H. Vachon
King of the Hobo Hut
After my review of the LP no. 9, @CgarDan was kind enough to send me a package including this T52. I really appreciate the opportunity, my brother! I’m been eager to light this one up!!
I have to say, his has got to be one of, if not the most ascetically pleasing cigars I’ve smoked. The sheen on the wrapper is beautiful. The pictures don’t do it justice, but if you’ve had one, you probably know what I mean. The wrapper is soft and silky to the touch. Even though it’s spent 12 days in the chokey (@TexasTraveler
) it almost feels wet.
Paired with - Killer Beans Nicaraguan Knife Fight
Cold draw - Sweet Cocoa
Right away I am hit with dry cocoa powder, coffee, earth with heavy cayenne pepper on the retrohale. About an inch in, the flavor intensity mellowed out to a solid medium. So far I’m really liking it. Right at the end of the first third I started getting some cedar thrown in. The burn line is pretty solid so far.
As a few of you may know, I am not a flavor wizard like some people. I’ve been working on it lately, but it takes a lot more focus for me than it might take others. That’s why I typically try to review cigars when I’m not around other people. That being said, it’s neat for me to have a cigar with multiple discernible flavors. Not really pertinent to the review, it it’s fun to share progress with friends.
Moving on to the second third, still getting a lot of cedar and I’m starting to get quite a bit of leather. About the midway point, cream has taken over the retrohale while cayenne still lingers in the background with no detectable burn. The smoke/mouthfeel is very silky. The closest comparison I could make is the mouthfeel after drinking a nitro beer. The burn has gotten a little wonky, but hasn’t required any correction at this point.
As I approach the final third, I encountered a pretty big change. The flavors have gone fairly dark. I’m getting a lot of dark roast coffee, dark chocolate and earth. I still get cedar in the finish but nowhere near what it was. Personally I prefer it when cigars to start of with the heavier, dark flavors, and mellow out near the end. But objectively speaking, the flavors are still tasty and enjoyable. At this point I’ve had to make a few burn corrections, but none of the issue affected how the cigar smoked.
I’d also like to mention that the cigar industry could learn a lot about gluing bands from Drew Estates. I can’t recall ever having difficulty removing a band that resulted in wrapper damage.
All things considered, I really enjoyed this smoke! I will definitely be keeping an eye out for a good deal to add these to my humidor. Another huge shout out to Dan for generously gifting me this cigar! It was a great way to start my day off!
I have to say, his has got to be one of, if not the most ascetically pleasing cigars I’ve smoked. The sheen on the wrapper is beautiful. The pictures don’t do it justice, but if you’ve had one, you probably know what I mean. The wrapper is soft and silky to the touch. Even though it’s spent 12 days in the chokey (@TexasTraveler
) it almost feels wet.Paired with - Killer Beans Nicaraguan Knife Fight
Cold draw - Sweet Cocoa
Right away I am hit with dry cocoa powder, coffee, earth with heavy cayenne pepper on the retrohale. About an inch in, the flavor intensity mellowed out to a solid medium. So far I’m really liking it. Right at the end of the first third I started getting some cedar thrown in. The burn line is pretty solid so far.
As a few of you may know, I am not a flavor wizard like some people. I’ve been working on it lately, but it takes a lot more focus for me than it might take others. That’s why I typically try to review cigars when I’m not around other people. That being said, it’s neat for me to have a cigar with multiple discernible flavors. Not really pertinent to the review, it it’s fun to share progress with friends.
Moving on to the second third, still getting a lot of cedar and I’m starting to get quite a bit of leather. About the midway point, cream has taken over the retrohale while cayenne still lingers in the background with no detectable burn. The smoke/mouthfeel is very silky. The closest comparison I could make is the mouthfeel after drinking a nitro beer. The burn has gotten a little wonky, but hasn’t required any correction at this point.
As I approach the final third, I encountered a pretty big change. The flavors have gone fairly dark. I’m getting a lot of dark roast coffee, dark chocolate and earth. I still get cedar in the finish but nowhere near what it was. Personally I prefer it when cigars to start of with the heavier, dark flavors, and mellow out near the end. But objectively speaking, the flavors are still tasty and enjoyable. At this point I’ve had to make a few burn corrections, but none of the issue affected how the cigar smoked.
I’d also like to mention that the cigar industry could learn a lot about gluing bands from Drew Estates. I can’t recall ever having difficulty removing a band that resulted in wrapper damage.
All things considered, I really enjoyed this smoke! I will definitely be keeping an eye out for a good deal to add these to my humidor. Another huge shout out to Dan for generously gifting me this cigar! It was a great way to start my day off!
