this was gifted to me from michael ladd (la10820), and i felt good enough today to smoke this suckah at long last. huzzah! thanks again, bro!
without further ado, here's another one of my infamous (short story?) reviews. 🙂
Sweet Heat: The Buccaneer Salsa
by Tony Beltrisi
I’ll confess up front. I like spicy cigars.
Awhile back, I was asking around on cbid about the most enjoyable spicy ‘gars the B/SOTL have ever had. A few familiar names came up, and I had enjoyed the cigars they mentioned sure enough. Then someone popped up with the name of a cigar that I thought surely was a joke.
“Try the Salsa,” he said.
Excuse me?
“Buccaneer Salsa. Give it a try.”
I still doubted the existence of a cigar named after a condiment, but okay. It did make me chuckle. Much to my surprise, I heard the name mentioned again. And again. And yet again. Conceding that its existence was, indeed, no joke, I asked around about the Buc Salsa. A buddy of mine was kind enough to send a couple of torps for me to try.
The Buc Salsa certainly looked tantalizing enough with its dark, slightly reddish wrapper. The prelight aroma was rich and promising, and as I lit it up I was met with an indulgent, earthy draw of smoke with more than a hint of dark chocolate to it. For a cigar named after a tomato-based food, it tasted more like something that should be on the dessert tray.
I didn’t get hit by the spice I’d expected. The first couple of inches remained earthy and chocolate-tinged. I was impressed by the beautiful near-white ash (did a great ash stand with this one at two inches in, by the way) and the billows of fragrant white smoke -- the Salsa seemed to steam! But the aftertaste of this cigar alluded me until after one particularly indulgent draw, and then it hit me: chocolate cake! The cigar tastes like chocolate cake!
Let me say that this cigar smokes very well. The burn was mostly even, and when it got out of line quickly corrected itself. The smoke was cool down the final couple of inches, when it grew inevitably a bit warm and slightly bitter. A quick purge took care of the latter problem, though.
As I continued on, I did finally pick up some considerable pepper and spice – enough to earn its name -- but that mouthwatering chocolate cake aftertaste remained throughout. I was impressed by both the heat (very present, but never overwhelming) and the sweet towards the end of the smoke, which resulted in what I can only call an exotic and gratifying smoke. All in all, the Buc Salsa reminded me of these new oddball gourmet sweets that are all the rage right now, like various peppers dipped in chocolate or herb-infused elixirs covered in something sweet. Having tried a few of such items, I have to say that they’re pretty tasty – and so is the Buccaneer Salsa. Though it wasn’t quite what I expected, I was pleasantly surprised at this treat of a cigar.
