Kingantz
Growing too fast.
What a weekend. The weather report called for freezing rain for Friday night and sure enough, Saturday morning we woke up to rain with everything iced over. It rained for a couple more hours after it got light out, however stopped the rest of the day (luckily). However, enough had come down to leave heavy ice in the trees. We have several very tall loblolly pines in the back that swayed lazily in the brisk wind blowing and made us quite nervous about limbs, or the whole top of the tree breaking off. I moved the cars to the front of the house and not ten minutes later there was a loud pop and a huge limb halfway up the tallest tree came crashing down taking a couple other limbs with it. It all hit the ground with a heavy thump and loud crash. The wife came flying out the back door freaking out.
This morning I woke up to blue sky and bright sunlight coming in through the blinds. After a bite to eat and coffee, I donned my knit cap, coat, and gloves, grabbed another of the Savinelli received from my dear friend Matthew (Anthem), and headed out the back door to check things out. After taking a walk around the yard and snapping a few pictures, I decided it was decent enough out to go ahead and put fire to the cigar.
Construction was excellent on the rather large Toro Grande with chocolate brown colored Ecuadorian Habano wrapper, noticeable oil, and several prominent veins throughout. Squeezing it in several places, I found it firm with a good weight in the hand and good bunching of the Nicaraguan tobaccos in the foot. I used the largest ring on my knife to punch the large cap and found a perfect resistance in the draw with sweet taste of tobacco coming through.
It was still cold on the back porch, the temperature gauge reading 31F, and my Z-Plus Zippo didn’t care much for it being so cold as it was quite stubborn when trying to light. After several clicks however, blue flame appeared, and I slowly put fire to the foot. After a short time, the foot was engulfed in glowing orange embers and the sweet, rich smell of burning tobacco wafted to my nose. After a couple quick puffs, I took a slow, long draw and was greeted with a perfect amount of medium spice on the back of the tongue and throat; not as powerful as the Savinelli Liga Especial I smoked several days ago. The smoke was a good medium strength with a smooth, creamy body that was a bit heavy on the palate. What really grabbed my attention was the absolutely incredible richness in the flavor that made me stop and stare at the cigar. Wow was it good or what?! I was smacking my lips from just the first draw! There was a deliciously sweet caramel coffee taste with that twang I enjoy so much in a good cigar.
I walked around to the side of the house where there was not much wind and the sun was quite warm. Out across the yard, in and around the huge cedar tree, were hundreds of birds feeding on what I surmise was the small bluish seeds from the tree. I took a few steps forward and zoomed in with the camera taking several pictures, and within several seconds something (probably me) spooked them and the sky suddenly filled with birds and the sound of hundreds of wings flapping; amazing. That, and the ice on the trees glistening in the sun, the sound of the ice cracking and melting all around.
Back to the cigar, the burn was sharp with a light gray ash forming from the wrapper, however the binder/filler a bit darker. The smoke continued to be smooth, almost creamy over the palate and a good medium to almost full strength with the same perfect amount of spice on the back of the throat. I was really enjoying the somewhat heavy body that seemed rather thick, leaving the same incredibly rich flavor that I just could not get enough of. I exhale slowly through the nose and mouth, savoring the long, lasting finish.
Through the halfway mark, the burn on the seemingly thick wrapper wanted to go to one side but only very slightly, requiring no touching-up. I found the draw, although still good, started to get tighter, and I noticed a small amount of tar had formed on the head. I grabbed my Palio and clipped a bit off and the draw opened up perfectly. I will say at this point, with the draw opened up, the smoke became full-bodied and perfect for my palate.
Everything remained quite consistent through the rest of the smoke; perfect draw, delicious flavor, lasting finish, however right as the burn headed into the final third, the cigar went out rather quickly. After tapping the ash off I saw why. There was a fairly large empty space right in the center of the ash that went down a ways. I put the torch to it, took a few quick puffs, and was back in business in no time at all.
This was an absolutely fantastic smoke that actually burned rather slow, which was a good thing as I thoroughly enjoyed it from the very beginning to nubby end. It was one of those cigars that even after finishing, I wanted more. I’d really love to have some of these in a smaller format, something like a petit corona or lancero. You hear me Matthew? :laugh: Thank you my friend for the opportunity to sample such a fine cigar. I’m really looking forward to the last one, a Savinelli Special Selection 2005.
This morning I woke up to blue sky and bright sunlight coming in through the blinds. After a bite to eat and coffee, I donned my knit cap, coat, and gloves, grabbed another of the Savinelli received from my dear friend Matthew (Anthem), and headed out the back door to check things out. After taking a walk around the yard and snapping a few pictures, I decided it was decent enough out to go ahead and put fire to the cigar.
Construction was excellent on the rather large Toro Grande with chocolate brown colored Ecuadorian Habano wrapper, noticeable oil, and several prominent veins throughout. Squeezing it in several places, I found it firm with a good weight in the hand and good bunching of the Nicaraguan tobaccos in the foot. I used the largest ring on my knife to punch the large cap and found a perfect resistance in the draw with sweet taste of tobacco coming through.
It was still cold on the back porch, the temperature gauge reading 31F, and my Z-Plus Zippo didn’t care much for it being so cold as it was quite stubborn when trying to light. After several clicks however, blue flame appeared, and I slowly put fire to the foot. After a short time, the foot was engulfed in glowing orange embers and the sweet, rich smell of burning tobacco wafted to my nose. After a couple quick puffs, I took a slow, long draw and was greeted with a perfect amount of medium spice on the back of the tongue and throat; not as powerful as the Savinelli Liga Especial I smoked several days ago. The smoke was a good medium strength with a smooth, creamy body that was a bit heavy on the palate. What really grabbed my attention was the absolutely incredible richness in the flavor that made me stop and stare at the cigar. Wow was it good or what?! I was smacking my lips from just the first draw! There was a deliciously sweet caramel coffee taste with that twang I enjoy so much in a good cigar.
I walked around to the side of the house where there was not much wind and the sun was quite warm. Out across the yard, in and around the huge cedar tree, were hundreds of birds feeding on what I surmise was the small bluish seeds from the tree. I took a few steps forward and zoomed in with the camera taking several pictures, and within several seconds something (probably me) spooked them and the sky suddenly filled with birds and the sound of hundreds of wings flapping; amazing. That, and the ice on the trees glistening in the sun, the sound of the ice cracking and melting all around.
Back to the cigar, the burn was sharp with a light gray ash forming from the wrapper, however the binder/filler a bit darker. The smoke continued to be smooth, almost creamy over the palate and a good medium to almost full strength with the same perfect amount of spice on the back of the throat. I was really enjoying the somewhat heavy body that seemed rather thick, leaving the same incredibly rich flavor that I just could not get enough of. I exhale slowly through the nose and mouth, savoring the long, lasting finish.
Through the halfway mark, the burn on the seemingly thick wrapper wanted to go to one side but only very slightly, requiring no touching-up. I found the draw, although still good, started to get tighter, and I noticed a small amount of tar had formed on the head. I grabbed my Palio and clipped a bit off and the draw opened up perfectly. I will say at this point, with the draw opened up, the smoke became full-bodied and perfect for my palate.
Everything remained quite consistent through the rest of the smoke; perfect draw, delicious flavor, lasting finish, however right as the burn headed into the final third, the cigar went out rather quickly. After tapping the ash off I saw why. There was a fairly large empty space right in the center of the ash that went down a ways. I put the torch to it, took a few quick puffs, and was back in business in no time at all.
This was an absolutely fantastic smoke that actually burned rather slow, which was a good thing as I thoroughly enjoyed it from the very beginning to nubby end. It was one of those cigars that even after finishing, I wanted more. I’d really love to have some of these in a smaller format, something like a petit corona or lancero. You hear me Matthew? :laugh: Thank you my friend for the opportunity to sample such a fine cigar. I’m really looking forward to the last one, a Savinelli Special Selection 2005.
