WRAPPER: Ecuadorian Sumatra
BINDER: Connecticut Broadleaf
FILLER: Nicaraguan, Honduran, Dominican
FORMAT: 6.125 x 40/54 Figurado
ORIGIN: Honduras (HATSA)
INTENSITY: Medium
NOTES:
Citrus | Caramel | Paprika
Citrus and white pepper out-of-the-gate in a slightly muffled boom. They settle in and evolve warmly, digging trenches via their progression. Citrus churns out its own paprika accompaniment, as does white pepper find an at the time independent sweet cedar. Caramel comes onboard. All swirl about in a delineated although bleeding-over-boundaries manner. Paprika picks up other red spice accompaniments and steers slowly, easily. Supple pale leather laid out over dirt trail under-belly. A lingering glance at black tea leaves.
Exceptionally well-balanced and consistent. Transitions make sense as aforementioned evolutions and never occur in a jarring manner. Nicely nuanced, complex enough. A goodly creamy body that lasts into a sweet lightly-spiced finish. On the far-end there is an ashy quality of the variety normally found in a tray bottom. Or on a tabletop, if you use a cigar rest. This proves to progress alongside other more kindly progressions, then drops off at mid-point. Whew! At all times, an excellent smoke, at some times a bit of a sedated but wacky near-riot.
Insofar as performance, a ding is a tight draw. While expected in this type of format, it is particularly snug in the opening-third, to the point of concern. It almost won't smoke out-of-the-gate. It loosens, but never all the way. By the bulge, you at least get a sated smoke-hole. Thereafter, you get a lot of a quite thin in the hand and lips feeling stick. That said, all else in terms of construction and combustion is A1. (Now I think I tasted diluted steak sauce.) The ash is notably solid as are seams and cap. Smokes like lazily side-stepping a charging bull during a calm late-Spring picnic.
TASTE: A-
DRAW: B
BURN: A
BUILD: A-
FINAL GRADE: A-
A 90-100 B 80-89 C 70-79
::: very :::