My Father Cigars Le Bijou 1922 Churchill in Review
WRAPPER: Habano Oscuro-oscuro
BINDER: Nicaraguan
FILLER: Nicaraguan
FORMAT: Churchill
ORIGIN: Nicaragua
INTENSITY: Med.-Full
NOTES:
Chocolate | Espresso | Spiced grains
TASTE: A
DRAW: A-
BURN: B+
BUILD: A-
FINAL GRADE: A-
A 90-100 B 80-89 C 70-79 D 60-69 F 0-59
Of course, you get that Pepin ground black and red flake pepper blast in the first few puffs. That clears into a molasses-heavy but not cloying sweetness. Chocolate is a primary note existing somewhere between chocolate bread and burnt brownie corner. Also, a segment of that gets a rye grain coffee bean attachment that scans there as Russian black bread. All along, the cocoa is decadently supple, nuanced, and complex--as is the rest of the profile. Spices: cumin, clove, cinnamon. It does not try hard. Correction--it tries hard not to try hard. Refrain.
The midsection ballons with leather and oils, dripping-down into plush black soils. Umami-drenched. Barnyard. Manure. Lip-smacking, and when you smack them lips of yours on the long finish, there's a definite glimpse of plantain. The whole thing is structured superbly-so via a true cedar that's sweetly-spiced and a tick citrusy-floral. Excellent balance. Great silky weight. I love re-visiting blends to remind myself of how much and why I appreciate their goodness. Here, it's simply displayed, delightfully austere. A rationed ostentatiousness.
Burn-line happens unevenly through the 1/3 but a hard re-direct holds throughout the remainder of the experience. I usually don't mention initial redirects but this was, as stated, a big and stubbornly-met retouch. In the late 2/3 to opening 3/3, there is some softening of packing that happens the draw a 1/2-tick. Come the nub, it's back to form as I spear it with a toothpick, greedily, cheapskatedly. All else-wise performed at the least admirably. Dense clinging ash, excellent smoke out-put; this culminated in a classical room-note of what I call gentleman's study. The leather, the wood paneling, the books. Speaking of which, this is a blend for the books.
Burn-line happens unevenly through the 1/3 but a hard re-direct holds throughout the remainder of the experience. I usually don't mention initial redirects but this was, as stated, a big and stubbornly-met retouch. In the late 2/3 to opening 3/3, there is some softening of packing that happens the draw a 1/2-tick. Come the nub, it's back to form as I spear it with a toothpick, greedily, cheapskatedly. All else-wise performed at the least admirably. Dense clinging ash, excellent smoke out-put; this culminated in a classical room-note of what I call gentleman's study. The leather, the wood paneling, the books. Speaking of which, this is a blend for the books.
TASTE: A
DRAW: A-
BURN: B+
BUILD: A-
FINAL GRADE: A-
A 90-100 B 80-89 C 70-79 D 60-69 F 0-59
::: very :::