PROLOGUE
I've been sitting on this one a while. Lettuce see, gentlepersons --
THE CIGAR
La Aroma de Cuba
Mi Amore
7 x 50 Churchill Box-pressed
w. Mexican
b. Nicaraguan
f. Nicaraguan
PRE-LIGHT
A thick veiny toothy and nigh foreboding of a visual texture. Seams are a tick looser than tight, but even. Veins are all directed vertically and whilst some are broad, none seem a potential impediment and too, are smooth 'nuff on hand-feel. Complexion is a dark cocoa and mainly evenly so. There's a far under-belly hue of a goldenrod surprise which is picked up by the yellow of this Mi Amore's lovely classically inspired band. There are some lumps in the shaft, nothing egregious, and a good deal of spiderweb veins and an espresso marbling over top the leaf and under the tooth. Over it all is a quite matte finish that lends a wood/leather look to the thing. Foot tobacco is eyeballed to a medium+ density and is verily a brunette with near equal parts mousy brown.Hand-feel is that toothiness. Dry but not without some life. Superb balance in the hand and of a good heft. Charmin squeeze shows a medium+ density, evenly so and with a lively springing-back. I clip the cap with my Xikar Xi2 and the draw is a tad tight. I clip another sliver and it's set at a -full tension. Cold notes are delivered on a nutty pumpernickel pushing thick rich cocoa and woods ahead.
LIGHT
Toasting the foot with a wooden match is a bit of a patient affair, but happens evenly and so forth -- all good, gentlepersons. Cigars are, after all, flammable. The aroma surrounding the event is pepper seasoned hardwoods. Peppery wood is primary on the first hot pull, and right alongside that, perhaps a tick or two behind, is a sinful creamy dark chocolate note. There's a somewhat candy bar attachment to it, say nougat."Nougat."
"Thanks."
Second hottie a retro-hale of a ton of finely ground black pepper which drops to my sweet chocolate palate and whips up some toasted cream. Espresso is poured into the finish. Medium legs there. A third pull high-lights the nutty middling of roasted almonds and candied pecans. It all balances together. Very nuanced, as each note morphs a tick. Quite complex, as that morphing lends from its neighbor across easy delineations.
Ash is white and a tooth covered sheath. Burn is even, its line razor-thin. As I type, the under a 1/2 of burnt offering I've accumulated, dumps. I reach for my schmatta, somewhat perplexed. Draw remains in the -ful spectrum of tension, but has eased a notch. Smoke out-put is satiating to the smoke-hole, a somber smolder off its foot. Room-note is a spicy wood with a bit of sweet dark breadiness.
ACT I
There's a molasses in the pumpernickel now, after a couple more pulls on this La Aroma de Cuba. A new complexity is a definite nougat attaching itself both to the chocolate and to the nuts. Finish is sweetening and lengthening... the espresso there is met with a soaring and flexing chocolate from the draw. Creaminess ramps up. medium+ bodied, medium+ flavors, and a mild+ strength for right meow. Texture is verily luxurious, dahhhlink. Draw tension is still priming me to suck the chrome off a bumper. Woods have become suddenly cedar and a red to purple fruit note floods the lower middlings. Pepper oomph has dialed back to expose all/both that/those things. Cedar sharpens some on another pull and pushes top o' the middlings, govnah.Sarsaparilla finds the fruit-cum-black cherry. A licorice vibe haunts the background. Such flavors, epis! A salted meat comes in and all primary tastes are here for the tasting, replete with a commendable balance. No real acidity, zilch bite -- richly smooth. The regrown ash is silvery and toothy like tooth is going outta style. Burn stays even 'nuff and out-put of smoke is on the upping. Again! I mention the ash and a bit more than a half-inch dumps. I break it apart and it's quite dense. Dry. Seams all hold and no softening of pack nor rounding of press hath yet occurred. Very clean post-finish. Retro-hale now has some floral attachments to the fruit, darkly so. Under-belly is composting. At the opening act's close, chocolate is a gourmet bakery's brownie.
ACT II
I start the second act with rolling the cap-end betwixt my thumb and pointer. Draw loosens to a medium+ after a pull or two. Too, I get a ton more smoke. Room-note now has a leathery fruitiness added in. Leather is amping up on the draw too, and it's laid across the compost under-belly. A hint at red wine drips in up high. A heavier grain is in the bread now and its a wet (meat) and dry (grain) umami-driven savoryfest. Chocolate bounds. Sheesh. Flavors hit full in a - manner. Body is a dampening cream, sweating out oils via toasting. Pepper has re-established as more of a mouth-feel tingle strewn from the seasoned cedar.Edges soften a bit, as doth packing. Seams hold fast. Very nicely paced combustion. Ash flirts with making an inch... kenahora... please excuse my superstitious Yinglish, gentlepersons. No dice. Falls. I'm OK with calling it an inch. Whom don't lie about having a bissell more? Draw is nice now. This is made at the My Father factory, no? An old blend bought back by Ashton. Very My Father of a profile. Very earthy now -- dark rich black topsoil. There is some top-leaf tsuris betwixt the primary and secondary bands. I'm approaching them with a keen and careful eye. Black bread meAts black soil, verily so. Sprinkled liberally with black pepper, braced with a seasoned cedar. Still and too, the brownie soars on a creamy cloud. Strength up-ticks to a comfy medium.
ACT III
Lettuce begin here by removing the bands... OK, no mishap! Still, the loose bit of leaf is there, but not grown. It loosens a seam at the char and leaks a bit, we shall hope the crack gets smoked through as if at a Whitney Houston hosted shindig. Earth comes around over-top of profile from the underneaths. Dampens. A dark tobacco core sits centered in the middle. Spinning around that core are notes of brownie, pepper, leather, and cedar. Flecks of fruits and sarsaparilla flit about playfully. I lost the floral bits on the draw, but they vibe in on the semi-sweet finish. Big transition, one to rival Mr. Jenner's -- I mean Ms Jenner's. Apologies, gentlepersons.Pace slows solemnly so. Draw snugs up a sluggish bit. Since Ms. Houston hath passed, a bit of a re-touch is needed to smoke through the crack... just a quickie-one. Creamy nougat chocolate leaps up. Pepper dials back. Cream finds cedar. Dessert is being served. Dessert has two Ss, desert one -- because everyone wants a second helping of dessert. I'd like a second helping of La Aroma de Cuba Mi Amore, please and thank ya.
PAIRINGS
Concord Grape Manishewitz. This screams for that, gentlepersons.
SMOKE TIME
90mins
FINAL GRADE
****A-****
EPILOGUE
Please keep the soul of my son in your heart and mind on the morrow. I will be lighting the yahrzeit in his memory. Henry Kaplowitz ben Noach Kaplowitz.L'shalom