Lumberg
Opus Lover
- Joined
- Oct 25, 2003
- Messages
- 3,708
The RASS was gifted to me ever so kindly as a wish fulfillment-type deal by a certain tree that posts around here sometimes.
I decided to take a long-ass walk and took these two stogies with me. I make a habit of taking twice as many cigars as I plan to smoke in case I get a dud. Well the RASS wasn't a dud. I punched the bottom and got one of the loosest draws I have ever had. Lit it up real good with my torch and I was on my way.
It had what I call that "classic Cuban flavor" which is impossible to describe but unmistakable. In this instance the classic Cuban flavor was quite mild and pleasant. SO I was walking happily down Martins lane and I look down at the cigar and the burn is crooked by about 3/4 of an inch. It still tasted fine and I just let it be as the part that was burning was burnign great.
The flavor stayed pretty much the same and the burn never caught up. About 1/2 through I noticed a slight flavor change and as I was trying to put my finger on it I saw some straw scattered on the grass. This reminded me of a barn and boom there it was. The flavor was manure. Anyways I kept puffing happily along until the nub was about 1 1/2 inches long. At this point the cigar had coanoed incredibly into a spiral shape and the unburned side was almost the original length of the cigar. Chucked it.
Since I was still a goo dways away from home I decided to light up the Ashton. I noticed right away this was a much more tightly constructed cigar. Smooth and firm. I punched it and the draw was uber tight. I punched again. a little overlapping and deeper, without much change. Well I like a cigar with a slightly tight draw so I went ahead and lit it up.
The first few puffs were rather foreign to me. To tell you the truth I think I was setting myself up to be disappointed by this cigar after the sublime ISOM, figuring my taste buds were gonna be shot anyway. But as she came to life I could distinguish a distinctive flavor. As I pondered it I came to the conclusion that it is a cinnamony, clovey flavor. (I want to remind people I usually just smoke the damn things instead of pondering them but I was in a very solitary situation well suited for pondering). The draw remained firm as did the cigar. A confidence inspiring cigar as far as how the barrel felt in your hand.
As the cigar smoked it stayed pretty consistent. Burn was relatively even and consistent with slight coning only noticeable when the ash fell off. The tip of the ash was slightly yellowish.
I'm going to wrap it up with the methodology for the blind taste test pass so I can practice.
RASS
Appearance: Good. Light brown wrapper, no cello. Light in the hand. Delicate.
Construction: Poor. Even though the punch worked better than on the Ashton the canoeing belied some serious issues.
Burn: VERY Uneven.
Problems: Severe canoeing.
Ash Color: Light grey (didn't pay much attention)
Ash structure: Typical
Draw: Easy
Aroma: Great
Smoked to: Juts past the band
Strength: Mild
YES I would recommend
Good cigar
Class; Low-End ISOM
Ashton VSG Heritage Puro Sol
Appearance: Good. Darker brown wrapper, Very round and firm. Felt strong. Slight tooth.
Construction: Outstanding. I didn't mind the tight draw and I probably noticed it more cos of the RASS I had just smoked.
Burn: Even.
Problems: None.
Ash Color: Light grey with a hint of yellow.
Ash structure: Solid (There's nothign betwee typical and very solid so I said just solid.
Draw: Tight
Aroma: Great
Smoked to: The Band
Strength: Full. It had my heart hammering. If I had not been walkign aroudn in the cold it woudl have been uncomfortable.
YES I would recommend
Good cigar
Class; Premium (I put it in the same class as an Opus X which I consider a premium no super premium
OK that's it tell me how I did!
I decided to take a long-ass walk and took these two stogies with me. I make a habit of taking twice as many cigars as I plan to smoke in case I get a dud. Well the RASS wasn't a dud. I punched the bottom and got one of the loosest draws I have ever had. Lit it up real good with my torch and I was on my way.
It had what I call that "classic Cuban flavor" which is impossible to describe but unmistakable. In this instance the classic Cuban flavor was quite mild and pleasant. SO I was walking happily down Martins lane and I look down at the cigar and the burn is crooked by about 3/4 of an inch. It still tasted fine and I just let it be as the part that was burning was burnign great.
The flavor stayed pretty much the same and the burn never caught up. About 1/2 through I noticed a slight flavor change and as I was trying to put my finger on it I saw some straw scattered on the grass. This reminded me of a barn and boom there it was. The flavor was manure. Anyways I kept puffing happily along until the nub was about 1 1/2 inches long. At this point the cigar had coanoed incredibly into a spiral shape and the unburned side was almost the original length of the cigar. Chucked it.
Since I was still a goo dways away from home I decided to light up the Ashton. I noticed right away this was a much more tightly constructed cigar. Smooth and firm. I punched it and the draw was uber tight. I punched again. a little overlapping and deeper, without much change. Well I like a cigar with a slightly tight draw so I went ahead and lit it up.
The first few puffs were rather foreign to me. To tell you the truth I think I was setting myself up to be disappointed by this cigar after the sublime ISOM, figuring my taste buds were gonna be shot anyway. But as she came to life I could distinguish a distinctive flavor. As I pondered it I came to the conclusion that it is a cinnamony, clovey flavor. (I want to remind people I usually just smoke the damn things instead of pondering them but I was in a very solitary situation well suited for pondering). The draw remained firm as did the cigar. A confidence inspiring cigar as far as how the barrel felt in your hand.
As the cigar smoked it stayed pretty consistent. Burn was relatively even and consistent with slight coning only noticeable when the ash fell off. The tip of the ash was slightly yellowish.
I'm going to wrap it up with the methodology for the blind taste test pass so I can practice.
RASS
Appearance: Good. Light brown wrapper, no cello. Light in the hand. Delicate.
Construction: Poor. Even though the punch worked better than on the Ashton the canoeing belied some serious issues.
Burn: VERY Uneven.
Problems: Severe canoeing.
Ash Color: Light grey (didn't pay much attention)
Ash structure: Typical
Draw: Easy
Aroma: Great
Smoked to: Juts past the band
Strength: Mild
YES I would recommend
Good cigar
Class; Low-End ISOM
Ashton VSG Heritage Puro Sol
Appearance: Good. Darker brown wrapper, Very round and firm. Felt strong. Slight tooth.
Construction: Outstanding. I didn't mind the tight draw and I probably noticed it more cos of the RASS I had just smoked.
Burn: Even.
Problems: None.
Ash Color: Light grey with a hint of yellow.
Ash structure: Solid (There's nothign betwee typical and very solid so I said just solid.
Draw: Tight
Aroma: Great
Smoked to: The Band
Strength: Full. It had my heart hammering. If I had not been walkign aroudn in the cold it woudl have been uncomfortable.
YES I would recommend
Good cigar
Class; Premium (I put it in the same class as an Opus X which I consider a premium no super premium
OK that's it tell me how I did!
) from 03 and they are fantastic, so I don't doubt it.
