cuppajack
New Member
- Joined
- Jul 24, 2006
- Messages
- 741
Friday evening I only had time for a shorter smoke, but decided to bust out an ISOM gifted by a CP brother since the week had been rough and I wanted to smoke something good. Not much says, “good” like a Monticristo, and I’d never smoked a #4 so I was eager to burn it down.
The petite corona had a light and smooth wrapper with a very appealing sheen. Clip and light was uneventful and the initial draws were smooth if somewhat muted in flavor. This all changed after a few minutes as the profile opened up to a rich and flavorful medium bodied smoke. As I wasn’t expecting to smoke the #4 I hadn’t dry-boxed the stick so it was a hair moist and the draw was a little stiff. I paired the smoked with a (nice and tall) bourbon highball using Wild Turkey Rare Breed and a nice premium ginger-beer.
I wasn’t taking any notes on the smoke, as I was too busy chatting w/ the wife and enjoying the cool Hollywood evening but I remember the main flavors were that of straightforward tobacco with hints of leather and tea. It was just a really mellow and relaxing smoke. Very well rounded; I could see getting really hooked on these.
Getting down into the final third and the flavors seemed to assert themselves a bit more and really capped off the experience. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to nub it as it started to get a bit harsh (again, probably from the relative over-humidification.) But this was still an exquisite smoke and one hell of a way to start off the weekend.
Saturday afternoon, after moving some furniture around in the new apartment, I sat down for a relaxing treat from the Tatuaje-Don Pepin gift-set: A Cabagaun belicoso.
I knew that this would be a more mild smoke than my usually faire, and I was worried that pairing it with a glass of Double-Dark coffee from Trader Joes (this blend is awesome by the way) would be a bit much for it. Turns out my fears were unfounded as, even though the smoke was mild, it was assertive enough to work well with the strong coffee. The stick had an inch-long crack in the wrapper that had me worried, but again I had nothing to worry about; after the initial lighting the burn was straight and true down the whole length.
The smoke started off creamy and nutty with a strong overtone of honey, and it reminded me very much of a Connecticut Chateau Fuente with a little more “meat” to it. It was very well put together, with a silky wrapper that was almost the same shade as the Monti #4 from Friday night. I’m a big fan of the Belicoso shape and though the Cabaguan was a little low-key for my tastes I was still very much enjoying the smoke. After about a third the profile increased in complexity and I started to taste some burnt-citrus flavors and it started to remind me more of a Ghurka CT Select but it had a very interesting back-ground note that I couldn’t put my finger on. I was delighted to find that the smoke seemed to improve the taste of the coffee even further and the two turned out to complement themselves greatly; almost as if Don Pepin was trying to blend the ultimate “breakfast cigar.”
The smoke may have been a bit young as there was some burning when nasally-expelled, and I’d wager a year of sleep would make this a cigar a real champ. Though, as I don’t usually smoke in the morning nor do I often smoke multiple sticks in a day, I can’t see myself wanting a box of these. They are, however, another great example of Pepin’s craftsmanship.
The petite corona had a light and smooth wrapper with a very appealing sheen. Clip and light was uneventful and the initial draws were smooth if somewhat muted in flavor. This all changed after a few minutes as the profile opened up to a rich and flavorful medium bodied smoke. As I wasn’t expecting to smoke the #4 I hadn’t dry-boxed the stick so it was a hair moist and the draw was a little stiff. I paired the smoked with a (nice and tall) bourbon highball using Wild Turkey Rare Breed and a nice premium ginger-beer.
I wasn’t taking any notes on the smoke, as I was too busy chatting w/ the wife and enjoying the cool Hollywood evening but I remember the main flavors were that of straightforward tobacco with hints of leather and tea. It was just a really mellow and relaxing smoke. Very well rounded; I could see getting really hooked on these.
Getting down into the final third and the flavors seemed to assert themselves a bit more and really capped off the experience. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to nub it as it started to get a bit harsh (again, probably from the relative over-humidification.) But this was still an exquisite smoke and one hell of a way to start off the weekend.
Saturday afternoon, after moving some furniture around in the new apartment, I sat down for a relaxing treat from the Tatuaje-Don Pepin gift-set: A Cabagaun belicoso.
I knew that this would be a more mild smoke than my usually faire, and I was worried that pairing it with a glass of Double-Dark coffee from Trader Joes (this blend is awesome by the way) would be a bit much for it. Turns out my fears were unfounded as, even though the smoke was mild, it was assertive enough to work well with the strong coffee. The stick had an inch-long crack in the wrapper that had me worried, but again I had nothing to worry about; after the initial lighting the burn was straight and true down the whole length.
The smoke started off creamy and nutty with a strong overtone of honey, and it reminded me very much of a Connecticut Chateau Fuente with a little more “meat” to it. It was very well put together, with a silky wrapper that was almost the same shade as the Monti #4 from Friday night. I’m a big fan of the Belicoso shape and though the Cabaguan was a little low-key for my tastes I was still very much enjoying the smoke. After about a third the profile increased in complexity and I started to taste some burnt-citrus flavors and it started to remind me more of a Ghurka CT Select but it had a very interesting back-ground note that I couldn’t put my finger on. I was delighted to find that the smoke seemed to improve the taste of the coffee even further and the two turned out to complement themselves greatly; almost as if Don Pepin was trying to blend the ultimate “breakfast cigar.”
The smoke may have been a bit young as there was some burning when nasally-expelled, and I’d wager a year of sleep would make this a cigar a real champ. Though, as I don’t usually smoke in the morning nor do I often smoke multiple sticks in a day, I can’t see myself wanting a box of these. They are, however, another great example of Pepin’s craftsmanship.
