Macion Grey
the Libertine
- Joined
- Mar 2, 2008
- Messages
- 1,374
I realise what I am about to say a lot of my fellow CPers are going to find sacrilegious: I don't like the Anejo Shark. Let me start at the beginning.
The Shark is rolled in a rather novel way, with a very square foot tucked into a pyramid vitola. Pre-light had suggestions of the very off-putting flavour that would plague me during the whole experience: Dirt. Not the all too familiar damp earthy tones we enjoy in a lot of our favourites. Dirt. Dry, acrid and sour. Before you jump down my throat and say 'Hey, Mac... Clearly you have poor storage conditions.' Wrong, astute reader. You would be incorrect in that assumption. This cigar has been sitting in a Heartfelt regulated 65% for a good year now, inside my humidor with an excellent seal and full of Habanos for company.
Curious more than put off, I proceeded to carefully light the foot with my Xikar, after first cutting the head with my Palio (tools were fine for the job, no fault there). The first inch was smooth and very Fuente, but even after the third inch was passed the burn began to get rather uneven. The ash was incredibly, incredibly flaky and had a rather distracting habit of falling all over my clothes. I had to relight twice, as well as use my draw poker halfway through.
Now, for the flavour. To put it simply, it tasted as if someone had dropped their pepper steak on the dusty, dusty ground, and decided to attempt to wash the dirt off with brandy. I have enjoyed the steaky Fuente profile before with a Hemmingway Short Story, but this was a perverted, sour version of that. When I used the draw poker as previously mentioned, I was greeted with the foulest, most acrid smoke I have ever experienced... horrid. There were brief moments of glory when the cigar managed to pull itself together, but it was not enough.
This has to be a cigar you either love or hate. I hated it. It seemed rather confused about it's identity, in my opinion.
Edited spelling.
The Shark is rolled in a rather novel way, with a very square foot tucked into a pyramid vitola. Pre-light had suggestions of the very off-putting flavour that would plague me during the whole experience: Dirt. Not the all too familiar damp earthy tones we enjoy in a lot of our favourites. Dirt. Dry, acrid and sour. Before you jump down my throat and say 'Hey, Mac... Clearly you have poor storage conditions.' Wrong, astute reader. You would be incorrect in that assumption. This cigar has been sitting in a Heartfelt regulated 65% for a good year now, inside my humidor with an excellent seal and full of Habanos for company.
Curious more than put off, I proceeded to carefully light the foot with my Xikar, after first cutting the head with my Palio (tools were fine for the job, no fault there). The first inch was smooth and very Fuente, but even after the third inch was passed the burn began to get rather uneven. The ash was incredibly, incredibly flaky and had a rather distracting habit of falling all over my clothes. I had to relight twice, as well as use my draw poker halfway through.
Now, for the flavour. To put it simply, it tasted as if someone had dropped their pepper steak on the dusty, dusty ground, and decided to attempt to wash the dirt off with brandy. I have enjoyed the steaky Fuente profile before with a Hemmingway Short Story, but this was a perverted, sour version of that. When I used the draw poker as previously mentioned, I was greeted with the foulest, most acrid smoke I have ever experienced... horrid. There were brief moments of glory when the cigar managed to pull itself together, but it was not enough.
This has to be a cigar you either love or hate. I hated it. It seemed rather confused about it's identity, in my opinion.
Edited spelling.
