Reliable review, with 2+ years of rest now. The flavor portrays aged tobacco with notes of coffee, pepper, and hints of cream. The draw was smooth with plenty of smoke. The burn wavered but only needed minor corrections.
Reliable review, with 23 months of rest on this one. The flavor brings out aged tobacco with notes of coffee, pepper, and subtle hints of cream. A smooth airy draw with plenty of smoke. The wrapper cracked a little bit it still smoked well.
Rocky Patel - Disciple.
6 x 52 Toro.
Wrapper -Mexican San Andres.
Binder - Nicaraguan.
Filler - Nicaraguan.
Strength - Medium bodied throughout.
Construction - Nice wrapping, beautiful color, not super oily but held together nicely.
Band - Elegant banding, prestigious foot band, elegant with copper/burnt sienna and black coloring. It almost looks like lacing, which draws the eye.
Draw - Good draw early through the first 1/3 into the second 1/3, but tightened up a bit in the back end of the second 1/3, and was a hard pull from there.
Burn line - Really consistent line that needed very little touch ups at all. The ash was white/light grey, and held up like a steel beam. Good amount of smoke, but would have liked more.
1st 1/3 - From the light up, and straight into the fist retrohale, this cigar let me know the tone and taste it was aiming for throughout. That taste was mocha! Added into the the mix was a slight nuttiness, I’d say creamy cashew. On the back end of my pallet there was a slight earthiness, but it was more sweet than vegetation. I’m thinking the flavor profile was more or less dried fruits, like prune or plum. I get a little bit of a peppery mix of red and black peppers in the retrohale, but nothing too overwhelming.
2nd 1/3 - I’m going with mocha on this because there isn’t enough coffee to say coffee, and it also isn’t vibrantly chocolate. I feel like mocha is a combination of chocolate and coffee without being either one. Some subtle notes of cedar are starting to creep in with any hint of cashew ushering its way out.
Final 1/3 - Cedar, dried prune, and some earthy root veggies are starting to slightly creep their way in. The smoke was less abundant, and the draw was tighter to pull going into this final 1/3.
The Verdict - This was a nice looking stick, smooth smoke, but not silky. It was consistent throughout in flavor profile, so there is a lot to say about that. However, this cigar was just lacking that certain jenesaisquoi and I couldn’t place my finger on it. I just wanted more… I needed more, and it left me wanting. It had a lot of good underlying flavors, but it just didn’t pop! It was nice, but I was hoping for more wow factor. It also didn’t help that I smoked it outdoors in a frosty 20 degree December night in the Northeast, US. I’d like to try this again indoors or in the Spring. Not a bad smoke by any means, but I can’t get a hold on whether it was the cigar that was missing something, or if the conditions/elements didn’t allow me to enjoy it as much.
18 months of rest on this one. The flavor brings out aged tobacco with notes of coffee, pepper, and subtle hints of cream. A smooth airy draw with plenty of smoke.
A very consistent cigar! From start to finish it held up its medium to full strength, burn and tasting notes. An oily wrapper that smelled a hint of chocolate. Using a “V” cut, I could taste chocolate on the cold draw. A well constructed cigar that held its ash well over 2”. Tasting notes of coffee and a hint of caramel throughout the three thirds. I’m glad I bought a pack of 5!
Having a stick with my boy Ben at CI down in Ft Worth. Definitely a place to check out!
As for the cigar, it was still pretty good but the Bala was better than the Sixty. * $14.50
