OK, review stick #1 stick from Puffnstuff was a 6x52ish Toro. The wrapper was an attractively mottled maduro with a double cap, visible seams, no tooth and light oil sheen. It was densely packed and had a mild hay aroma. After a straight guillotine cut, the draw was excellent with just the slightest resistance.
The first draw after a short toasting, it immediately produced a large volume of creamy smoke. A bit of black pepper on the initial draws and the taste of smooth, aged tobacco with the maduro wrapper providing the most dominant taste. Finishes were medium in length, with no other tastes being picked up at this point. The first ash drop came early at just over ½ inch, it was grey in color, and light but not flaky.
The most interesting and nice thing I noticed was the footsmoke was nearly non-existant, yet even after resting it would produce so much smoke that before the end of a normal draw, the smoke was pouring off the foot. I wish every cigar had the same draw and smoke production qualities as this one, it was perfect. It had a medium at most flavor profile, and no nicotine strength. The retrohales were very smooth.
Entering the second third, it stayed consistent to the first, though the finishes shortened and the pepper was minimal. Dominant taste for me was still the maddie wrapper. I’m not a huge maddie fan, but this one was very good. The cigar burned evenly until the half-way point, and then got a little crooked, but needed no attention. Unfortunately, it began to tunnel a bit, so I doctored the edges, trying to keep it even, which worked OK for an inch or so, but then it went out. I had to re-light it a couple more times, and although the smoke production was OK, it wasn’t the same as before.
Finishing out at 1:45, this was an overall good stick. I know I haven’t smoked one before, I’d have remembered the taste, the great smoke prod. & draw. I would smoke another if I were in a Maduro mood. I had a hard time telling its origins, as it didn’t taste distinctively Nicaraguan or Dominican – What was it? Maybe a Gurkha? I've not tried a Gurkha Maddie before.