BLEND: Valle Verde
WRAPPER: Mexican San Andres
BINDER: Sungrown Cameroon
FILLER: Mexican, Nicaraguan
FORMAT: Toro
ORIGIN: Honduras (HATSA)
INTENSITY: Medium
NOTES:
Ground pepper | Pine nuts | Molasses
Spearmint and other vegetal notes. Avacado and lime candies. Hold on--that can't be right--let me take this green band off. OK. It's amazing how the human mind works. There's a really interesting complexity of spices and (yes) herbs. White & black pepper, clove, and a hint of nutmeg. Something like sage? I'm hiding the band. It all plays next to and somewhat folds into a sweet-mineral graphite earthiness.
Brined mushrooms are somewhere in that earthiness. What an intriguing smoke. Very complex and those complexities come on in layers. Aside from that, look-sees at a (weakly)structuring oak cask, then thin molasses, and black tea. Chocolate wafers sans sugar. Much sweeter through the nose, with a bit of table sugar there and coarser black pepper. Some rather distinct notes or at least uncommon spins on them.
I'm gonna say it... pine needles. Maybe pine nuts. The draw is exceptionally smooth. The burn-line is razor-thin and even as all heck. Flawless toothy wrapper, tight seams, well-constructed cap. No hard/soft spots. That tooth is all over the silvery-white ash that is both a show-er and a grower. Big yet kindly smoke out-put and a sweet-spicy aroma. Oh, this is quite, quite good. I'm whistling Greensleeves.
TASTE: A-
DRAW: A-
BURN: A-
BUILD: A-
FINAL GRADE: A-
A 90-100 B 80-89 C 70-79
::: very :::