJ from Stormy. Antibiotics optional.
Strength is a morning wave hello of medium. So nice with my coffee. Listening to music. The sun is out. The birds are singing. And the shrooms begin to wear off. Band on the run.
One problem I don’t care for with Salomons is the pointy cap gets sloppy with lip juice. I always clip it a couple times before I’m done.
Aged tobacco is clearly evident. Smooth without a hint of edges.
Know what I’ve learned over the last month or two? I’m perfectly average…and so are you. This is our bond of brotherhood. A good thing. The industry is afraid of Zooming with their fellow enthusiasts. As they should.
The halfway point. 75 minutes.
Savory 75%. Sweet 25%. I used trigonometry…in my head. I went to college.
The cigar amuses me.
Treasure BJ’s while you can.
‘I don’t want my children, or grandchildren, to be left with huge federal debt.’ I’ve heard this lament since 1960. And yet here we are…still having our morning caffeine with our eggs. All is well. Your kids will be fine.
Lay down Sally. No need to leave so soon. I’m talking to the cigar.
The first prison I project managed steel construction for was Yuma Prison in Arizona. It was the early 90’s. We had only lived in Mesa for a year. And getting used to the blistering heat was still ongoing. Hell on earth? Wearing a hard hat. Outside in the sun. 115°. And calculating trig problems on a clipboard while sweat pours on your worksheet. On the upside, I could eat anything I wanted. Mamas, don’t let your babies grow up to be management.
A couple more months of naked humi time, and this wonderful blend will be smarter than the average bear. Somewhere beyond the sea. Beyond a doubt. Good cigar.
The perfect morning cigar with a YooHoo. Chocolate enhances the global flavors.
Normally, Brazilian leaves bring a lovely sweetness to the table. Not so here. They’ve been drained of their precious bodily fluids. Not a bad thing. There is a very unique grown-up thing happening. The blend spurts in a million different directions.
There is light spiciness. There are fluid complex notes. There is depth. It sheds light on what our palate craves when we put torch to leaves. Look at the stats.
This feels like uncharted territory. Brilliant. Into the mystic.
The second half is pure gold. As smooth as Tennessee whiskey.
The strength does an excellent job of staying at medium until the last couple of inches. It then surges to a nice punchy medium/full.
Destined to be on my 2024 best of. Probably top 10. HW will give it a 70.
It’s worth the dough. Let it sleep a couple months before lighting up. Great herf cigar. No need to dissect flavors when the whole is pretty damn good.
2-1/2 hours of fun. You’ll run out of banter before the cigar runs out of steam.
You can purchase this cigar from sponsor Small Batch Cigar (10% off with promo code ‘katman’).
RATING: 97
Why can’t I remember this? Where was I? The one and only Billy Shears.
Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS