This is my first review on CP, so be gentle. 
I received this in CI's Cigar of the Month package four months back, so it had four months worth of aging in the humidor. The wrapper was gorgeous, slightly oily and dark. Great construction, no noticeable flaws.
Light-up
Pre-light draw was good, if not a little tight perhaps. Not much to note in the area of pre-light aroma. Light up was perfect, the foot toasted evenly and flared up after a couple of puffs.
The first third
The first third, honestly, was nothing to write home about. Straight up tobacco was the predominate aroma (which isn't a bad thing), but there just wasn't much to back it up. Slightly earthy if anything. Draw was a little tight as noticed during pre-light, with a medium amount of smoke (I would have been happy with a little more). Burn started even, but then started to skew toward the end of the first third, as seen here:
Middle third
This is where I really started to enjoy it. The volume of smoke almost doubled, and the cigar just seemed to settle down. The taste got more toasty than earthy, there was a little bit of spice and a hint of sweetness. The smoke was much more creamy at this stage which was a welcome change. It held an ash of about an inch and a quarter, though the ash was a bit ragged from the unevenness noted earlier. The burn itself, however, did even out. Another plus at this stage was that the draw loosened up just a tad and became much more pleasant.
Last third
With the last third, the volume of smoke remained full, but the pepper really started to come out, even started to bite a little. The only downside was that the wrapper did flake a little as seen here:
It didn't prove to be a huge problem though. It started to get a bit hot toward the end, and I tossed it with about 3/4 inch left.
Overall, not bad. I'd give another one a go sometime, but I think it would benefit from more time in the humidor to even out a little bit. If the first part had been a little more balanced with the rest, I would have enjoyed it more. As it was, I'd give it a solid 7/10.
Comments are most certainly welcome. Hope you found this helpful and interesting!
Cheers!
Paul
I received this in CI's Cigar of the Month package four months back, so it had four months worth of aging in the humidor. The wrapper was gorgeous, slightly oily and dark. Great construction, no noticeable flaws.
Light-up
Pre-light draw was good, if not a little tight perhaps. Not much to note in the area of pre-light aroma. Light up was perfect, the foot toasted evenly and flared up after a couple of puffs.
The first third
The first third, honestly, was nothing to write home about. Straight up tobacco was the predominate aroma (which isn't a bad thing), but there just wasn't much to back it up. Slightly earthy if anything. Draw was a little tight as noticed during pre-light, with a medium amount of smoke (I would have been happy with a little more). Burn started even, but then started to skew toward the end of the first third, as seen here:
Middle third
This is where I really started to enjoy it. The volume of smoke almost doubled, and the cigar just seemed to settle down. The taste got more toasty than earthy, there was a little bit of spice and a hint of sweetness. The smoke was much more creamy at this stage which was a welcome change. It held an ash of about an inch and a quarter, though the ash was a bit ragged from the unevenness noted earlier. The burn itself, however, did even out. Another plus at this stage was that the draw loosened up just a tad and became much more pleasant.
Last third
With the last third, the volume of smoke remained full, but the pepper really started to come out, even started to bite a little. The only downside was that the wrapper did flake a little as seen here:
It didn't prove to be a huge problem though. It started to get a bit hot toward the end, and I tossed it with about 3/4 inch left.
Overall, not bad. I'd give another one a go sometime, but I think it would benefit from more time in the humidor to even out a little bit. If the first part had been a little more balanced with the rest, I would have enjoyed it more. As it was, I'd give it a solid 7/10.
Comments are most certainly welcome. Hope you found this helpful and interesting!
Cheers!
Paul
