NC Review on a 3 degrees F. day.
After a recent post of cold-weather smoking, I thought oh what the hell I'll give it a shot. I've been hearing a lot about these new Nat Sherman non-cuban smokes, and this size of 5"x 50 RG I found to be the most appealing for this time of year, so I picked up a box at a near by shop in town. Although it seemed like a small smoke, this short perfecto ended up taking around an 1 hr 20 mins from start to finish.
For quite awhile when I used to smoke cigarettes I smoked Nat Shermans and most know that they have superior quality, and It's nice to see that they are getting back a little (or at least attempting to) into the quality cigar game. There is a lot of competition in the NC market, with plenty of new young cigar makers who are stealing the heat, but for me- Nat Sherman is a classic brand that I associate with fine quality, uniqueness, and devotion to customers. They've been around for quite awhile and know what they are doing.
To begin, the appearance of these new Timeless cigars are outstanding, at least the ones I've seen. All of the cigars in my box look great and rolled to perfection. They have a nice oily and dark sheen mixed in with a bit of black peppery look on the wrapper. Which pepper is one dominant flavor throughout the smoke. To the nose, they have a very strong, fresh scent that seems promising. The draw was a tad bit tight before lit, but soon after being lit the cigar drew very consistently. The whole cigar itself felt like it was freshly rolled, it had a bit of spongey-ness to it, but also a firm grip.
1/3: The divino starts off pretty bold, with strong pepper mixed in with some herbal tones. There was a lot of smoke that was coming out with the first dozen puffs. I wasn't expecting so much with this short perfecto. The smell that the cigar was giving of was quite pleasant. Better than a majority of NC smokes I have. For the negative, the strength at first was a bit overly heavy, and I was getting some tonic-like notes that were not too pleasing. Also, I had to relight once. I speculate though that the weather had something to do with these two cons of the smoke. I think that cold weather can greatly impact a smoke and change the way it performs.
2/3: The 2/3rd of the cigar really went away from some of the faint issues I was dealing with in the first part. The flavor became much more in-depth with hints of leather, earth, cocoa, coffee, and nut. The intensity of the cigar lessened into a more consistent, smoother, and somewhat creamy smoke. The strength was still pretty medium/full, but not as harsh as it was in the beginning. Also, the amount of smoke lessened, but it remained a consistent level and was neither too overpowering nor too underdeveloped. I enjoyed the 2/3 quite a bit!
3/3: The last third of the cigar was a nice continuation of the enjoyment I was getting out of the 2/3rd. The draw kept going well, along with everything else about this cigar. Honestly, not too many short perfectos I have had have smoked so well, usually there is some sort of construction issue I find. But the burn was consistant, as well as the creamy smoke I puffed out of this little beauty. The flavor reduced to more of a dark-roast coffee with vanilla. I liked it so much I smoked it down to basically nothing. It fell apart when there was only a mere cm left so I just put a few tiny leaves to show it in the end. I surprised myself by staying outside for over an hour for this cigar. Surely thought i would have headed inside earlier. It kept me intrigued and alive outside in the frigid temp.
Overall, there was not much that disappointed me about this cigar. On the contrary, this cigar surprised me with its complexity in flavor, smoke, and the overall experience. Some good words to sum up the divino are 'consistent, surprisingly complex, and ambitious.' I had somewhat high expectations (having heard so many good things about this new release), and I can honestly say that this cigar exceeded my expectations. Over the years I have spent less and less time smoking NC cigars; however, this cigar makes a big exception. This is a little treat that isn't overpriced at all ($7-9) when compared to other smokes on the market, and competes with not only the majority of NCs available currently, but also with many current/new-release CCs. I am happy that I purchased the box and look forward to smoking many more in the future. I would try one out if you haven't already!
Overall score: 90/100.
Thanks for reading my review, hope you enjoyed!