Sunday, July 28, 2019

Artesano del Tobacco Cigars Viva la Vida | Cigar Review Redux by Kaplowitz

"LoFi & lovely."

Artesano del Tobacco
Viva la Vida

WRAPPER: Nicaraguan Habano Oscuro 2000
BINDER: Nicaraguan Corojo 99
FILLER: Nicaraguan Criollo 98

FORMAT: Robusto (554)
ORIGIN: Esteli, Nicaragua
BLENDER: AJ Fernandez
STRENGTH: Full

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NOTES:
Powerfully purposeful. Peppery. Alright! Alliteration aside already. Black pepper and cayenne, boldly-so; upfront but not dialing back a whole bunch. Spices: smoked paprika, cumin, cinnamon, clove. Slight ginger (particularly extending on/into lengthy+ finish.) 

Undertones are licorice, hibiscus, plums. There is bigness in the lower middlings which almost wrap around to the top & definitely do steer the profile -- dense Cuban coffee & dark chocolate. Underbelly is compost, barnyard, leather. Manure.

Performance is superb. Dead-even char. Languid pacing. Thick solid ash. The draw is a smooth & even gate-to-wire medium+ tension. Plentiful smoke out-put yields a dark almost somber leather & spice room-note.

FINAL GRADE: A
A 90-100 B 80-89 C 70-79 D 60-69 F 0-59

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