I haven't sat down and put pen to paper in a long, long time. This afternoon was a perfect day to sit on the deck and enjoy a cigar. '01 RyJ Churchill A/T was my pleasure. I had some leftover coffee from this morning so I poured a cup (still warm) and added some Soy milk and went outside and sat in the sun. As I opened the tube the initial nose was musty cedar and somewhat sweet. The construction was excellent. Smooth wrapper, silky with some very fine veins. The touch was firm/spongy. Prelight nose was tobacco, cedar, earth... maybe a slight hint of floral notes. The pre-light draw was spot on smooth.
I put the torch to work for a little toasting. The burn was sharp right from the start and the volume of smoke was thick and perfect.
I had to confirm my tasting impressions with another rather famous BOTL, Wilkey, to verify what I was tasting (largely due to my inexperience with the Churhill). Confirmation came through positive...
The taste was overwhelmingly woodsy. At times there was a puff or two with very subtle smacks of cinnamon, cherry, and faint red wine. These tastes were not as pronounced as in the '01 Upmann Sir Winston I had smoked last week, however, they represented briefly in the RyJ. Tastes of spice showed up in the final third of the cigar. The flavour was medium-bodied for the most part. The finish was pleasant and not entirely long. The smoke was smooth. The cigar never got hot and I smoked it down to the last inch (I'm not one to nub). Overall impression was that this cigar was a great smoke factory pumping forth a fantastic consistently woodsy flavour. I would not likely pair it with a coffee in the future. I'll probably just stick to a glass of water. :thumbs:
I put the torch to work for a little toasting. The burn was sharp right from the start and the volume of smoke was thick and perfect.
I had to confirm my tasting impressions with another rather famous BOTL, Wilkey, to verify what I was tasting (largely due to my inexperience with the Churhill). Confirmation came through positive...
The taste was overwhelmingly woodsy. At times there was a puff or two with very subtle smacks of cinnamon, cherry, and faint red wine. These tastes were not as pronounced as in the '01 Upmann Sir Winston I had smoked last week, however, they represented briefly in the RyJ. Tastes of spice showed up in the final third of the cigar. The flavour was medium-bodied for the most part. The finish was pleasant and not entirely long. The smoke was smooth. The cigar never got hot and I smoked it down to the last inch (I'm not one to nub). Overall impression was that this cigar was a great smoke factory pumping forth a fantastic consistently woodsy flavour. I would not likely pair it with a coffee in the future. I'll probably just stick to a glass of water. :thumbs: