Avo Uvezian is the mastermind behind the AVO brand is also a very talented Jazz pianist. He was born into a family of musicians but he paved a different road for his family’s future when he began making cigars. It’s no secret that he has blended some very tasty sticks and for the last few years he has been blending a limited edition cigar to be released on his birthday.

Not long ago I reviewed the AVO 80th Anniversary which was released in 2006 to commemorate Avo’s 80th birthday. Tony also reviewed the AVO Limited Edition 2010 not long ago. Today’s cigar is called the Compañero and was released in 2009 to mark Avo’s 83rd birthday. On the cigar, you will find the classic and classy AVO logo with the name “Avo Uvezian” on one side and “LE09″ written on the the other. Below this band is another dark burgundy band with the “Compañero” name written on it.

The blend in the AVO Limited Editions change a bit each year and the Compañero is no different. This year the cigar comes wrapped with an Ecuadorian leaf and bound with Dominican leaf. The interesting part of the blend is the filler which is made up of a couple types of Ligero and some Peruvian Seco tobacco.

I’m interested to see how this blend will play out. On paper it seems a bit strong but with at least 2 years of age on it I’m hoping it smoothed out. Let’s get onto the review and find out.

Cigar: AVO Compañero Limited Edition 2009
Drink: The Singleton of Glendullan 12 Year Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Vitola: Toro (6 x 54)
Wrapper: Cuban Seed Ecuadorian
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Criollo Ligero, Piloto Ligero, San Vicente Ligero, Peruvian Seco
Price: About $15
Burn Time: 1.5 hours

Construction:
• The AVO Companero is an oil and dark looking cigar that sports a slightly toothy wrapper with a goldish-brown glow
• There are some veins running down the side of the cigar but most are fairly small and don’t really pose any issues
• The top of the cigar is cleanly finished with an expertly applied single cap while the foot shows signs of a well packed long-filler cigar
• For the most part, the cigar is very firm to the touch with only a very minor give when squeezed
• I made the cut super shallow and just basically trimmed off the cap without cutting into the filler, left me with an easy and perfect draw
• I “may” have accidentally “dropped” the cigar right before lighting it up… I’ll take that into account for any burn issues

Burn:
• Toasting was easy and even, it left me with a nicely glowing foot
• Despite some cracks on the wrapper near the foot due to my dropping it, the cigar is burning beautifully through the first couple of inches
• The cigar burned through the cracked wrapper like it wasn’t even there and I’m still going strong with a razor sharp burn!
• Ran into a few more wrapper issues caused by my drop, they still didn’t affect the burn much but I really regret dropping it!
• My super fail of a drop had more consequences than I had hoped for, the wrapper pretty much came off at the end but it’s totally my fault, do NOT take this as the regular burn for this cigar. Other Companero’s I’ve had burned without any issues.

Smoke & Ash:
• The AVO Companero is producing a heft amount of smoke from each draw, it’s thick and billowy to boot
• At a resting position, the cigar is producing a comfortable amount of smoke, nothing overpowering and it has a nice burning cedar aroma
• The ash is starting off a bit flaky but that’s probably my fault…
• The color of the ash is a very nice and consistent light grey
• Even with a bit of flaking, the ash lasted just past an inch before I gently tapped it off
• Now that I’m passed the cracked wrapper the ash is staying clean and tight
• The next ash fell off after about an inch jsut before I was going to take a picture… bad luck for me tonight! lol

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper of the cigars is hardly aromatic at all, it’s only a little bit woodsy and that’s it
• The foot on the other hand shows clear indications of spices, earthiness and a fresh cedar aroma
• The pre-light draw is very earthy and woodsy, with more of the fresh cedar from the foot
• Initial draws are filled with more earthy notes and little bit of the fresh peat flavor I’ve come to appreciate from most AVO cigars
• Some of the spice I picked up earlier is making a subtle appearance within the first inch, it’s just on the tip of my tongue making for an interesting touch to the profile
• The body of the AVO Companero is a smooth medium so far, well balanced and with a nice little bite on the retrohale
• The finish is also very tasting, coating my nasal passages with a fresh cedar touch
• I have to emphasize the “fresh” part of the cedar flavor, it’s not like a seasoned humidor smells but more like the aroma of a fresh, brand new humidor or freshly cut cedar plank, very pleasant!
• The woodsy and earthy notes are mixing so nicely and taking turns being prominent
• Along with those, the peat and freshness of the cedar add a very interesting and enjoyable flavor that I can’t get enough of
• Just past the halfway mark, the spices are coming in a little stronger and mixing perfectly with the fresh cedar and peat flavors, this cigar keeps getting better!
• The body has stayed more or less in the medium range and it’s still maintaining a very smooth retrohale
• Despite the wrapper pretty much falling off the cigar, I still managed to enjoy the last bit of spice, cedar and peat right to the end

Final Thoughts:
Right from the start, the AVO Companero was bringing me a bright and flavorful profile that instantly caught my attention. Each of the tastes were very full flavored and easily discernible making for a very enjoyable smoke. Even with my fat-fingered fall to the floor and some wrapper cracks, this cigar burned perfectly. I’m also very surprised to say the wrapper falling off didn’t change the cigars flavor too much and I was still able to enjoy it. That’s a sign of a well balanced cigar in my eyes, the flavor was not “all in the wrapper” as some people might think. This showed me that the cigar had a very good balance of wrapper, binder and filler. I’d actually even say this experience made me appreciate the blending that went into this cigar even more than I normally would have!

Pairings:
I’ve only ever come across the peat flavors in the AVO cigars so I knew heading into this review that I had to pair it with a nice Scotch. So I looked into what I had and decided to finish off this bottle of The Singleton 12 year Single Malt Scotch Whisky. Well, I was right! The smokey and peat flavors of the Scotch paired perfectly with the fresh cedar and matching peat flavors on the cigar. I would definitely recommend having a nice scotch with this cigar, so give it a try next time you pick up this cigar or pretty much anything in the AVO lineup.

Prelight: The obvious story in this cigar is the shape. You don’t come across so large, extended pyramids too often. The cigar starts with a slightly box-pressed style foot which slowly tapers into a nice, small, round, double cap. The wrapper is a bit rough looking, but the construction is dead on.  The wrapper is a nice, deep, medium brown with lots of darker spots where the wrapper has texture. It’s not the heaviest cigar, but the off-balance nature of the vitola makes it a bit uncomfortable to hold. It keeps wanting to tip forward. All together the cigar is slightly mushy, but there isn’t any stand-out soft spots.

The wrapper gives off a very slight barnyard style aroma with small hints of spice. The foot smell ridiculously good with just a ton of spice, and a really clean tobacco smell.  The foot really had a curious scent to it.  The cigar cut clean and easy using my double bladed Palio cutter. Wow, this thing has a really strange cold draw. It’s like citrus, and spice, mixed motor oil? No joke. Hopefully that oil type flavor doesn’t come through once the cigar is actually lit up.

First Smoke: The cigar lit up with ease using my triple flame butane torch. Right off the bat the cigar starts off with a very burnt, oil type flavor. It tastes a lot like extremely charred chicken skin or something. Underneath that is a really mossy, dirt type flavor with just a bit of that badass spice I got in the prelight coming through. I really hope that some of these flavors start dropping off as I get deeper into the cigar. The draw on this cigar is perfect. Each little puff gives me tons of thick smoke. The burnline is slightly wavy, burning deeper on one side of the cigar than the other, but nothing too concerning. The ash is nicely compacted and bright grey with some deep, darker grey stripes. They almost look life fish gills in the ash. The ash held on for almost and inch and a half before giving way.

Halfway There: The oil/burnt flavors are finally beginning to subside a little bit. The mossy flavors are still there though and finally there is a bit more breathing room for the excellent spice notes this cigar carries. Hints of citrus, clove, and cinnamon make up the underlying flavors on this cigar, and if they were stronger, and the oil/burnt flavor wasn’t masking all the potential, this cigar would be dynamite.  Just as I wrote that, this really crappy, minty, grassy flavor came in. It tastes how I would imagine rotten grass would taste. This cigar is all over the place.  The retrohale is awesome though. It basically primes with all the cedar and spice flavors that I wish this cigar would show more of.

Finish:  The Burnt flavors are just about gone at this point, but the mossy flavors are still so strong they are masking anything else that really could have enhanced this cigar. The cedar and awesome spice was there the whole time, but never reached it’s prime which is really sad. The cigar took only about an hour to take down, burning a lot faster then I though it would. Despite the speed of the burn there really wasn’t any harshness, even into the final inch. The cigar remained mild/medium all the way producing only the slightest hints of nicotine. The burnline was a bit wild the entire time, but I never had to relight or touch up the cigar.

Overview: I think my thoughts on this cigar were pretty obvious. The potential for a good cigar was there, it was just masked by so much bad taste that it never got it’s chance to shine. The starting of this cigar was bad, but it progressively got better, but not to a point where I would say this is a cigar I would smoke again.

What did I think it was: This is yet another cigar that could go both ways. It could be a Dominican/Ecuadorian/Honduran style cigar, or another Cuban. The call is tough. The wrapper made me believe that it wasn’t Cuban, while the tart flavors, and ash make me think it was. So I’ll split my guesses. My first guess would be some sort of AVO/Davidoff medley. Simply being as they are one of the only cigars that I get such a strong moss flavor from. I don’t know what it is, but they seem to be the kinds of dirt. Second guess? Maybe a Hoya de Monterrey Cuban. It had the really mild and one dimensional flavors that I have picked up in the brand before.

And the Reveal: A Padron Anniversary 1964 Piramide circa 1999. Wow, I wasn’t expecting that. I smoke the hell out of 1964 and love the hell out of them. This does explain that awesome spice and cedar that was buried underneath. Usually that’s the main flavors in the 1964, but age didn’t do this cigar well. This also shows just how much age can change a cigar experience. Brooks even made the comment that he didn’t think these cigars aged well and recommended smoking them within 3 years. I’m glad I’m not the only one.

It seems that Perdomo is a name that many cigars smokers know about and often enjoy yet it’s also I brand that seems to do minimal advertising. I don’t seem to see them launch large campaigns or expensive sponsorship but rather it seems word of mouth and consistent quality help spread their name. I’ve also had the chance to review the Perdomo Reserve 10th Anniversary Maduro and Perdomo Patriarch Maduro in the past. Today we are going to take a look at the Perdomo Grand Cru Maduro.

The Perdomo Grand Cru is a cigar grown and rolled with the intention of giving a Cuban-like flavor in each blend. All of the seeds used to grow the Tobacco in Nicaragua are from Cuba. The tobacco itself has also been well aged before being rolled into the cigars. Each box and cigar is clearly marked with a “Crop of 2004” label. I really like this idea and it lets you know just how old the tobacco is. If they decide to keep the same blend moving forward but change crops, I’m curious to see if they will just change the year or change the name. From what I can tell, all the cigars and boxes still say 2004. The website also says this blend is made from that crop as well so it may not change at all.

I would actually love to see that type of labelling adopted by more companies. I think it’s an excellent idea. There are other cigars that do this currently, such as the Tatuaje L’Esperit de Verite that Tony reviewed or the Camacho Liberty series (we’ve reviewed the 2009 and 2010) but those are more limited editions. Having this label on regular production cigars would be and interesting piece of information. The above linked reviews already show how much a blend can change from year-to-year. But enough about me complaining, without further adieu let’s jump into the review of the Perdomo Grand Cru Maduro.

Cigar: Perdomo Grand Cru Maduro
Drink: Delaforce 2005 Late Bottled Vintage Porto
Vitola: Toro (6 x 50)
Wrapper: Cuban-seed Nicaraguan Maduro
Binder: Cuban-seed Nicaraguan
Filler: Cuban-seed Nicaraguan
Price: $4.50 – $5.50
Burn Time: 1.5 hours

Construction:
• A rough and bumpy wrapper with a few medium sized veins, but nothing concerning
• The wrapper has a sand-paper like texture and is a consistent medium chocolate brown color
• The cap is cleanly applied with a double-cap design, almost impossible to see the second piece of tobacco
• The foot appears well packed and the length of the cigar is pretty firm with very little spring to it
• The cut was very easy and quite clean, falling in a neat little package into the ashtray
• Draw is a little tighter then I’d like

Burn:
• The burn line is not neat and pretty on this cigar but it’s not out of control either
• Felt like the cigar was starting to go out after only an inch and started needing a few more draws
• The funny burn finally hit a rut and needed a small touch up just past the half-way mark
• For the most part, the cigar burned without much effort or extra draws

Smoke & Ash:
• Despite the tightness I’m still getting a giant mouthful of smoke from every draw
• There is a small bit of resting smoke visible while the cigar sits in the ashtray, it gives off a mostly woodsy aroma
• The ash is a little flaky on this cigar but not too weak
• A very nice white color to the ash as it burns
• Each ash tumbled into the ashtray shortly after an inch

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper gives off a strong hay and barnyard aroma
• The foot stays consistent with the barnyard aroma and mixes a touch of spice into the nose
• The pre-light draw brings an interesting bakers chocolate flavor mixed with some woodsy notes
• The initial draws give off a strong woodsy flavor with some hints of coffee here and there
• As the cigar progresses I’m picking up a lot of roasted notes, a mix of roasted almonds and roasted coffee beans, very nice
• I noticed a bit extra dryness on my throat with this cigar
• As I approach the halfway mark, the body has been mild-medium and retrohale has no bite with a woodsy finish
• The flavors still seem to hover around with roasted coffee, woodsy and roasted almonds all taking a turn
• In the last third the flavors got much more intense and I started picking up some more bakers chocolate type of flavors
• The body picked up only slightly near the end, making it a comfortable medium

Final Thoughts:
The Grand Cru Maduro from Tabacalera Perdomo proved to be a nice smooth cigar that can easily be enjoyed by many experienced or new smokers. It offers a nice variety of flavors that are neither too complex or too boring making for a perfect cigar to relax with. It’s something you can pick up and smoke without paying too much attention to and still enjoy and easily pick up on the various flavors. The price is also very attractive, make sure to search around a bit as my research showed a HUGE variance in pricing on these. I’d definitely suggest picking up a few of these to try out, especially at the good prices you can find them for.

Pairings:
Yes I’m still riding the Port train and today I bring something new. This bottle is something I haven’t seen around before so I grabbed it to try something new. Damn am I ever happy I did. The Delaforce 2005 Late Bottled Vintage offers some excellent flavors backed by a robust and bold red wine flavor. A lot of Ports overdo the fruity notes but this one seems nicely balanced between a full bodied red wine and a flavorful fruity port. It paired well with this cigar but was maybe not the perfect pairing. I think this cigar was made for coffee, the roasted coffee and almond notes would have made a great compliment. You could also enjoy this with a nice dark porter with some coffee flavors.

Today we also have a special appearance from a great BOTL known as JerseyJay (Jay Luto). Jay has recently launched a very unique and interesting cigar blog centering on Cigar Photography. Please check it out over at CigarPhoto.net. He takes some amazing and unique shots of cigars like none other on the web! We also have two photo’s from him included in today’s review. Everyone make sure to check out Jay’s blog and leave him a comment about how great his photos are!

Courtesy of Cigarphoto.net

This cigar was created and released to mark the special 100 year anniversary of the La Aurora factory in Dominican Republic. And in proper form, La Aurora decided to make this a Dominican Puro, meaning all the tobacco contained in this cigar comes only from the Dominican Republic. The 100 year anniversary was celebrated in 2003 and that’s when this cigar was first released. The limited production ran for 3 years and ended with the production of the Lancero vitola. Other vitolas that were available included a No. 4, Robusto, Belicoso and Churchill. Although no longer produced, some resourceful searchers can still find stock of these cigars in some B&Ms and online sites.

One thing I’d like to point out is that although this was a limited release it was also widely available and large number of sticks were produced. This is a unique quality for a special edition cigar as you can see some brands producing limited cigars that are extremely hard to track down and produced in very small quantities. The wrapper was aged a minimum of 4 years, and amazingly the Piloto Cubano and Domican Corojo filler has been aged since 1996!

La Aurora has produced a lot of top quality stick in it’s long history. I’ve said this before but that track record can be both a curse or a blessing. When I pick up a La Aurora stick I’m expecting an excellent smoking experience every time because of their history and my expectations are likely even higher because of the limited and special edition tags attached to this cigar. I’ve had the chance to enjoy these cigars in the past and am choosing to sit down with the Robusto vitola tonight to give you my opinion.

Cigar: La Aurora 100 Anos
Drink: Quinta do Todo Fine Tawny Port
Vitola: Robusto (5 x 50)
Wrapper: Corojo
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican Corojo, Piloto Cubano
Price: About $12
Burn Time: 1.5 hours

Construction:
• A gorgeously shiny cinnamon brown wrapper surrounds this cigar
• From head to foot, the cigar is evenly round and is fairly firm but still offers a bit of spring
• There are no pronounced veins on the wrapper, only some smaller ones
• The foot appears to be very well packed with evenly colored tobacco
• The triple cap is finished cleanly and evenly
• The band adorns itself with the signature Lion of La Aurora and also has a second band beneath it which individually numbers each cigar produced (See second image from the top)
• The cut was firm but very clean with my double-bladed guillotine
• Draw is spot-on with just enough resistance to make it interesting

Burn:
• Torching proved to be a long affair, have some patience with this cigar to get it toasted evenly
• The burn started off very wavy and one side burned incredibly fast
• The cigar seems to be burning out a bit so I’m having to give it a few extra draws now and then
• Despite a scary start the cigar actually corrected itself amazingly and I’m not needing to draw as many times to keep it lit
• A couple minor touch-ups were needed past the halfway mark but they didn’t affect the flavor as much as I would have expected

Smoke & Ash:
• A big mouthful of smoke right from the first draw
• Resting smoke is apparent but not over-powering and is giving off just a slight burning cedar aroma
• The is ash is fairly clean and compact, so far holding steady into the first inch
• The color is fairly odd with some parts being a bright white and others an almost dark black, likely due to the odd burn at the start
• First ash lasted about 1.5 inches before I tapped it off, despite looking a little weak at that point it still took some effort to tap it off so it’s a nice strong ash

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper aroma gives off an interesting tart-like spice along with a nice cedar
• The aroma on the foot brings nutmeg and cloves to the mix along with a touch of espresso and cedar
• Pre-light draw is dominated by cedar with some nice hints of clove and nutmeg spice
• Initial draws are full of cedar flavors and accented by more spices including nutmeg, cloves and a touch of pepper
• The retrohale is fairly mild so far with no bite and a creamy cedar finish
• Body has been just below medium for the first third but it has been very well balanced with a smooth and creamy finish on each draw
• Getting a touch of leather into the mix at the end of the first 3rd
• I need to stress how well everything is balancing and taking turns being the prominent flavor here
• Despite this cigar being wrapped and filled with Corojo leaves, it’s so smooth and balanced that it’s barely feeling like a medium bodied cigar
• Some earthy and coffee notes are sneaking in near the halfway mark
• As the cigar progresses the body is building a bit more and the coffee and spice notes are developing very nicely
• The spice and body of the Corojo is becoming more apparent in the last third but it’s still well balanced and super smooth
• The espresso and clove flavors developed the most near the nub of the cigar and are balancing nicely with a smooth cedar finish
• Body definitely ramped up near the end, but the smoothness and balance kept it from being overpowering.

Final Thoughts:
This is a cigar that is definitely worthy of celebrating 100 great years of making great cigars. Despite some burn issues here and there the flavors never disappointed and kept changing. From the initial draws straight to the nub the flavors kept changing and keeping each draw interesting. The key that made this cigar so enjoyable with the smooth and balanced profile it provided from start to finish. It clearly had some body but it never came through as over-powering. The price is a little high but when you factor in tobacco that has been aged since 1996 it’s easy to see that it’s more than justifiable and the flavors only proved to make the price worthwhile. I would highly recommend picking up a few of these cigars, if not a whole box to enjoy!

Here’s another great shot by Jay from CigarPhoto.net

Courtesy of Cigarphoto.net

Pairings:
Yes I know, you’ve seen this pairing quite a few times lately. I promise both bottles are now finished and you won’t see it again! lol. As I’ve mentioned in my other reviews including this Port (Monte Pascoal, Miraculous Templar or G.A.R.), it is a fairly fruity and easy drinking pairing that can be enjoyed by anyone, even those new to Port wines. I found the fruity notes to pair very well here although I think a bolder Port would have paired even nicer. I think the higher sugar content in the Port helped fend off any nicotine kick I might have gotten from this cigar. Other pairings here that would serve well include a nice Scotch, strong coffee or a dark porter/stout.

This cigar was sent to me as part of a package from DannyP6228 on Twitter. It was aged more than 2 years and his only requirement was that I do a review when I got around to smoking it. Danny raves about this cigar and after smoking it I completely understand why. I’ve yet to have any Padrón that has disappointed me, even their inexpensive Padrón Series line is consistently good. Without further delay, let’s get to the review.

Cigar: Padrón 1964 Anniversary Series Maduro Principe
Drink: W&J Graham’s 2003 Late Bottled Vintage Tawny Port
Vitola: Principe (4.5 x 46)
Wrapper: Nicaraguan
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: Gifted from @DannyP6228 – Retails for around $10
Burn Time: 1.5 Hours

Construction:
• Nicely box pressed
• Medium brown colour, not as dark as most maduros
• Very firm feel throughout
• Foot looks tightly packed
• Evenly applied single cap
• Double banded with the bottom band having a serialized number
• Some dots all over the wrapper, giving it that nice toothy appeal
• Lots of attractive oils secreting from the wrapper due to it’s age
• Slightly open draw
• Band slid off easily, no extra glue means no damage to the wrapper


Burn:
• Toasting was easy and perfectly even
• Razor sharp burn from the first draw
• No problems staying lit, allowed me to enjoy it nice and slowly
• This is how every cigar should burn, no attention required at all here

Smoke & Ash:
• Big mouthful of smoke right from the first draw
• Resting smoke is minimal and giving off a fantastic cedar aroma
• Very light grey ash, perfectly round, with small white spots from the toothy wrapper
• Absolutely no flaking, ash is picture perfect
• Great ash, hanging on for about 2 inches

Tasting Notes:
• Wrapper has a very light aroma of cedar and cocoa
• Foot aroma is of cedar with some earthy notes and a touch of spice
• Pre-light draw is very woodsy and earthy with a hint of nuts
• Initial draws are extremely smooth with more of the woodsy, cocoa and earthy notes
• Retrohale is also very smooth with just a small bite and a smooth cedar finish
• Hints of coffee and nuts sneak in after the first few draws
• The flavors are so well balanced, each one taking turns being the prominent one between draws
• About an inch in and getting a bit of spice, closest comparison would be something along the lines of nutmeg
• At around the halfway mark, the coffee and nut flavors were the most prominent, still very smooth and enjoyable
• The body has been a smooth mild-medium throughout
• Retrohale started to pick up the coffee notes on the finish, very nice touch
• Picking up a great toasted wood flavor
• With about 1.5 inches left the coffee flavors changed to a slightly stronger espresso type flavor, loving that little change
• Body slowly increasing towards the full range as I reach the end of the cigar
• The body just suddenly went to the very full range and the coffee flavors just bursted out
• Very little harshness, smoked it down to the nub till my fingers were burning

Final Thoughts:
As with every Padron I’ve had, this one did not disappoint. Great flavors, great burn, great ash, great cigar. The price range on these is a little high but well worth it. I’m sure the extra age on this one helped. If you haven’t tried the 1964 or 1926 lines by Padron I definitely recommend trying them out.

Pairings:
My Port went perfectly with this cigar. The body of the pairings matched up perfectly and I would suggest trying it to anyone out there. Another good pairing could be a nice strong coffee, but I will strongly suggest a good Tawny Port!

Garo Habano Aniversario X

I had high hopes for this cigar since it had the highest price point of the 5 samples sent to us and the Sun Grown Corojo wrapper with some Ligero filler sounded like a tasty and strong cigar. Unfortunately, my samples were plagued with wrapper issues and the body barely passed medium. The flavors were very enjoyable but didn’t change throughout the cigar. Once again, I’m braving the cold Canadian climate with the help of my propane heater to bring this review to our loyal readers.

Cigar: Garo Habano Aniversario X
Drink: Chateauneuf Du Pape French wine
Vitola: Bellicoso (6.25 x 54)
Wrapper: Sun-Grown Corojo
Binder: Indonesian
Filler: Seco Cubano/Lijero Peru, Nicaragua, Criollo 98 & Cubano
Price: $8.40 from the Garo Habano web site
Burn Time: 2 – 2.25 Hours

Construction:
• Light Brown in color
• Slightly tapered head, not quite a typical Belicoso
• Small curly tail finish on top of a triple cap
• 2 prominent veins but not large enough to cause problems
• Tightly packed foot
• Good consistent firmness with a slight spring throughout
• On one sample, tight draw after two cuts, didn’t want to cut any further
• Still needed a third cut after lighting, past the tapered head now so it’s design seems kinds wasted, draw still tight but manageable
• Other samples had good draw
• At about halfway the wrapper split from the cap to the band in a straight and deep line, ruined the draw even more (see picture)
• Cigar kept expanding so the wrapper was barely burning
• Another sample split near the foot just after lighting…

Burn:
• Toasting was nice and even
• The bad draw sample felt like it was going out so I had to give it a lot of extra draws
• Burn is a little wavy but no touch ups needed through the first half
• The sample that didn’t split at the end never needed any corrections until I put it down

Smoke:
• Good amount of smoke
• Slight resting smoke that is nicely aromatic

Ash:
• Very nice light grey/white ash
• Ash is tight with no flaking
• Strong ash stuck on for about 1.5inches before I knocked it off

Tasting Notes:
• Not much aroma on the wrapper, just a slight hay/barnyard scent
• Foot has a stronger barnyard aroma and a bit of spice on the nose
• Very spicy on the lips after cutting
• Initial retrohale has a bite of spiciness that lingers
• Initial puffs are woodsy and earthy, very smooth with a great finish
• I was expecting this to be a strong smoke but it’s been consistently mild-medium bodied
• Approaching the halfway point and no flavor changes. They are good flavors but a little change would be nice
• As the wrapper expanded and stopped burning the flavors disappeared and was left with just bitter tobacco, was enjoying it until that happened…
• The sample that I was able to smoke to the nub was good to the end with only some minor bitterness

Final Thoughts:
• On the sample with the tight draw, the extra draws it needed made me feel like I was smoking it fast and I usually like to take it slow. Took away from my enjoyment of this cigar
• The flavors were tasty and very smooth but never changed. Some people may like a good consistent cigar but I prefer a little more dimension
• Cracking/exploding wrappers plagued all my samples
• The flavors were good and worth trying but they didn’t jump out at me. If they would have developed a bit or added a bit of complexity this would have been an excellent smoke minue the construction issues…