Kingantz
Growing too fast.
This cigar has a Colorado Claro shade wrapper that is smooth, slight oils noticeable and small veins throughout with a perfectly constructed triple cap. It has a good weight in the hand, slight give when squeezed, and with the cap opened up with a perfect punch I find the draw very tight. What small amount of air I do get through has a mild, fresh tobacco taste.
I get the foot lit and puff on the cigar a few times, however the draw is just way too tight, unable to get much smoke out at all. What does come through has a very rich flavor to it, making me really disappointed that the draw isn’t better. The burn is good with a very compact, dark gray ash forming, however at about an inch it starts to lean slightly due to a soft spot. I continue to try and draw on the cigar for the first inch, squeezing the cigar around the band and drawing at the same time actually produces a decent amount of smoke. After ashing the cigar, I go ahead and clip the foot to open up more draw area.
Clipping the foot helps a little with the draw, and although it has more resistance than I like, I’m able to get good smoke out that gives me a mild cinnamon spice on the back of the tongue and throat. The smoke itself is a mild to medium strength feeling slightly oily on the tongue with tastes of roasted nuts, a touch of vanilla, cedar wood, and grassiness. There’s a very clean finish left on the palate that is somewhat short.
Reaching the halfway mark, the draw is working rather well with a good amount of medium strength smoke coming through. The spice that was somewhat mild earlier in the smoke seems to have turned to more of a white pepper spice on the throat, possibly due to smoke flowing through better. Flavors are consistent with the finish continuing to be very clean with a bit of tannic, semi-lasting on the palate. The burn got quite uneven at one point, however did correct itself well with a dark gray, compact ash forming and holding strong.
No idea why, however heading into the final third the draw became tight once again making it difficult to get good smoke through. I attempted to push the draw tool through, however only a short way in I heard the wrapper pop with a small crack appearing right above the band. I continued on, having to take very slow, long draws to try and get a decent amount of smoke through. Flavors are not very good at this point, more charred wood and a somewhat bitter taste with the palate being left quite dry.
Due to the tight draw and flavors just not working well at all, I decided to sit it down. I have to say I’m somewhat disappointed with this cigar, apparently because of the draw issue. I did let the cigar sit out for several hours, however believe it was still a bit on the damp side upon lighting, how much this effected the smoking I’m not sure. Once the cigar had warmed up, it was quite soft except for right at the band where I could feel a hard knot, which I feel is the real culprit. The section where the draw was working well, flavors were very good with a nice spice and good strength/body. Unfortunately, it was short lived.
(Not sure how, but several pics taken were missing)
Edit to add missing pics
I get the foot lit and puff on the cigar a few times, however the draw is just way too tight, unable to get much smoke out at all. What does come through has a very rich flavor to it, making me really disappointed that the draw isn’t better. The burn is good with a very compact, dark gray ash forming, however at about an inch it starts to lean slightly due to a soft spot. I continue to try and draw on the cigar for the first inch, squeezing the cigar around the band and drawing at the same time actually produces a decent amount of smoke. After ashing the cigar, I go ahead and clip the foot to open up more draw area.
Clipping the foot helps a little with the draw, and although it has more resistance than I like, I’m able to get good smoke out that gives me a mild cinnamon spice on the back of the tongue and throat. The smoke itself is a mild to medium strength feeling slightly oily on the tongue with tastes of roasted nuts, a touch of vanilla, cedar wood, and grassiness. There’s a very clean finish left on the palate that is somewhat short.
Reaching the halfway mark, the draw is working rather well with a good amount of medium strength smoke coming through. The spice that was somewhat mild earlier in the smoke seems to have turned to more of a white pepper spice on the throat, possibly due to smoke flowing through better. Flavors are consistent with the finish continuing to be very clean with a bit of tannic, semi-lasting on the palate. The burn got quite uneven at one point, however did correct itself well with a dark gray, compact ash forming and holding strong.
No idea why, however heading into the final third the draw became tight once again making it difficult to get good smoke through. I attempted to push the draw tool through, however only a short way in I heard the wrapper pop with a small crack appearing right above the band. I continued on, having to take very slow, long draws to try and get a decent amount of smoke through. Flavors are not very good at this point, more charred wood and a somewhat bitter taste with the palate being left quite dry.
Due to the tight draw and flavors just not working well at all, I decided to sit it down. I have to say I’m somewhat disappointed with this cigar, apparently because of the draw issue. I did let the cigar sit out for several hours, however believe it was still a bit on the damp side upon lighting, how much this effected the smoking I’m not sure. Once the cigar had warmed up, it was quite soft except for right at the band where I could feel a hard knot, which I feel is the real culprit. The section where the draw was working well, flavors were very good with a nice spice and good strength/body. Unfortunately, it was short lived.
(Not sure how, but several pics taken were missing)
Edit to add missing pics
Those are pretty pricey, aren't they? Gotta love the Cuban QC.
