CigSid
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- Joined
- Jan 25, 2014
- Messages
- 6,222
It’s a beautiful summer night in Southern California, and I am sitting on the balcony off my bedroom…
This is my 2nd example from a UPE MAY 12 box I purchased 3 years ago, and it was stored at 68 percent RH.
I dry boxed it for 1 week at 62 percent RH.
The Cohiba Piramides Extra is a relatively large cigar. It comes in at a whopping 54 ring gauge and is 6.3 inches long.
This is beautiful... It is very smooth to the touch, firm, well rolled. Obviously an immense amount of skill went into creating this masterpiece.
As most of you know, while tobacco for other Cuban cigars only undergoes two fermentations, the leaves for Cohiba go through a third fermentation. All the key types of tobacco-- the ligero, seco and volado--are fermented a third time. The leaves are stacked and fermented in small wooden barrels in dark closets. The fermentation may take as long as 18 months depending on the tobacco. This costly process reduces the tar and nicotine, and gives Cohiba cigars their finesse and refinement…
Initial smell: leather, earth and rich tobacco
Cold draw: sweet hay, citrus and a little spice
Time to fire this baby up...
First 3rd:
As I light it up, I immediately get a grassy leathery cream, and a bit of citrus twang. The strength is a bit below medium.
Retro hale, mostly leather, some coffee and hay.
Strong dense ash, that is white as snow.
Near the end of the first 3rd, I start getting the grassy taste that Cohiba is so famous for, except this was a creamy sugary grass that was very pleasant.
I also taste some rich coffee notes that come and go.
Second 3rd
Citrus is back and dominates the palate, followed by a bit of honey and creamy leather. Strength is medium, and the burn is perfect.
Usually I am multitasking while enjoying a cigar, planning the next day, answering emails, etc... but tonight, this Piramides has grabbed my attention and has not let go...
At the half way point now and I get a blast of creamy leather and bitter chocolate that coats the entire mouth, the retro is a bit of white pepper and orange peel, very nice indeed...
I just realized how much I ate for dinner tonight, so I reach down and undo the top button of my pants and immediately feel a release of pressure... Ahhh, now I'm really relaxed...
Pairing this tonight with some fresh watermelon juice, which is really refreshing and also working very well as a palate cleanser...
Nearing the end of the second 3rd, and I'm noticing a nice lemon peel flavor combined with the ever present leather cream.
Final 3rd
Leather, chocolate, coffee, grass and a citrus twang take turns dominating with each puff, this is more enjoyable than I anticipated… the first one from this same box about 2 years ago was a bit bland and 1 dimensional, this one is much better.
Rich toasted tobacco, coffee and leather dominate the long finish, with a slight bit of pepper on top. The strength is medium full at this point. It's amazing how long the finish is... the last five puffs continuously melding together...
Cool creamy leather now dominates, with earth and coffee in the background.
The familiar buzzing of my phone breaks the hypnotic state I’m in just for a second, and then I think to myself, there is no way I am interrupting this amazing experience, as I draw a large amount of smoke and let it effortlessly spill out of my mouth and let the last bit flow through my nostrils ... The leather has changed, it is now deeper and richer and sweeter than before. The retro hale is now a smooth nutty peppery bliss.
A slightly bitter walnut comes and goes just as quickly, then more pepper, some coffee, and creamy earth as I am approaching the end... The leather and pepper combine beautifully in the thick long finish.
Nubbed:
Final notes:
Total burn time 1 hour and 43 minutes.
Much more complex than I had anticipated, which really captured my attention.
Even though the ring gauge is larger than I usually prefer, the tapered end made it feel very comfortable.
I scored this an easy 97, and really don't believe it can get much better than this, but I will revisit in another 6 months just to see...
Needless to say, I did burn my lips trying to get one more puff... But it was definitely worth it...
This is my 2nd example from a UPE MAY 12 box I purchased 3 years ago, and it was stored at 68 percent RH.
I dry boxed it for 1 week at 62 percent RH.
The Cohiba Piramides Extra is a relatively large cigar. It comes in at a whopping 54 ring gauge and is 6.3 inches long.
This is beautiful... It is very smooth to the touch, firm, well rolled. Obviously an immense amount of skill went into creating this masterpiece.
As most of you know, while tobacco for other Cuban cigars only undergoes two fermentations, the leaves for Cohiba go through a third fermentation. All the key types of tobacco-- the ligero, seco and volado--are fermented a third time. The leaves are stacked and fermented in small wooden barrels in dark closets. The fermentation may take as long as 18 months depending on the tobacco. This costly process reduces the tar and nicotine, and gives Cohiba cigars their finesse and refinement…
Initial smell: leather, earth and rich tobacco
Cold draw: sweet hay, citrus and a little spice
Time to fire this baby up...
First 3rd:
As I light it up, I immediately get a grassy leathery cream, and a bit of citrus twang. The strength is a bit below medium.
Retro hale, mostly leather, some coffee and hay.
Strong dense ash, that is white as snow.
Near the end of the first 3rd, I start getting the grassy taste that Cohiba is so famous for, except this was a creamy sugary grass that was very pleasant.
I also taste some rich coffee notes that come and go.
Second 3rd
Citrus is back and dominates the palate, followed by a bit of honey and creamy leather. Strength is medium, and the burn is perfect.
Usually I am multitasking while enjoying a cigar, planning the next day, answering emails, etc... but tonight, this Piramides has grabbed my attention and has not let go...
At the half way point now and I get a blast of creamy leather and bitter chocolate that coats the entire mouth, the retro is a bit of white pepper and orange peel, very nice indeed...
I just realized how much I ate for dinner tonight, so I reach down and undo the top button of my pants and immediately feel a release of pressure... Ahhh, now I'm really relaxed...
Pairing this tonight with some fresh watermelon juice, which is really refreshing and also working very well as a palate cleanser...
Nearing the end of the second 3rd, and I'm noticing a nice lemon peel flavor combined with the ever present leather cream.
Final 3rd
Leather, chocolate, coffee, grass and a citrus twang take turns dominating with each puff, this is more enjoyable than I anticipated… the first one from this same box about 2 years ago was a bit bland and 1 dimensional, this one is much better.
Rich toasted tobacco, coffee and leather dominate the long finish, with a slight bit of pepper on top. The strength is medium full at this point. It's amazing how long the finish is... the last five puffs continuously melding together...
Cool creamy leather now dominates, with earth and coffee in the background.
The familiar buzzing of my phone breaks the hypnotic state I’m in just for a second, and then I think to myself, there is no way I am interrupting this amazing experience, as I draw a large amount of smoke and let it effortlessly spill out of my mouth and let the last bit flow through my nostrils ... The leather has changed, it is now deeper and richer and sweeter than before. The retro hale is now a smooth nutty peppery bliss.
A slightly bitter walnut comes and goes just as quickly, then more pepper, some coffee, and creamy earth as I am approaching the end... The leather and pepper combine beautifully in the thick long finish.
Nubbed:
Final notes:
Total burn time 1 hour and 43 minutes.
Much more complex than I had anticipated, which really captured my attention.
Even though the ring gauge is larger than I usually prefer, the tapered end made it feel very comfortable.
I scored this an easy 97, and really don't believe it can get much better than this, but I will revisit in another 6 months just to see...
Needless to say, I did burn my lips trying to get one more puff... But it was definitely worth it...
