Gavin
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Oct 30, 2009
- Messages
- 3,452
I got home from work today around 3:30 in the afternoon, and discovered that during my absence one of my dogs had suffered from acute diarrhea, all over the kennel she shares with another of my dogs. Not only was the kennel covered in shit, but so was she, and to an even greater extent, my other dog. I knew I would have to deal with this eventually, and preferably before my better half got home so she wouldn't have to deal with it. But there was no way I was mentally prepared to clean the kennel and bathe my feces-covered furry friends without a cigar to fortify me first. So I let the dogs loose in the backyard, and though they were filthy, they were as happy as could be while I lit up a Hoyo de Monterrey Dark Sumatra in the Media Noche size, a hefty 5.75 inches and 54 ring gauge.
I had gotten this particular stick in a trade with a friend, and it had been sitting in my humidor for several weeks waiting for a day like today. Normally I'm a medium-bodied cigar smoker, and the Dark Sumatra is rumored to be a powerhouse, so it was not without some trepidation that I chose this cigar. I am, however, a self-proclaimed Villazon whore, so I figured I owed it to Frank Llaneza to give it a chance.
Appearance-wise, I was ambivalent about the Dark Sumatra; it had an elegant cedar sleeve and a classic band, but the cigar itself looked horrible. It was mottled in its chocolaty brown color, and had a multitude of small veins. The cap looked like it had been applied by a trainee as it was uneven, bumpy, and generally unsightly. With the devil-may-care attitude of one who has looming shit-cleaning duty ahead of him, I clipped the head, and lit the darn thing.
Several puffs in, once I had a good burn going, I took stock of my parejo pal. It tasted like....walnuts. I was reminded of my grandfather's house when I was a child, and this wooden bowl of mixed nuts in their shells that he kept around. I usually tackled the bowl at least once a visit, both for the snack, and the challenge of cracking them with the small nutcracker and child-size hands. The smell and taste of the walnuts from that bowl were exactly what I was getting from this cigar along with something else. At first I thought of salami, and obviously questioned that as a taste from a cigar. Have you ever had a cigar that tasted like salami? Then I realized that it wasn't salami, but the peppercorns you bite into that are hidden in salami. So walnuts and peppercorn...
The burn on the Media Noche was dead-even. Usually you have to give a turn or two at least to even things out, but not with this one. The ash was very white, and it was producing tons and tons of smoke with a perfect draw, just going to show that appearances can definitely be deceiving. Yes it was full-flavored, but it was smooth and delicious. At one point I thought I was picking up a barnyard/manure scent, but it turned out that one of my dogs had just wandered too close and I was smelling his God-awful stankiness. After a good hour of a very satisfying cigar, I was finally ready to face the ordeal ahead, so I left it to languish in the ashtray and uttered that call that makes dogs everywhere tremble in fear...
"Bath-time!"
I had gotten this particular stick in a trade with a friend, and it had been sitting in my humidor for several weeks waiting for a day like today. Normally I'm a medium-bodied cigar smoker, and the Dark Sumatra is rumored to be a powerhouse, so it was not without some trepidation that I chose this cigar. I am, however, a self-proclaimed Villazon whore, so I figured I owed it to Frank Llaneza to give it a chance.
Appearance-wise, I was ambivalent about the Dark Sumatra; it had an elegant cedar sleeve and a classic band, but the cigar itself looked horrible. It was mottled in its chocolaty brown color, and had a multitude of small veins. The cap looked like it had been applied by a trainee as it was uneven, bumpy, and generally unsightly. With the devil-may-care attitude of one who has looming shit-cleaning duty ahead of him, I clipped the head, and lit the darn thing.
Several puffs in, once I had a good burn going, I took stock of my parejo pal. It tasted like....walnuts. I was reminded of my grandfather's house when I was a child, and this wooden bowl of mixed nuts in their shells that he kept around. I usually tackled the bowl at least once a visit, both for the snack, and the challenge of cracking them with the small nutcracker and child-size hands. The smell and taste of the walnuts from that bowl were exactly what I was getting from this cigar along with something else. At first I thought of salami, and obviously questioned that as a taste from a cigar. Have you ever had a cigar that tasted like salami? Then I realized that it wasn't salami, but the peppercorns you bite into that are hidden in salami. So walnuts and peppercorn...
The burn on the Media Noche was dead-even. Usually you have to give a turn or two at least to even things out, but not with this one. The ash was very white, and it was producing tons and tons of smoke with a perfect draw, just going to show that appearances can definitely be deceiving. Yes it was full-flavored, but it was smooth and delicious. At one point I thought I was picking up a barnyard/manure scent, but it turned out that one of my dogs had just wandered too close and I was smelling his God-awful stankiness. After a good hour of a very satisfying cigar, I was finally ready to face the ordeal ahead, so I left it to languish in the ashtray and uttered that call that makes dogs everywhere tremble in fear...
"Bath-time!"
