Camacho

American Barrel Aged

Decent cigar but wasn’t really for me.

Had a very difficult time just getting a draw just to light the cigar. Apparently it was out of the store's humidor for a long time before placed in the sampler that I purchased. First had trouble using a brand new punch to create a hole in the cap. Then there was ZERO draw until I ran my cigar reamer through the cigar twice. A closer look revealed that the last inch of the cigar was wrapped too tightly or something, because it was hard as a rock and just pushing the reamer through that last inch opened it up enough to be able to draw on the cigar. Burn was uneven throughout the smoking session. Only flavor note I could detect was sort of a "wood" note. No pepper...no spice...no other flavors...nothing but the wood note. Probably because the tobacco was "American Barrel Aged". Which, according to the blurb on the band, means that they took tobacco that has been aged for six years and placed it to finish in a bourbon barrel for another 5 months. The retrohale was easy on the nose, but in no way enhanced the taste of the cigar. Once I got the draw issue worked out the cigar smoked just fine. Changing the opening in the cap to a v cut greatly improved airflow. The rest of the session was the same. Uneven burn and only a wood note to the taste. Towards the very end it did develope an ashy flavor note, along with the wood note. My overall opinion is that the cigar was definitely dried out a fair amount. Not enough for the wrapper to start cracking and come apart. But enough to negatively effect the burn and the flavor. I'm going to say I hope this was just a bad apple and not an indication that the other cigars in the sampler will be the same.

Unlit smell revealed slight hints of Cocoa which got me excited for what this stick would bring. Cold draw picked up on a very strong grass/hay flavor. First third I got mostly leather and pepper flavors. However this is where the flavor ended for me. Transitioning into the second and final third of the cigar simply led to increasing pepper and leather flavors. I thought it to be a very one dimensional smoke in terms of flavor. The flavors weren't off-putting by any stretch but I was expecting a little more complexity. The good: the construction was impeccable; very even burn, the ash held on well, and the smoke was both very creamy and produced a great volume. Overall, for a quick smoke this cigar is fine, but somewhat underwhelming. Paired with an old fashioned, but still wasn't able to discern any of the barrel aged flavor I had expected.

Great cigar was recommended by local shop and a definite add to the favorites list.

The initial light was super intense but it's so smooth and actually pretty mild. Don't blow out nose. Makes for a great social smoke!