Wow. That's all I've got to say. What a beauty of a cigar. The wrapper and construction were a thing of beauty. I sat, overlooking the 17th fairway, admiting the stick, while my buddies were already enjoying the smoke of their cigars (one black O, one Punch rare corojo. The XIcar snipped her up, and the pre-light draw was superb, and the taste was already complex and enjoyable. I lit her, and she proceeded to burn perfectly. The first inch or so was more light and subtle than I expected. While still full of flavor and strong compared to other Davidoffs I had smoked, it was a relaxing smoke. Perfect for when you want top-end quality and intrigueing complexities without having a cigar grab you by the throat and say "pay attention BOY!" (XXX anyone?). The ash was nearly to the first band (!!), by the time it fell off, and the flavors had changed, and crescendoed, adding to themselves with layers and intracacies I hadn't noticed just a minute before. I removed the first band (a tad too much glue worried me, but no problems), and continued to smoke. The burn continued perfectly, and the flavor and strength combo grew in, well, intensity as I worked through the second half of the cigar. As I got towards the main band, I noticed the outer wrapper was a littel loose. I used a pocket knife to rmove the band with as littel fuss as possible, but there was definitely a problem. The wrapper never came completely loose, and it never affectedthe burn , but it did not look perfect for the last inch and a halfof the smoke. I smoked until it was going to burn my fingers, and never did a touch of bitternss or harshness bother me. All in all a wonderful cigar, on a wonderful day.
In the overall rating system of arbitrary stars, 1 star dog rocket, 5 stars being gimme more gimme more, I'd go 4.5
Again, in the game of when I smoke such a high-end stick, there are so many choices that have blown me away, that I can not say this will be a common smoke for me. I incourage everyone to enjoy a few, as I am sure I will. I am, in fact, going to pick a few more up to lay down for a while in the humi, and see what they smoke like with some age.
