What a beautiful cigar. Dark, smooth, and supple wrapper. I almost did not want to smoke it because it looked soooo good! But alas, cigars are for smoking. I was very excited to smoke the PL because the PLPC are such great cigars even when young. Also, I have been on a lonsdale kick as of late, so the expectations and excitement for the cigar were high.
Initial draw is very good and the smell at cold is cinnamon and paprika. I roast the foot and start to take some deep puffs. From the start, it has a very creamy texture to the smoke. Very large amounts of smoke come with each draw. First flavors to pop out at me are rich chocolate and light notes of caramel. Very enjoyable smoke so far. After the first inch or so, the caramel becomes more present and a little grassiness mixes in to replace the chocolate.
The PL is medium to full bodied throughout; never overpowering. Towards the middle, cream and coffe are noted along with the ever-present undertone of caramel. I absolutely love the caramel notes from PLs and I can't wait for the PL robustos that are coming out this year for the Asia/Pacific market. Back to the cigar; there is some earthiness to it now that also brings about some bitterness. Nothing too awful, just a reminder of it's youth.
Entering the last third, flavors are still the same. Caramel and more Caramel
. There are some hints of other notes such as almonds and honey. These last mere puffs, however, they do give me hope for aging down the road. The burn is not always the best and requires minor touch-ups along the way to keep it straight. As you can see from the pics, the ash is dark gray and fairly firm. Towards the end, the caramel is replaced by strong leather notes and some dried fruit flavors. I put it down with about 3/4 of an inch left due to some bitterness.
Overall: 91-92 with a very bright outlook for the future. This cigar has the ability to be a blockbuster in the future and after this smoke, it is very tempting to buy a box. It is a shame this is not in the regular PL line. Only real complaints I can say are that it is pricey (around $12 a piece I believe) and it could use a little more punch to it. I think I will have to fire up the Bolivar Colosales next......
Initial draw is very good and the smell at cold is cinnamon and paprika. I roast the foot and start to take some deep puffs. From the start, it has a very creamy texture to the smoke. Very large amounts of smoke come with each draw. First flavors to pop out at me are rich chocolate and light notes of caramel. Very enjoyable smoke so far. After the first inch or so, the caramel becomes more present and a little grassiness mixes in to replace the chocolate.
The PL is medium to full bodied throughout; never overpowering. Towards the middle, cream and coffe are noted along with the ever-present undertone of caramel. I absolutely love the caramel notes from PLs and I can't wait for the PL robustos that are coming out this year for the Asia/Pacific market. Back to the cigar; there is some earthiness to it now that also brings about some bitterness. Nothing too awful, just a reminder of it's youth.
Entering the last third, flavors are still the same. Caramel and more Caramel
. There are some hints of other notes such as almonds and honey. These last mere puffs, however, they do give me hope for aging down the road. The burn is not always the best and requires minor touch-ups along the way to keep it straight. As you can see from the pics, the ash is dark gray and fairly firm. Towards the end, the caramel is replaced by strong leather notes and some dried fruit flavors. I put it down with about 3/4 of an inch left due to some bitterness.
Overall: 91-92 with a very bright outlook for the future. This cigar has the ability to be a blockbuster in the future and after this smoke, it is very tempting to buy a box. It is a shame this is not in the regular PL line. Only real complaints I can say are that it is pricey (around $12 a piece I believe) and it could use a little more punch to it. I think I will have to fire up the Bolivar Colosales next......
