Alec Bradley Prensado

I went through three of this sticks before formulating this review, two from trades that I had just resting in my humidor, and one was provided by one of our great sponsors Bonita Smoke Shop. All three were similar in vitola (Box Pressed Robusto), but oddly all of which changed up in color, from a dark, almost maduro to a soft light, creamy brown.

The Good Stuff: Alec Bradley’s Prensado was one of a number of much anticipated releases that went public during 2009’s IPCPR event in New Orleans this past year. It is create from a complex structure from  Honduran,  corojo wrapper, a Nicaraguan binder from Jalapa,  and a mixture of Nicaraguan and Honduran fillers. It is also said to be Alec Bradley’s strongest cigar to date. 

Size:Robusto 5 x 50 boxpress  –  Wrapper: Honduran corojo  –  Binder: Nicaragua  –  Filler: Nicaragua/Honduras  –  Body: Medium/Full   

Alec Bradley Prensado

Prelight: The Prensado carries with is a very unique, and enticing band. The band itself is white, and gold embroidered with hints of black, brown, and an odd but pleasant mixture of teal. The band is is very large and has an image of what looks to be a medieval leather chest plate (not to be confused with a football). The color of the wrapper is very consistent, and a light, creamy brown. The cigar itself is very firm and only soft at the bottom-most foot portion. There is a very large vein running down the entire length of the cigar, and I’d be very surprised if this vein didn’t offset the burn of the cigar. The Prensado has a very sweet, organic tobacco smell around the wrapper, and an almost fruity cedar smell coming from the foot. The cap is rounded off with the triple cap that I would love see as a set standard on all my cigars.

Alec Bradley Prensado

First Smoke: This cigar was cut using my Palio double blade cutter, and lit up very easily under even my single flame torch that I hate, and hardly ever use. Alec Bradley’s Prensado started out with a slight hint of pepper, that only tingled my tongue for a few seconds before quickly diminishing. As the pepper faded flavors of cedar, cocoa, and tobacco became present. Despite giving off a massive, and very thick draw, the Prensado give off little to no stationary smoke. The stationary smoke is extremely pleasant, and smells of lightly burning cedar. The cigar is starting off extremely smooth. The ash is a very flaky, dark grey. The burnline is extremely sharp, but as expected it is burning a deep, offset crevice due to the massive vein running through the body of this cigar. Surprisingly enough, the ash held on for about an inch and a half before it gave out.

Alec Bradley Prensado

Halfway There: The Presando just keeps getting smoother, and creamier the further I smoke into it. The main flavor is that of cedar. It seriously tastes as if I chopped up my humidor and wrapped it in corojo. To me, this cigar reminds me a lot of Camacho’s 2009 Liberty, only at less than half the price. As stated in my introduction, this is supposed to be Alec Bradley’s strongest cigar to date, but oddly enough I am getting absolutely no nicotine buzz. I am drinking a pretty high alcohol content beer too and not feeling anything off this smoke, amazing. After a big touch up to the foot, the cigar is finally burning dead even, and just as sharp as when I began smoking it.

Alec Bradley Prensado

Finish: Wow, just wow. The smoothness of the Prensado is overwhelming. I usually enjoy robusto, or smaller vitolas, but I would be quite curious to see how a churchill of these bad boys panned out. I smoked this one incredibly fast (about 1.25 hours) to finish, and there were no signs of harshness all the way down to the nub. The flavor stayed very consistent with smooth cedar being the prominent flavor backed by a creamy, milky, cocoa. I had no problems with the burn after the touch up after the first ash and took this bad boy down until I could no longer hold it. My hands never got too warm which was incredible due to the loose draw.

Alec Bradley Prensado

Overview: Overall I was very impressed with this cigar. I loved the Camacho Liberty 2009, just hated the price tag and exclusiveness of it. Alec Bradley’s Prensado is a perfect replacement for an everyday rotation. The price is somewhere in between $7 and $10 and well worth it. All three that I smoked took a touch up or two, but not anything serious, and the overall experience made up for it. This is a perfect, everyday smoke for the experienced, and even casual smoker. Now I just need to get my hands on a few more.

Alec Bradley Prensado

This cigar was paired with one of my favorite beers, Chimay White Tripel. The strength, bitterness, and fruity undertones were a perfect pair for such a smooth cigar.

Alec Bradley Prensado

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Alec Bradley Vice Press

This line is not to be confused with the Maxx Vice, which is a different cigar but it’s assumed that this line was influenced by that cigar.  The similarities end there, you will not find a maduro wrapper or a full bodied smoke here.  The is a sweet Sungrown wrapper that was very pleasing to the eyes.  My biggest gripe with this cigar was the cutting.  I thought scissors would do the trick since they usually handle my larger gauge cigars but the rectangular size caused a big mess.  I found that my large gauge double bladed cutter did the best job.  Try not to cut too far in, keep it close to the end of the cap and it shouldn’t cause any major problems and there are no draw problems even with a short cut.

Alec Bradley Vice Press

This cigar is just now making it’s way into Canada and it seems that the online availability is quite limited.  I can’t speak for the B&M availability n the US, maybe some people could fill us in with some comments, I’m curious to know.  On to the review…

Alec Bradley Vice Press

Cigar: Alec Bradley Vice Press
Drink: Alexander Keith’s Dark Ale
Vitola: 6T4 (64×5)
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Sungrown
Binder: Costa Rican
Filler: Honduran, Nicaraguan and Mexican
Price: $7-$8
Burn Time: 1.75 Hours

Alec Bradley Vice Press

Construction:
-Middle is very firm but foot and cap are a perfect softness
-Dark brown color and a nice oily sheen
-Toasting took a bit longer than normal
-Heavily box pressed and rectangular shape
-Draw was dead-on perfect, surprising considering how firm the middle portion was
-The odd shape made it a little difficult to smoke properly

Alec Bradley Vice Press

Burn:
-Wrapper burn issues at the start, this was the same on all my samples
-Considering the size, the burn was rather quick for the first half but slowed down soon after that
-Required a few minor touch ups every once in awhile, probably related to the odd shape
-Wrapper stopped burning a few times near the end and needed to be touched up, this caused some bitterness

Alec Bradley Vice Press

Smoke:
-Tons of smoke in your mouth
-Lots of resting smoke
-Although there is a lot of smoke, it doesn’t feel very thick in your mouth
-The aroma had a nice sweetness to it

Alec Bradley Vice Press

Ash:
-Dark grey/black
-Not very strong and lots of flaking
-Barely passed the one inch mark before falling off

Alec Bradley Vice Press

Tasting Notes:
-Pre-light was a chocolaty barnyard scent
-Foot has more a prominent chocolate scent
-No flavor on my lips when dry
-Pre-light draw is more of the same flavors
-Initial draws were subtle with no strong flavors to mention
-After a few draws the chocolate flavors start to stand out, very nice
-Body for the first 3 inches or so was in the mild-medium range
-Retrohale had a small bite and a great finish with hints of coffee and chocolate
-About halfway through, it was leaving a dry itchy sensation on the back of my throat, nothing too bothersome but worth noting
-At about the half-way point, sweet tobacco and notes of coffee began to develop
-The bite in the retrohale got a little stronger after the halfway point, still a nice finish
-Body ramped up a bit to medium with about 2 inches left, the sweet tobacco and coffee flavors tapered off a bit
-The last few inches were mostly a mild chocolate flavor and a bit of sweet tobacco
-A little bit or bitterness crept in near the end, purging helped this a bit

Alec Bradley Vice Press

Final Thoughts:
-Correct the burn issues quickly cause the wrapper has some great flavors
-Great medium smoke for some daring beginners, but beware as the body gets to be a strong medium near the last bit
-The flavor profile was similar to a typical maduro, adding to it the natural sungrown flavors
-All of this line have very long burn time, the flavors are good but don’t change much and some people may find that boring

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