So I'm not one to drop $40 on a cigar regularly, but I DO like to support the XOTM cigars, and the AOTM contests, as I feel it makes me part of the community and supports its activities.
When Small Batch made these available in a sampler for $63 (still available) for what I calculated was $76 worth of cigars (17% off, according to my calculations) and then allowed an additional 10% off (now down to 25% off, according to my calculations) that lowered the net cost to about $30, I went ahead and got that sampler.
One guy posted that these were still kind of "young", and advised waiting a bit. So I waited until the last day of the month, to still get it in as part of the UOTM participation.
I love perfectos, especially lighting the little feet, and watching the burn spread to the entire diameter of the body. The Fuente Hemingway line are among my favorites, especially the Signature vitola, mostly because of their great taste, but also because of the "fun" of lighting the perfecto foot and watching the aforementioned burn take shape.
Pre-light aroma smelled like chocolate, which surprised me because this didn't have a Maduro or other dark brown wrapper, which is usually when I get that chocolate aroma.
I cut the cap with a double-bladed guillotine, and lit the little foot, and watched the burn spread to the diameter of the body. So far, so good.
First third was a nice sweet flavor, which again surprised me, as i wasn't expecting it to be so sweet. Again, so far so good.
Second third, this unusual menthol/eucalyptus taste emerged, which also surprised me, because in addition to the tingle on my lips and tongue, which were in contact with the cigar, I also got that menthol tingle in my pharynx and nose, which I thought was odd because I wasn't retrohaling or French inhaling, and I couldn't figure out how it was getting in my pharynx or nose, but it was.
Third third that menthol/eucalyptus sensation got even stronger, and in addition to that Hall's Cough Drop taste, it also started reminding me of Pep-o-mint or Wintergreen Lifesavers, that kind of tingly sensation. But at this point, it was actually overpowering the taste of the cigar/tobacco, and actually got a little annoying.
At that point, I started wondering if what I was perceiving as menthol/eucalyptus was actually ammonia, as other reviewers have posted that these are a little young to be smoked right now, and I became convinced that it was ammonia.
I nubbed it, because dammit I had paid for it, but I knew going in that 6.75" was a little larger than what I'm smoking these days, and even though the flavor was in the medium range, this cigar had quite a nicotine punch to it, and I started feeling a little woozy.
I had unadvisedly smoked it before dinner, as I wanted to get it in, or at least start it, before the sun went down, and I lost the 73-degree day that I had to work through during the day. I got up after finishing it, definitely nicotine sick.
I made a bowl of spaghetti for dinner, and snacked on some Starburst and Skittles while my dinner was cooking, and drank some Arizona Arnold Palmer (iced tea/lemonade combination) which helped with the nicotine sickness.
I have a problem with Davidoff's pricing in general, and don't smoke that many of them because of what I feel is over-pricing because of the Davidoff name. The Millennium Blend that I've smoked in the past were gifted to me one Christmas, and I wouldn't have paid for them ($80 for four) and only had/smoked them because they were a gift. I DID splurge on one Yamasa (which I haven't smoked yet), because I had a gift card to Cigar.com, and thought I'd smoke one on their dollar. I like Davidoff's "budget" stick, the Griffin's, because they're good and reasonably priced, and I also smoke some of their Zino lines, the Platinum and the Z-Class, which I also think are overpriced at around $15 each, but I had gotten a fiver of each for $20 in a deal, and at $4 each, they're great cigars. I think I would have been disappointed in them as well if I had paid $15 for them. I also like Camacho, Room 101, and Avo cigars, which are made under the Davidoff umbrella, but I think of them as their own completely different lines.
So, summary: I would have liked this cigar in a smaller vitola, 5" or at most 6", but at 6.75" it was a bit much for me. I also think they're overpriced, as they'd be a decent cigar at $10-$12, but I couldn't see paying $40 (or even $30 with the Small Batch discounts) for another. I'm glad I was able to get a single in a sampler, and didn't drop three-bills on a box like some guys did.
Krdshrk, please don't be offended or take it personally that the most expensive cigar I ever bought wasn't the best cigar that I've ever smoked; I'm glad you made it one of the cigars of the month, to prompt me to try it, and now I've tried one. Same with the Villa Sombra, which I enjoyed more and will buy and smoke again. In fact, before I'd spend $40 on another YotR, I'd buy four Villa Sombras with the same money, and enjoy each one of them.
To those of you who have bought them, I'd heed the advice I was given and let them rest for a good long while, in cast that menthol/eucalyptus flavor I was getting - and which overwhelmed the cigar - WAS ammonia.
Pics/album: http://ift.tt/2mbBKxS
Submitted February 28, 2017 at 09:52PM by lurker_to_poster http://ift.tt/2lnj9dT
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