Well, Joe (Yeahthatsme) pointed out to me that I never did my review. And I know I posted it, but it's not here. The interweb equivalent of that lost sock in the dryer. So, here goes...
Back
here I got Joe's great PIF package.
When the weather is nice, I try to make Wednesday my cigar lunch day at work. So, with the weather expecting to cooperate, I decided to take the blind smoke out and do my review. A short drive from my office is Freeport's Nautical Mile, and down the end is a little gazebo that overlooks Long Creek, near the Jones Inlet. The selected stick had a nice brown color to it. A couple small veins. And a scent that was nothing except pure leather. The cap was well done, but not a triple, so that eliminates an entire nation, and some other smokes produced elsewhere.
The stick was about 4x the length of a small tug boat, with a ring gauge equivalent to the height of the boat, as you can see. More scientifically speaking, I'd guess around 6" in length, 46-48 ring gauge. The pre-light draw had a hint of the leather I could smell on the wrapper, but most of the taste was tobacco. The cigar was paired with ginger ale, my non-alcoholic preference when I'm smoking. I lit the foot with my Zippo Blu, and was off to work.
The first third was highlighted with a lot of spice. I could feel the spice on the back of my throat. And an underlying hint of sweetness. I tried to put my finger on it. Kind of like the taste of real cinnamon. Maybe a little hotter. Throw some chili powder in the mix with it. The wind was blowing a lot harder than it was supposed to, but that wasn't holding the cigar back. The burn would occasionally go off-line, but it quickly corrected itself. The construction had me VERY impressed. I headed over to the other side of the gazebo for better protection from the wind and a better angle from the sun for the pictures.
As the cigar moved into the second third, the spice started to subside. I don't really want to say it "mellowed," because that kind of sounds negative. Maybe "settled" would be a better word. Big, thick clouds of smoke with each draw left me with a taste of leather and coffee, along with the last remaining hints of the sweet spiciness from the beginning. I was also starting to get a little bit of a buzz. That right there was a pretty big clue.
I normally like fuller-bodied cigars, and from time-to-time I do still get a little bit of a buzz. But it does not happen often. Now that the cigar has settled in to it's flavor profile, I start to think back to the smokes that I have gotten a little light headed from, and what could possibly match what I'm tasting.
As I come down to the end, the leather becomes more prevalent. So does my head rush. There's only one marca this could be: La Flor Dominicana. And although I usually smoke more Oscuro Natural LFD's than their Natural counterparts, one of the biggest buzz's I ever got from an LFD was from smoking a Chiselito Natural. A MUCH stronger buzz than from any Chisel O/N I ever smoked. The burn keeps self correcting, and I never need to re-light. Pretty impressive in my book, considering how stiff the wind is down here.
The cigar is not burning hot, does not taste bitter, and is still going strong. Unfortunately, my lunch hour is winding down at this point. I have time to take one last picture before I start to collect myself and head back to the office:
At about 1.5x the length of a fishing charter boat, this cigar has made it a very happy lunch hour. And a half. I continued to smoke it the whole way back to the office. Driving slowly. And then as I walked up to the front door. Slowly. And then one last draw as I open the door, and drop it in the cigarette thing out in front of my building.
I come back to my office, open the envelope with the band, confident in my guess of LFD.
Only to find out I was wrong. Kinda. Litto Gomez Diez Americano, 5.75 x 46. I don'tknow why LG never even entered my thought process. Maybe because Ive only smoked a few, and most of those were Orientals or Chisel Puros. But this blind review definitely tells me I need to smoke more.
Joe - thanks again for a great smoke. :thumbs: