WRAPPER: Mexican San Andres
BINDER: Dominican Olor
FILLER: Brazilian, Dominican, Nicaraguan
FORMAT: 555 "Rothschild Masivo"
ORIGIN: Agio Caribbean Tobacco, Dominican Republic
INTENSITY: Medium-full
NOTES:
Coffee | Black Pepper | Anise
All that above and italicized plus a movie theater box of Raisinets. But more again to the stated above. Coffee is in French roasted beans form, the note evolves but not all the way to the pour; instead stopping at being ground and tamped on the way to the pull. Black pepper is simple enough flakes at a fairly high but not abrasive level. Anise travels along sometimes acting as licorice, sometimes as sarsaparilla.
Underneath and behind all that are darkly-toasted heavy grains (barley, buckwheat) strewn upon thick hidey savory leather. A retro-hale adds some paprika and cumin spice to the affair but only needs to be done every so slight-scorchy often. Once that drops to the palate, there is a brief but goodly look at saffron and mushroom. This thing is quite entertaining. Woods are a part of a mid-point transition, in a hickory and mesquite manner.
Well-balanced, delineated, complex. The finish is of long-length, carrying a bit of a Merlot addition to top-notes. Ends in a slight charcoal vibe. You can tell there's a lot of flavors to unpack if I'm still unpacking in the third paragraph. Construction & combustion are no less impressive. Builds long dense ash from an even 'nuff, thin line. Draws silky-smooth. Assemblage holds. Burn rate is slow. Smoke out-put is moderate, lingering about in sweet-savory room-note fashion.
TASTE: A
DRAW: A-
BURN: A-
BUILD: A-
FINAL GRADE: A-
A 90-100 B 80-89 C 70-79
::: very :::