As Melly and I sat watching television last night we decided to have a cigar together. She chose a Padron 1926 Maduro and I picked up one of my Hemingway Untold Story Maduro.
Picking up the cigar you clearly see a wok of art - long, dark, sturdy with some weight to it. Taking it out of the cellaphane your nose is assaulted with it's rich maduro fragrance as you look over a well-constructed cigar - barely making out some veins on the wrapper leaf.
I used a V cutter to cut my cigar and drew through it before lighting it. Nice draw, easy air flow and I knew it would light up just fine, which it did and almost imeddiately when the the flame came into contact with the erfecto end of this cigar. The first few draws suprised me...
Being a Hemingway, I expected the typical creamy smoothness and medium body that identifies most Hemingway's. A flat licorice taste overlaying the coffee and cream taste that I associate with most Hemingways, gave this cigar just a little extra power in tastes that I was not expected from a Hemingway, that was kept smooth with the sweet Maduro taste of this cigar.
As this cigar smoked down, the cigar became more and more powerful. This is where the suprise hit me the most. While most Hemingways I have smoked have always been smooth, the direct power of these cigars rarely go beyond medium body or taste, leaving a very consistant and tasty cigar. The Untold Story Maduro here though kept increasing in power however. This increase in power started almost immediately with the cigar and kept increasing until the end of the cigar.
By the end of the first third of this cigar, chili peppers started popping off in my mouth as I would draw on this cigar, adding a spicy after taste to this cigar and deepening in it's flavor. After the first half of this cigar, the smooth coffee tastes gave way to a stronger espresso taste that balanced the peppery aftertaste.
The cigar burned evenly throughout the length of the cigar and formed some incredible ash - the firstof which ran nearly half the length of the cigar before I finally flicked it into the ash tray.
It had what I consider a classic finish. Where it became a contest between the cigar and myself. Do I win by smoking it down to the nub, trying not to burn my fingers, or does the cigar, putting the cigar down well before this point in smoking exhaustion... in this case the cigar won and I put it aside about a half inch out from coming to the point of nubbing, and I sat back in a complete euphoric state, the aftertatse keeping with me for hours afterwards and very content. It is without a doubt the most powerful Hemingway I have had and blew away my expectations of a mild to medium cigar that the Heminway classically is. This cigar could hang with the big boys.
For scoring I would give this cigar a 98 on construction, a 97 on experience and a 96 on taste, to become the highest rated "domestic" cigar and Hemingway I have ever scored - a straight up 97.
All what makes a great cigar in my opinion was in this cigar: well constructed, great ash, a pleasure smoking and a taste and body that evolved into a powerful smoke yet remained smooth and I am glad I still have a couple left and a couple more en route.
Thanks for reading,
Sam
Picking up the cigar you clearly see a wok of art - long, dark, sturdy with some weight to it. Taking it out of the cellaphane your nose is assaulted with it's rich maduro fragrance as you look over a well-constructed cigar - barely making out some veins on the wrapper leaf.
I used a V cutter to cut my cigar and drew through it before lighting it. Nice draw, easy air flow and I knew it would light up just fine, which it did and almost imeddiately when the the flame came into contact with the erfecto end of this cigar. The first few draws suprised me...
Being a Hemingway, I expected the typical creamy smoothness and medium body that identifies most Hemingway's. A flat licorice taste overlaying the coffee and cream taste that I associate with most Hemingways, gave this cigar just a little extra power in tastes that I was not expected from a Hemingway, that was kept smooth with the sweet Maduro taste of this cigar.
As this cigar smoked down, the cigar became more and more powerful. This is where the suprise hit me the most. While most Hemingways I have smoked have always been smooth, the direct power of these cigars rarely go beyond medium body or taste, leaving a very consistant and tasty cigar. The Untold Story Maduro here though kept increasing in power however. This increase in power started almost immediately with the cigar and kept increasing until the end of the cigar.
By the end of the first third of this cigar, chili peppers started popping off in my mouth as I would draw on this cigar, adding a spicy after taste to this cigar and deepening in it's flavor. After the first half of this cigar, the smooth coffee tastes gave way to a stronger espresso taste that balanced the peppery aftertaste.
The cigar burned evenly throughout the length of the cigar and formed some incredible ash - the firstof which ran nearly half the length of the cigar before I finally flicked it into the ash tray.
It had what I consider a classic finish. Where it became a contest between the cigar and myself. Do I win by smoking it down to the nub, trying not to burn my fingers, or does the cigar, putting the cigar down well before this point in smoking exhaustion... in this case the cigar won and I put it aside about a half inch out from coming to the point of nubbing, and I sat back in a complete euphoric state, the aftertatse keeping with me for hours afterwards and very content. It is without a doubt the most powerful Hemingway I have had and blew away my expectations of a mild to medium cigar that the Heminway classically is. This cigar could hang with the big boys.
For scoring I would give this cigar a 98 on construction, a 97 on experience and a 96 on taste, to become the highest rated "domestic" cigar and Hemingway I have ever scored - a straight up 97.
All what makes a great cigar in my opinion was in this cigar: well constructed, great ash, a pleasure smoking and a taste and body that evolved into a powerful smoke yet remained smooth and I am glad I still have a couple left and a couple more en route.
Thanks for reading,
Sam
