Monday, October 13, 2025

Kiki Momo Cigars Toro Designer 2 in Review

BRAND: Kiki Momo
BLEND: Designer 2

WRAPPER: Maduro
(Habano flourishes, Candela moon)
BINDER: Nicaraguan
FILLER: Nicaraguan

FORMAT: Toro (6.5x54) Box-press
ORIGIN: Nicaragua
INTENSITY: Mild-med./Medium
SPICE: 1/5

NOTES:

More foot than mouth smoke. Nice olfactories. Even a classic smell to pre-lit top-leaf. Palate-wise, a whisper-bit of flat chocolate soda spilt into top-soil. Cedar-anise. Tree bark? Pine cones? Outdoorsy, but I'm upwind.

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

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

::: very ::: 

Friday, October 10, 2025

Baccarat Cigars Rothschild in Review

BRAND: Baccarat
BLEND: Baccarat

WRAPPER: Connecticut Shade
BINDER: Mexican
FILLER: Honduran

FORMAT: Rothschild (550)
ORIGIN: Honduras (Camacho)
INTENSITY: Mild-Medium
SPICE: 1.5/5

NOTES:
Lemon | Sandy Soil | Caramel

Lightly sweetened skin(nards), coarse innards. Earthen forward in a cacti potting soil featuring excellent drainage, aeration manner--rough grit. Lemon, candied, a white peppercorn catch. Not smooth, but mild. Half-strength sparring leg kicks. Caramel, maybe nougat. Imperfect but hands-free construction, combustion.

TASTE: B
DRAW: B
BURN: B+
BUILD: B+

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

::: very ::: 

Monday, October 6, 2025

Kiki Momo Cigars Patriot Cigar in Review

BRAND: Kiki Momo
BLEND: Patriot Cigar

WRAPPER: Habano // Maduro
BINDER: Nicaraguan
FILLER: Nicaraguan

FORMAT: Torpedo (61/8x52) Barber-pole
[Maduro stars, Habano bars]
ORIGIN: Nicaragua
INTENSITY: Medium
SPICE: 2/5

NOTES:
White toast | Nutter butter | White/Red pepper

Move over, "You'll be farting through silk." Hello, "You'll be spitting out stars." That was my thought exactly, as I spit out the aforementioned Maduro stars. A couple got in my mouth, see.

Serviceable smoke, Excellent visual appeal. People eat with their eyes, why not smoke with them too? As a disclaimer, I am not speaking in a literal sense. I'm not even speaking. I am typing.

Palate-wise, a smooth thing with not much complexity or delineation, but a nudge of pepper hither-thither. Sandy citrus notes tucked into thin suede. A bit of floral salinity and a distant apple butter.

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

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

::: very ::: 

Friday, October 3, 2025

Kiki Momo Cigars Belicoso Pigtail Maduro in Review

BRAND: Kiki Momo
BLEND: Maduro

WRAPPER: Maduro
BINDER: Nicaraguan
FILLER: Nicaraguan

FORMAT: (656) Belicoso* Pigtail
ORIGIN: Nicaragua
INTENSITY: Medium
SPICE: 1.5/5

NOTES:
Chocolate | Black pepper | Whole Wheat flour

Bread's proofing, oven's pre-heating. Hints of French hot chocolate on the breath of someone speaking to you from across a room. A single peppercorn under your tongue, a shot of booze, taken hours before. Cardboard bits here/there. Soft. Smooth. Shy? Opening burn issues even-out.

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

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

*more of a Perfecto or double-ended Torpedo vitola, I'd say, but I'm not going to argue. Plus, I could be wrong. It happens. One time, I thought I was wrong, but I was actually correct. We all make mistakes.

::: very :::