BLEND: Dragon Fire
WRAPPER: Mexican
BINDER: Nicaraguan
FILLER: Nicaraguan, Dominican, Honduran
FORMAT: Robusto Gordo (560) Semi-closed foot
ORIGIN: Nicaragua
INTENSITY: Medium-full
SPICE: 4/5
NOTES:
Black pepper | Dark chocolate | Black coffee
The not-just-flat-but-pressed-flat cap is a neat schtick bit but makes it a tick tough to cut. I refuse to use a punch. Nevertheless, my necktie only got caught in the ceiling fan once during the snipping, and here we go. The profile is really just a plucked line of black pepper which has more feels than taste. Vibrations of dark chocolate and black coffee. A bit of cola. Half-bit of black licorice. Not much nuance and a somewhat jittery-excitable structure.
Draws well (objective) but feels a little awkward in the mouth, and is hard to seal the lips around (subjective). Punch loves to marry to a bit, and I applaud that. It's a real firework vibe. Burn happens on a constant wave that needs manual redirection once in each third. The mascara line is thin, indicative of nice age, but the experience as a whole feels somewhat young. The seams and cap hold fast and the well-packed barrel is done-so evenly.
Out the nose (retro-hale) exists a peppered molasses of sharp thinness. In the nose (aroma) is a leathery pepper. That leather takes till the halfway mark to be only a little evident on the draw, and brings in some savory earthiness--it isn't enough to stave off a somewhat linear session. I'd like to come back to this one in 2025, as it should age quite well.
TASTE: B
DRAW: B+
BURN: B
BUILD: A-
FINAL GRADE: B
A 90-100 B 80-89 C 70-79
::: very :::