Don Doroteo Cigars El Legado 1936 in Review

BRAND: Don Doroteo
BLEND: El Legado 1936

WRAPPER: Ecuadorian Sumatra
BINDER: Ecuadorian Sumatra
FILLER: Colombian, Dominican, Nicaraguan

FORMAT: Robusto
ORIGIN: Dominican Republic
INTENSITY: Medium
SPICE: 2/5

NOTES:
Citrus | Graham Cracker | Milk Chocolate

Graham cracker, citrus, and a fluffy-toasted cream filling-topping conjures up Meringue pie imagery. Dessert spices hint at apples, peaches. Buttery cedar structures. Milk chocolate shavings top it off. Silty sandy-clay saltiness. Silky earthiness. Slow-mo action. Deliberate not dull. Consistent not unchanging.

TASTE: A-
DRAW: B+
BURN: A-
BUILD: A-

FINAL GRADE: A-
A 90-100 B 80-89 C 70-79

::: very ::: 

CAO Cigars Arcana Series Stokk in Review

BRAND: CAO
BLEND: Stokk

WRAPPER: American Broadleaf
BINDER: Nicaraguan
FILLER: Dominican, Cyprian Latakia, Honduran

FORMAT: Belicoso (6.5x52)
ORIGIN: Nicaragua
INTENSITY: Medium-full
SPICE: 2/5

NOTES:
A bit like a campfire kindled with pencil shavings. Oranges roasting over-top in cast iron. Creosote and anise. Black pepper and chicory. Grows smoky-more towards the half and on-down as back-loaded Latakia takes hold. (But you've been smoking through it all along.) Straight-ahead single-minded pungent marching. Fast-paced, unwavering; entrenching. Resistance is futile.

TASTE: B
DRAW: A-
BURN: B+
BUILD: B+

FINAL GRADE: B
A 90-100 B 80-89 C 70-79

::: very ::: 

Cohiba Cigars Rubicon in Review

BRAND: Cohiba
BLEND: Rubicon

WRAPPER: Ecuadorian Habano
BINDER: American Broadleaf
FILLER: Dominican, Honduran, Nicaraguan

FORMAT: Robusto (5.5x55) box-press
ORIGIN: Honduras (HATSA)
INTENSITY: Medium/Med.-Full
SPICE: 2.5/5

NOTES:
Mulling Spice | Dried Orange Peel | Oiled Leather

Add to the primary notes italicized above: An up close stone minerality, unsweetened chocolate, manure, pecan, and faraway apricot; in that order of distance. Draws a half-tick stubbornly. Burns evenly. Holds assemblage stoically. Splendid ash. Consistent and sating, if not in possession of great depth.

TASTE: B+
DRAW: B
BURN: A-
BUILD: B+

FINAL GRADE: B+
A 90-100 B 80-89 C 70-79

::: very ::: 

Room101 Cigars Namakubi Chingon Ltd. 2024 in Review

BRAND: Room101
BLEND: Namakubi Ltd. 2024

WRAPPER: San Andres Maduro
BINDER: Sumatran
FILLER: American (PA), Nicaraguan, Dominican

FORMAT: Chingon (5.5x60) Figurado (Perfecto)
ORIGIN: Dominican Republic
INTENSITY: Medium-full
SPICE: 3/5

NOTES:
Mocha Latte (extra shot) | Ginger Snaps | Seasoned Oak

Roasts and toasts; gaining depth and complexities throughout. An evolving transition, neither herky nor jerky. Molasses. Pink, green, and black peppercorns. A bit of a mash bill, heavy on rye. Barnyard and saddles. A stout, bracing thing but not bullying. Pumpernickel.

Dried leaves (duh) and topsoil olfactory. Goodly smoke out-put. Slow, well-paced burn works on a tick of a wobble. Hair's breadth mascara line. A slightly hesitant draw opens smoothly. Ash don't stack tall, but zero flakes. Seams stay tight as I do--'enjoying' a chilly PNW fall evening as I imbibe, scribe.

Could use an ever-slight touch more meat on its big bones.

TASTE: A-
DRAW: B+
BURN: B+
BUILD: A

FINAL GRADE: A-
A 90-100 B 80-89 C 70-79

::: very :::