insight
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- Joined
- Aug 24, 2006
- Messages
- 8,380
This cigar was recently gifted to me by Seavita and I finally had the chance to sit down and enjoy it yesterday evening. I have had Sancho Panzos before but never one with over 5 years of age on it. My experience in the past has generally been they are a somewhat one dimensional medium bodied smoke. I was very interested to see how a little age would affect the flavor profile.
The Beginning
The stick itself was a well constructed belicoso with a fairly veiny wrapper. The cap came off very clean, which is always a nice thing when dealing with cuban belicosos. I found the prelight draw to be very smooth, with deep earthy notes to the flavor.
The early stages of the cigar were really characterized by an earthy caramel flavor. It was a distinct and light sweetness that is a departure from the profiles of the cigars I typically smoke. After about an inch the cigar took on a slight nuttiness, although the sweet earthy flavors remained. One issue I had in the early stages was the stick required quite a bit of touching up, developing sporadic runs and starting to canoe a bit several times (after the first ash). The ash did hold fairly firm for almost two inches before falling off, despite being very flakey.
The Middle
Into the second third of the cigar the caramel flavors eased up a bit. Leather and nutty flavors became slightly more dominant, although neither was particularly prominent. The cigar maintained a medium body profile throughout the stick with little variation. At this point (just before the final third) I was really enjoying this cigar. I think what really struck me about it was it was just different from what I usually smoke and it was refreshing to have a change.
The End
The final third of the cigar was not remarkably different from the previous third. It was dominated by earthy tobacco flavors and not too much else. My final thoughts on this cigar are that although it was not a particularly complex cigar, nor as strong as what I usually smoke, it was pleasant and a very nice change of pace. The difference between this and younger SP's I have smoked is substantial, these definitely do benefit from age. I don't think I would make this a regular part of my smoking lineup but I would gladly revisit it down the road for something a little different. Thank you again Seavita for giving me the opportunity to try this cigar, it was a pleasure to review.
(pics will come later, my wife disappeared with my camera this morning)
The Beginning
The stick itself was a well constructed belicoso with a fairly veiny wrapper. The cap came off very clean, which is always a nice thing when dealing with cuban belicosos. I found the prelight draw to be very smooth, with deep earthy notes to the flavor.
The early stages of the cigar were really characterized by an earthy caramel flavor. It was a distinct and light sweetness that is a departure from the profiles of the cigars I typically smoke. After about an inch the cigar took on a slight nuttiness, although the sweet earthy flavors remained. One issue I had in the early stages was the stick required quite a bit of touching up, developing sporadic runs and starting to canoe a bit several times (after the first ash). The ash did hold fairly firm for almost two inches before falling off, despite being very flakey.
The Middle
Into the second third of the cigar the caramel flavors eased up a bit. Leather and nutty flavors became slightly more dominant, although neither was particularly prominent. The cigar maintained a medium body profile throughout the stick with little variation. At this point (just before the final third) I was really enjoying this cigar. I think what really struck me about it was it was just different from what I usually smoke and it was refreshing to have a change.
The End
The final third of the cigar was not remarkably different from the previous third. It was dominated by earthy tobacco flavors and not too much else. My final thoughts on this cigar are that although it was not a particularly complex cigar, nor as strong as what I usually smoke, it was pleasant and a very nice change of pace. The difference between this and younger SP's I have smoked is substantial, these definitely do benefit from age. I don't think I would make this a regular part of my smoking lineup but I would gladly revisit it down the road for something a little different. Thank you again Seavita for giving me the opportunity to try this cigar, it was a pleasure to review.
(pics will come later, my wife disappeared with my camera this morning)
