Kid Montana
Well-Known Member
The Southern Draw Kudzu has a nice firm feel in the hand with a mild box press, a closed foot, one small vein down one side. Its a faintly shiny dark Colorado wrapper and the cigar has a great pre-light aroma, rich maduro sweetness with a bit of earth. Initial puffs are peppery, almost herbal with leather. Profile is definitely full, not a lot of complexity right off the bat but as it settles down in the first third I'm picking up a bit of wood, and tart leather with black coffee on the finish.
Though I was taking my time, the Kudzu burned moderately quickly with a mild wave by the end of the first third. The ash is dark grey and after I knocked the first 1" or so, I discovered a bit of a tunnel. The cigar is producing moderate amounts of smoke but I feel like the tunnel interfered with the smoke production. The middle third produced a cool herbal note along with mild coffee, leather and earth.
The middle and last thirds felt under-filled and the draw became very very open so I slowed down my rate on it accordingly. Every few puffs I'd detect some sweet cocoa on the retrohale which was pleasant. I did some work with my draw tool to re-arrange the tobacco and did a good purge in hopes the tunnel would disappear but it only helped a bit. I threw the cigar down in frustration at the beginning of the last third.
The Kudzu has a lot of potential on flavor but the burn and construction issues hurt this cigar a lot. I have one other Southern Draw cigar, the Quick Draw that I'll try but if it doesn't redeem Southern Draw, I doubt I'll ever buy any more.
KM score: 3 out of 5
Though I was taking my time, the Kudzu burned moderately quickly with a mild wave by the end of the first third. The ash is dark grey and after I knocked the first 1" or so, I discovered a bit of a tunnel. The cigar is producing moderate amounts of smoke but I feel like the tunnel interfered with the smoke production. The middle third produced a cool herbal note along with mild coffee, leather and earth.
The middle and last thirds felt under-filled and the draw became very very open so I slowed down my rate on it accordingly. Every few puffs I'd detect some sweet cocoa on the retrohale which was pleasant. I did some work with my draw tool to re-arrange the tobacco and did a good purge in hopes the tunnel would disappear but it only helped a bit. I threw the cigar down in frustration at the beginning of the last third.
The Kudzu has a lot of potential on flavor but the burn and construction issues hurt this cigar a lot. I have one other Southern Draw cigar, the Quick Draw that I'll try but if it doesn't redeem Southern Draw, I doubt I'll ever buy any more.
KM score: 3 out of 5
