Tuesday, October 12, 2021

Ventura Cigar Co. Case Study CS/05 in Review

lo-fi & lovely

Ventura Cigar Co. Case Study CS/05 in Review

WRAPPER: Nicaraguan Habano Oscuro
BINDER: Mexican San Andres  
FILLER: Nicaraguan Habano

FORMAT: Toro (5.75x54) box-pressed
ORIGIN: Nicaragua (Plasencia)
INTENSITY: Medium

NOTES:
Hardwood | Baking spices | Anise

A smoky charred and airy bitter hardwood. An almost minty finish. OK. Complex but not always pleasantly-so. Generic baking spices. Anise mixed into finely-ground black pepper. Something umami-triggering (a watery Worcestershire) and something else leathery. A tough nut to crack, this. Oh, black walnut. Everything is sorta happening without borders or hierarchy, and all at once. Unchanging until purging fixes the 3/3's onset of pungency. Throughout, I feel like something not there is driving the profile. Odd. An LP of unplayed jazz notes.

Draws a bit snug, but not to any fault. Overly firm roll. Burn-line wobbles and neither needs nor accepts any real re-touches. Some crackling of top-leaf that springs a bit of a leak half-way up the cigar whilst smoking into the 2/3. It doesn't FUBAR but also doesn't exactly smoke clean-thru. It also probably doesn't help, and seems to contribute to, said wobble. Ash grows dense and long. Aroma is a sniffing of the tastes. Room-note is spicy leather and muted. Of note is a particularly lumpy hand-feel. Seams and cap assemblages hold well. Fair-to-good overall, but also rather lacking in oomph, pizzaz, & direction.

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

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

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::: very :::