BLEND: Signature Dual Wrap (2023)
FORMAT: Toro (652) Barber-pole
ORIGIN: Dominican Republic (Las Lavas)
INTENSITY: Medium
NOTES:
Lemon | White pepper | Sugary tea
Lemony lurchings at the onset, propelled forward in a jerky manner by white peppercorn. Way back is some sort of tea leaf with a tick of a minty attachment and I can almost be led to believe that this smoke might freshen my breath. Things settle back as the opening third dwindles. A terra-cotta clay earthiness soothes-some and then more-some as creamy dirt shovels in. Someone salts the earth.
It's a palate-drying high & tight blend still, but not untethered. Also, not quite balanced. Or complex. Some nuanced depths develop in the layers of earth. A bit of cereal grain. Some vegetal winks and white chocolate nods. By the half, it becomes somewhat jovially pleasant as a spoonful of sugar gets stirred in. Barber-poles always strike me as muddled but this one is lesser-so than the average.
Off the immediate light, a runner threatened but thankfully abated. The burn did operate forever-more on a tick of a curve. Ash built to not quite an inch per dump. Draw was fair. Smoke out-put was moderate-plus; smelled a bit like a fire at a factory where they make lemon candies. Apparently, I'm writing in the past tense. While not in my wheelhouse nor anything blindingly splendid, I did enjoy this smoke--it put a smile on my face.
One of those yellow "Have a nice day" ones.
TASTE: B
DRAW: B+
BURN: B
BUILD: B+
FINAL GRADE: B
A 90-100 B 80-89 C 70-79
::: very :::