Here is my blind cigar review!
I will start out by saying that I know for sure that I have never smoked this cigar before this review. It has a very distinct look to it and a very unique pigtail cap, so I would remember if I had smoked one before. I will say, however, that based on the looks I had a pretty good idea of what this cigar may be before smoking it and revealing the band. I went to Reno shortly after Christmas and visited a few B&Ms there. While at one of the shops, a cigar had stuck out to me because of the funky twisted pigtail cap. Intrigued, because I had never seen a pigtail cap look like that before, I asked the guy about it. He then went on to tell me about Drew Estates and the history behind the Feral Flying Pig. My blind cigar looks just like the one at the shop, so based purely on looks alone, I assumed that it was in fact a Feral Flying Pig.
It’s about 45 degrees out tonight with a clear sky and not a breeze in sight. I am trying to relax and clear my head, as it has been a fairly stressful and rough week. Well here goes!
Prelight: The cigar has a maduro wrapper and is nice and firm with no soft spots. The aroma is dry grass hay and pleasant barnyard with a slight sweetness to it. I clipped the little piggy’s tail off and made him go wee wee wee all the way home…and then I torched his ass
Prior to lighting, I took a cold draw and I got spiciness to the lips and tasted hay, leather, and sweetness. As hard as the cigar feels, there is ample flow through it.
First 1/3: My first impression of this cigar is that it is very spicy with a little bit of sweetness, followed by an unusually strong aftertaste that I cannot distinguish. It is leaving a black pepper flavor on my throat and I am also picking up on both a leather and rich barnyard taste. As I progress through the first third, the cigar is changing a little bit. The spiciness is still overpowering and the subtle sweetness is still present, but now I can taste a bit of bitterness. The smoke is also dramatically increasing. I would say it is a medium bodied, yet strong cigar at this point.
Second 1/3: The spiciness has subsided some at this point, but I am getting some intermittent bursts of spiciness in the back of my throat. The sweetness is still present in the cigar, but it has evolved to a taste that resembles burnt sugar. I am still picking up on the leather and barnyard, but it is not as prevalent. The cigar is incredibly strong, full bodied and increasing. The force is strong with the ash, requiring me to vigorously tap it to get it off
Final 1/3: The cigar is still incredibly strong and only increasing. It is very spicy and I am tasting mostly black pepper at this point. I also feel like I am chewing on my leather sofa with each inhale of the cigar. My dog would definitely enjoy this
The volume of smoke is also continuing to increase as I smoke. I would say that it is definitely very full bodied. At this point I am definitely feeling a nicotine buzz and wishing I had a bigger meal before smoking this bad boy
Conclusion: Overall the cigar was very strong and had a lot of spicy-sweetness to it. It did not seem to evolve very much, except for the second third when the spiciness toned down a little bit. This is a lot stronger of a cigar than what I typically enjoy, but I can appreciate the intense flavors that this cigar had to offer.
Reveal: Upon opening the envelope, the cigar was in fact a Feral Flying Pig! And once again, I only knew that because of the unique pigtail cap and recently discovering it at a B&M. If it had not been for the unique shape of the cigar, I would have never been able to determine what it was. I am glad to have had the opportunity to try this cigar because I passed it up at the shop due to the strength description from the employee.
