Breedy
Busted
- Joined
- Nov 14, 2007
- Messages
- 2,123
Cigar: Illusione -2- 5.25 X 52 Belicoso
Setting: Well it was a warm day for December in Ohio, pushing into the low 50's. I did some early afternoon Christmas shopping and put my daughter down for her nap. I hoped to beat the rain that was looming. So off I went to my trusty "man cave", which of course is my gravel floored garage which is equipped with the finest amenities; a folding chair and a dual cassette deck stereo system with high speed dubbing.
Pre-light: This is my second go around with this cigar. I have recieved quite a few of them recently between some generous BOTLs and on over zealous Secret Santa :thumbs: The cigar was beautifullyrolled with a light brown mostly vein free wrapper. The overall construction was good, but I did notice a soft spot just below the band.
A quick clip of the head reveiled a some what loose draw and hints of cocoa. I went to toast the foot but found my torch to be empty, thats why I picked up a spare a couple of months back.
First Third: As a judged the the draw to be loose I took small light puffs. The first taste was that of spice with a leather undertone. That stayed for the first few minutes and then leather/earth became the dominate flavor, but still had a pleasant spice on the end. The draw was loose so I had to try and remember to go slow, I was also throughly engrossed in local talk radio and enjoying me afternoon. Smoke production was on par with any high end cigar, white and plentiful.
Second Third: The leather and spice gave way to the pre-light cocoa. The cocoa seemed to mix with, yet not completely replace the leather and the it left a slight tingle, much like a red pepper flake, on the tongue. Ash was a whitish grey color and held well. Small puffs and rest in between were preventing the cigar from getting too hot. This cigar was, to this point, very similiar to the one I smoked this summer. Then the dampiness set in. It was strange that one minute the breeze was light and the next it was cool and damp. Rain followed shortly. Up to this point burn had been slightly uneven and manageable, but with the moisture funny things started to happen
Finish: The cigar started to proform poorly at or about the halfway point. It became very spongy and burn was erratic. The whole cigar then became muted, taste was gone, smoke was hit or miss. So I decide to call it a day
Conclusion: Basically, I didn't beat the rain. I was really into the cigar until that point, it makes me yearn, yes I said yearn, for spring and summer. If you haven't tried an Illusione before, I would recommend you give them a shot. This may well be the last cigar I have until I get my heater hooked up in my "Man Cave". It was a grand 30 minutes it just ended too soon.
Setting: Well it was a warm day for December in Ohio, pushing into the low 50's. I did some early afternoon Christmas shopping and put my daughter down for her nap. I hoped to beat the rain that was looming. So off I went to my trusty "man cave", which of course is my gravel floored garage which is equipped with the finest amenities; a folding chair and a dual cassette deck stereo system with high speed dubbing.
Pre-light: This is my second go around with this cigar. I have recieved quite a few of them recently between some generous BOTLs and on over zealous Secret Santa :thumbs: The cigar was beautifullyrolled with a light brown mostly vein free wrapper. The overall construction was good, but I did notice a soft spot just below the band.
A quick clip of the head reveiled a some what loose draw and hints of cocoa. I went to toast the foot but found my torch to be empty, thats why I picked up a spare a couple of months back.
First Third: As a judged the the draw to be loose I took small light puffs. The first taste was that of spice with a leather undertone. That stayed for the first few minutes and then leather/earth became the dominate flavor, but still had a pleasant spice on the end. The draw was loose so I had to try and remember to go slow, I was also throughly engrossed in local talk radio and enjoying me afternoon. Smoke production was on par with any high end cigar, white and plentiful.
Second Third: The leather and spice gave way to the pre-light cocoa. The cocoa seemed to mix with, yet not completely replace the leather and the it left a slight tingle, much like a red pepper flake, on the tongue. Ash was a whitish grey color and held well. Small puffs and rest in between were preventing the cigar from getting too hot. This cigar was, to this point, very similiar to the one I smoked this summer. Then the dampiness set in. It was strange that one minute the breeze was light and the next it was cool and damp. Rain followed shortly. Up to this point burn had been slightly uneven and manageable, but with the moisture funny things started to happen
Finish: The cigar started to proform poorly at or about the halfway point. It became very spongy and burn was erratic. The whole cigar then became muted, taste was gone, smoke was hit or miss. So I decide to call it a day
Conclusion: Basically, I didn't beat the rain. I was really into the cigar until that point, it makes me yearn, yes I said yearn, for spring and summer. If you haven't tried an Illusione before, I would recommend you give them a shot. This may well be the last cigar I have until I get my heater hooked up in my "Man Cave". It was a grand 30 minutes it just ended too soon.
