WRAPPER: Honduran Corojo
BINDER: Cameroon
FILLER: Dominican, Nicaraguan, broadleaf.
FORMAT: Robusto box press
ORIGIN: Tabacalera El Artista, Dominican Republic
INTENSITY: Mild-medium/Medium
NOTES:
White pepper | Lemon meringue | Beach sand
Quite earthen, exhibited in a beach sand manner. Throw a beach blanket over that, but it's made of suede. Lemony and creamy (lemon meringue, say) with a bit of a toasty vibe attached. Graham cracker crust. Sweet, simply-so, via table sugar. Not cloying. Finely ground white pepper firms-up the profile, keeps it honest and structured. Floral-almost-perfumed on the back-end. Tastes a bit like summer.
Sunny not glaring not fogged, just nice. Well-balanced. Not at all complex really, but some aerated soft nuances. Fluffy. A bit of fine grit to the mouth-feel. Some dried pale fruit comes in at mid-point for a slight transition of sorts. Finishes sweet and easy if not breezy. Nothing spectacular but well-kind and with a bit of welcomed backbone. After the pale fruit addition, comes a far-away salted buttery cedar.
The ash stacks impressively. The draw is excellent. Burns evenly on a tick-wide mascara line. Seams aren't tight but don't loosen any further along the way. No hard/soft spots. A moderate amount of smoke out-put seems to pull-back after the mid-point. Sweet pale spice aroma, subtly. Not much of a room-note, maybe a hint of cardboard. A pleasant smoke. Unfortunately, I predict also a forgettable one.
TASTE: B+
DRAW: A-
BURN: A-
BUILD: B+
FINAL GRADE: B+
A 90-100 B 80-89 C 70-79
::: very :::