A while back, on the heels of the 2018 Spring Mystery cigar reviews, Phil Pm’d me and suggested we do a trade that includes some unbanded cigars in the $3 to $8 range. I got his end and he should be getting my end shortly. This is my review of his #3 cigar.
Pre light exam - 6x50 Toro, delicate wrapper with a number of cracks in the bottom 2 inches. I’m thinking this may be a Cameroon wrapper. Light chocolate brown color. Mildly toothy. Moderate veins. Partially closed foot. Took care of them with PerfecRepair cigar glue. Good stuff. Aroma – almost yeasty, sweet leather. I choose a V-cut. The cold draw is buttery – this is going to be good.
1/3 – initial draw reminds me of the Cub Scout coffee can bread we used to make 40 years ago - yeasty, slightly sweet. Mild pepper overtones. Aroma is delicious-smelling. Coffee. Coffee-cake. I’m really enjoying this and I just barely started! Pepper ramps up after the first quarter inch. Smoky, mocha tasting. Ash is flakey grey and black. Burn line is sharp. Cigar is behaving and smoking nicely. At an inch in, I can feel a little nicotine kick. This may be interesting. Retrohale gives me a smoky, charred meat taste. Yum! Ash politely separates itself at ¾ of an inch into my ashtray when I set it down.
2/3 – transition towards savory, buttery, peppery. Butter drops off the radar. First need for a touch up after a less than perfect relight when I inadvertently let it go out during a phone call. Transition to a more woody-smoked oaky flavor.
3/3 – I’m a celiac, so I don’t do wheat, rye or barley. I’ve been one for almost a decade, now. But the flavor transition has changed significantly. It reminds me of rye toast with only a small spat of butter. Still savory, but with that rye twang. Lovely. Peppery retrohale. An inch later, the rye has morphed into something almost astringent. The cigar has grown quite strong. My head is spinning. Time to let the last inch go…
Great cigar. I’m dumfounded as to what it is. Phil: Time to clue me in! I’d buy more of these in a heartbeat.