Since today is Easter I thought this would be the perfect day to fire this baby up. My kids went w/ my sister inlaw so I am alone this easter morning. So before anything else, I brew a pot of Cubita coffee, gotta wake up a bit.
As I smell this cigar more up close and personal I still smell the same things but with a more pronounced floral note. Now I knew that I was going to have to cut a chunk off, so I look around for my cutter. But the only cutter I see is Yenwens cutter that he left at the herf the other night. I figured Yenwen would not mind if I used his Xikar to cut this flawed gem. (I cleaned the cutter real good before so I would get all of Chewbaccos nail residue off of them :laugh: )
From the looks of it, maybe I should trim my nails too. Yenwen. You mind? :laugh: :sign:
The cutter does a perfect job. This baby is ready to smoke!
For the most part of smoking this cigar, I was out on my balcony. I came in every so often to refill the coffee and take another pic. I did not take notes for this one. As it was Easter, I was really trying to meditate and focus on the reason for the Holiday. This cigar was the PERFECT companion for this experience.
The cigar lit perfectly and corrected its flaw right away. It burned perfectly almost the whole time, I think I had to do a touch up once but there was a breeze. It produced lots of thick smoke. Draw was very easy. The initial taste to me was tangy. The tangyness remained through out the 1st half of the cigar to one extent or another. At 1st I thought it was unpleasant but it mellowed quickly enough to be a nice touch. As I continue to smoke I can sense a definite woodiness to it w/ a touch of nuts and leather.
At this point I decide that I should not be drinking coffee with this cigar so I stop drinking it. The cigar continues to improve as I smoke it. It is complex. I am sensing an herbal flavor that is bringing back some fond old memories. It is actually making me remember past Easters. Wierd huh? But the aroma and herbal sense of this cigar actually remind me of past Easters when I was a kid. I don't know, maybe I'm just trippin' because I am in such a relaxed state. Sitting on my balcony with the breeze gently blowing, the aroma and pleasure of this cigar mixed with the company of God is such a Blessing.
The tangyness turns sweeter as the cigar burns down and is almost gone by the 2nd half. I am still tasting wood, nuts & leather w/ that herbalness. But there are other flavors coming into play at the halfway mark. some of them are very subtle. I would have to be MRN (or maybe Ginseng) himself to actually discern what all the flavors are. One thing for sure is that all the flavors are going together very well.
One thing annoying about this cigar was that the ash would just fall off whenever it felt like it even if it was only 1/4" long. At least I never had to ash it. Here is a pic from when I came in to take a pic. Doh!
As the cigar reached the final quarter I started to sense a hint of pepper. Usually I am not a big fan of "pepper" flavor in cigars but this fit in just perfect this time. I came inside to finish this cigar and try to nub it. As I got to the nub it got hot even if I purged. After this pic, the nub disintigrated.
My overall impression of this cigar is better than I expected it would be. I have heard a lot of people tell me that they are tasteless or past thier prime. Well, I disagree. I would imagine that they would have been a little more flavorful if they were a little younger but this one was very tasty and smooth. I bet I could have inhaled it. I am certainly looking forward to 3 yrs from now when I will break open that box for some serious celebratory smoking! Now that I have had one, I know that this cigar will be perfect for that occasion. :thumbs:
. I send these pics to the vendor. The vendor sent me another one to replace it and told me that he hoped that I could still smoke the damaged one. :thumbs: 
