A number of brothers at both sites have asked me to evaluate the home rolled cigars I received during the Drumroll Please contest. Contestants, put on your thick skins, cause I intend to be as frank as always.
The winner Buck sent three cigars. One was his entry. One was something he can get in Canada, but which we cannot get here in the USA because if we keep it up long enough those commies will leave the island so that the Mafia can have back their casinos. One was an uncapped robusto which he asked me to try. I begin with this latter cigar:
Buck tells me the wrapper and binder are Aleman, the filler 2 parts Dom Seco, 2 parts Criollo 98, with one part Nic Habano Viso. Construction I would rate as fairly good. Equally firm end to end. Rolls true across a flat surface. Just a mite skinnier in the middle than on the ends; but not much. The fact it had no cap was inconvenient, because it required close inspection to figure which end to light. Also the wrapper appeared to be glued along its whole length. Most remarkable was the way the filler leaves were rolled up before binding. Look at this pic:
Despite that rolled up filler, which looks like you'd create a soda straw effect, I'd describe the draw on this as medium.
The stick had a fine chocolate and barn aroma. The wrapper tasted dark chocolate. But as soon as I lit the thing, my impression went way downhill. It lit damn sour. Volume was real small. Burnt well, tho. So I kept at it for twenty minutes, hoping the sour would go away as I crawled up the stick. It did not. I would describe this as fermented horehound with notes of tennis shoe.
After 1 1/4" of fine burn, the cherry suddenly tunnelled and went out. No way was I about to relight this. As a matter of fact, even after rye whisky, my mouth tasted so bad I gave up smoking for the day. That night, Bearswatter got up and slept in her recliner because she said my mouth was stinking up the bedroom.
Next day, I pulled out Buck's contest entry. Figured I'd give that a go:
This cigar was very nice and firm throughout. Had an earthy odor to it. Except at the cap, where a white mold, a soggy feel, and a sour aroma greeted me. Sogginess was most apparent under my knife when I uncapped it. The draw was easy. There was an attractive earthy flavor to the wrapper, and a similar flavor to the draw. One match toasted the foot into life. There was real good volume. But the burn alternated between excellent and dying. Meanwhile, the flavor alternated between an excellent mellow habano and that same sour stinkage. You have seen a wavy burn? This cigar had a tsunami burn. Look at this pic:
See how it refuses to burn anywhere near a vein?
Here's where I figured it out: Buck's cigars were too wet. I think he probably wet the binder and wrapper trying to get it flexible enough to shape round that oddball drumstick shape. I left them in his plastic bag inside a package sealed up with layers of plastic and tape. The head molded. the other got too damp, the tobacco started fermenting, and so it's all my fault why they tasted sour and burnt poorly. Sorry Buck; I ruined your samples.
My project today is to get each entry out of its plastic so it can air dry properly before I test anything else. These will have to age before I can get a true test.
Except for Mad O'Shea's cigars. His artistic presentation nesting his cigars in foam inside a fancy box will have allowed them to dry out. He's got a whole batch of different smokes in there for me to try, starting later today. I will wait until after handball, though, cause I'll be panting hard enough without smoking first.
By the way, I smoked Buck's third cigar, the one from the island which we discreetly shall not mention, last night watching UFC and drinking beer. This one did not seem to have been waterboarded like the other two in the package. I have not smoked many examples of this forbidden fruit; but this example was well and away the best one I have tried. Loved it. Mellow and dark, smooth and flavorful. Right on! Viva Batista!
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The winner Buck sent three cigars. One was his entry. One was something he can get in Canada, but which we cannot get here in the USA because if we keep it up long enough those commies will leave the island so that the Mafia can have back their casinos. One was an uncapped robusto which he asked me to try. I begin with this latter cigar:
Buck tells me the wrapper and binder are Aleman, the filler 2 parts Dom Seco, 2 parts Criollo 98, with one part Nic Habano Viso. Construction I would rate as fairly good. Equally firm end to end. Rolls true across a flat surface. Just a mite skinnier in the middle than on the ends; but not much. The fact it had no cap was inconvenient, because it required close inspection to figure which end to light. Also the wrapper appeared to be glued along its whole length. Most remarkable was the way the filler leaves were rolled up before binding. Look at this pic:
Despite that rolled up filler, which looks like you'd create a soda straw effect, I'd describe the draw on this as medium.
The stick had a fine chocolate and barn aroma. The wrapper tasted dark chocolate. But as soon as I lit the thing, my impression went way downhill. It lit damn sour. Volume was real small. Burnt well, tho. So I kept at it for twenty minutes, hoping the sour would go away as I crawled up the stick. It did not. I would describe this as fermented horehound with notes of tennis shoe.
After 1 1/4" of fine burn, the cherry suddenly tunnelled and went out. No way was I about to relight this. As a matter of fact, even after rye whisky, my mouth tasted so bad I gave up smoking for the day. That night, Bearswatter got up and slept in her recliner because she said my mouth was stinking up the bedroom.
Next day, I pulled out Buck's contest entry. Figured I'd give that a go:
This cigar was very nice and firm throughout. Had an earthy odor to it. Except at the cap, where a white mold, a soggy feel, and a sour aroma greeted me. Sogginess was most apparent under my knife when I uncapped it. The draw was easy. There was an attractive earthy flavor to the wrapper, and a similar flavor to the draw. One match toasted the foot into life. There was real good volume. But the burn alternated between excellent and dying. Meanwhile, the flavor alternated between an excellent mellow habano and that same sour stinkage. You have seen a wavy burn? This cigar had a tsunami burn. Look at this pic:
See how it refuses to burn anywhere near a vein?
Here's where I figured it out: Buck's cigars were too wet. I think he probably wet the binder and wrapper trying to get it flexible enough to shape round that oddball drumstick shape. I left them in his plastic bag inside a package sealed up with layers of plastic and tape. The head molded. the other got too damp, the tobacco started fermenting, and so it's all my fault why they tasted sour and burnt poorly. Sorry Buck; I ruined your samples.
My project today is to get each entry out of its plastic so it can air dry properly before I test anything else. These will have to age before I can get a true test.
Except for Mad O'Shea's cigars. His artistic presentation nesting his cigars in foam inside a fancy box will have allowed them to dry out. He's got a whole batch of different smokes in there for me to try, starting later today. I will wait until after handball, though, cause I'll be panting hard enough without smoking first.
By the way, I smoked Buck's third cigar, the one from the island which we discreetly shall not mention, last night watching UFC and drinking beer. This one did not seem to have been waterboarded like the other two in the package. I have not smoked many examples of this forbidden fruit; but this example was well and away the best one I have tried. Loved it. Mellow and dark, smooth and flavorful. Right on! Viva Batista!
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