Micallef Cigars Grande Bold Maduro in Review
WRAPPER: Ecuadorian
BINDER: Nicaraguan
FILLER: Nicaraguan
FORMAT: Robusto (552)
ORIGIN: Nicaragua
INTENSITY: Medium-full
NOTES:
Cedar | Potting soil | Dark chocolate
Welcome to the cedar show; toasty and enveloped in vegetal tidings. Dark and lively-alive there, and ditto at to earthen notes of densely packed potting soil. Sweetness is both inherent in the underbelly of the earthiness and in a distinct dark chocolate note. A bit kicky of a blend, particularly if not smoked slowly SMOKE SLOWLY or it overheats. Scans something like cocksure. Overly definitive, maybe.
Black & white peppercorns register on the retro-hale but sans accompanying spices--giving the profile a lack of depth there. Untethered, say. Not as smooth as I would have imagined. Patent leather savoriness develops in a salty corner of the soil, simply-so. Balanced nicely if not in a rudimentary manner. At a tick shy of mid-point, chocolate devolves into cocoa and folds into the earth. A nod toward anise happens next.
Operates without complaint but also unspectacularly--workmanlike. Decent. Draw, ash, roll, are all decent in exhibition and perhaps decent plus, even. Mainly just decent. Char is razor-thin and on a hiccup-y tho self-correcting line. Burns long and slow (if you show it who's boss) and packs 90mins of sand into an hourglass. All told, quite serviceable an offering. One which flirts with being unkind or at least dominating. Grades higher than it smokes.
TASTE: B
DRAW: A-
BURN: B+
BUILD: A
FINAL GRADE: A-
A 90-100 B 80-89 C 70-79 D 60-69 F 0-59
TASTE: B
DRAW: A-
BURN: B+
BUILD: A
FINAL GRADE: A-
A 90-100 B 80-89 C 70-79 D 60-69 F 0-59
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