SiShong
Yeah, Um, Something, Yeah
- Joined
- Sep 5, 2008
- Messages
- 335
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I sat down to review this cigar with a clean palette and nothing to drink, hoping to get the most out of the cigar without masking it with other flavors while smoking. This is not my first experience with this blend, however, it is with this vitola.
Pre-light
A nicely rolled torpedo, 6 x 54, with a very good structure, just firm enough from tip to capa, wrapper is deep brown, bordering on dark mocha, with a few minute darker spots randomly interspersed, almost no prominent veins, smooth and slightly oily. Woodsy smell, with a strong earthy undertone.
Cut and Lighting
I cut with a straight cut (which I would always recommend), snipped about 1/3 of an inch off the end, leaving just under a 1/2 inch to draw. Lit very easily, with a slight run, possibly due to my torch. No blistering or bowing present.
Smoking
Initial flavor is very strong with a very slight spice to it. Nice rich thick smoke, not too hard on the throat with the occasional inhalation. First ash doesn't fall until it's a bit over 1 inch, the run from the initial lighting evened out well before that. Slight oiliness in the mouth, with a bit of a woody flavor in the oil. As the stick burned, the flavor and smoke changed very discreetly, giving subtle hints of spice, and citrus, while holding the woodsy flavor, I didn't really notice the hint of cocoa they describe it is so slight, but it was there. About half-way through the cocoa picked up a notch, and the citrus receeded, leaving a nice smooth earthy spice. The flavor continued to progress and change in subtle ways switching between the flavors from the beginning and gradually increasing in intensity as the stick grew shorter. The burn was reletively even however there was a point where the cherry receded into the wrapper burned uneven right around the mid way point just before the second bit of ash fell which left a small 1/3 inch of the wrapper protruding, but this also corrected itself with more frequent rotations. The stick softened as it burned but never became anywhere near mushy. Possibly due to the softening the burn ran one more time, this one left about 1/2 inch square area of the wrapper intact setting it down and letting it rest for a minute or two (and a quick touch with a single flame torch) helped correct this, when I picked it back up and started smoking again, the burn evened out. The finish was nice and complex, and certainly reminded you that you were smoking a good cigar, however, the oiliness left a coating on the tongue and the roof of my mouth that didn't let the preceeding flavor fade, this may have masked some of the complexity as the stick drew to a close.
The ash was a medium gray, on the outside, with a dark core. The ash remained fairly intact, blossoming with a crack but did not fall, in the entire hour and fifteen minutes I was smoking the ash only fell 4 times. the ash did lighten in the second half of the stick becoming a lighter gray with a darker line going down the one side.
The in-room aroma was a deep pleasant one, similar to the smell that draws you into a quality B&M.
Conclusion
The stick was very complex, the flavors continued to evolve and change from the first draw till the end. The smoke remained nice and thick, not harsh and easy on the throat. While a bit too oily near the end, my overall impression is that this is a very rich, deep, flavorful cigar.
I thoroughly enjoyed it and would certainly recommend it to both a beginning smoker, looking for an example of a complex cigar, as well as a seasoned smoker, looking for something unique and original.
While I have tried the series R and H before, I would have to say the G was better, (and I'm more of a Churchill fan to begin with).
Wrapper - 4 out of 5
Filler - 4 out of 5
Burn - 4 out of 5
Construction - 4 out of 5
Flavor - 5 out of 5
Vitola - 4 out of 5
Smoke - 5 out of 5
Overall - 4 out of 5
*edited to add that I will try and get a picture up here, but my camera isn't working.
