Cohiba Piramides EL 2006

[Puros Y Vino]

Cohiba Piramides EL 2006

Box Code: POS NOV06

Measurements: 52 * 156 (6.1")

Date: October 23, 2011

Time: 3:08PM

Place: Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Bundwallah's back deck.

The weather is beautiful in Toronto today. Temperature. 57F/14F Low wind, sunny.

Paired with: Italian sparkling water

Visual Notes.

Excellent construction. Beautiful looking cigar. Spongy on the pinch with no soft spots. It seems it was well maintained over the years. The wrapper is dark, maduro like wrapper. It looks like it belongs in the Maduro 5 family.

Aroma at cold: Earthy, chocolate milk, tobacco, cedar

Cold draw. Seems tight

First Third.

Start time 3:08EST. Mild coffee, chocalate finish on 1st draw. medium draw...woodsy chocolate, creamy smoke, steak & mushroom

dark bitter chocolate, hint of pepper on the finish, nice woodsiness so far in the background, cedary draw, good slow burn, cocoa, chatting with Riaz/Maverick on the Shoutbox, so excited to have some nice weather to smoke in, chocolate with hint of pepper, mildish so far though I do feel some nicotine hitting in the background, tobacco hit, slight mushroom finish, milk chocolate creaminess and I could never drink the real thing without gagging!, slight tanginess like a Cazzy, nice change, draw is very easy, not a wind tunnel but easy, allows for "sipping", burn sligthly askew, will see if it corrects..wind might have something to do with it. dark chocolate bitterness on the palate lingers, nice!, more chocolate goodness, almost sweet, mixes nicely between bitter/sweet, some strong tobacco notes on this draw, slight caramel on the draw and even on the aroma as the smoke passes in front of me, sweet tobacco taste with woodsy finish on the last two draws, mineraly/salty draw with some pepper, the ash at this point is a nice salt/pepper two tone job,

more mineraly flavours, latent nicotine hit in the background, mocha coffee draw, straighter burn with flakey blustery ash, mushroomy finish, nice easy draws, some slight pepper on the finish, coffee draw again, very nice, halfway through 1st 3rd @ 3:41PM..slow smoker!! , mild tobacco taste, tobacco twang/tanginess, a drink to clean the palate, earthy mineraly draw, an NC like aroma comes across in the smoke, meaty draw, steak & mushroom again!, nice smoke, very relaxing, except for the neighbourwith the leaf blower!!: tantrum: coffee draw, chocolate comes through like a bite!, smoke volumes low..cigar about to go out!!?, puff through to bring it back to life..hopefully, too late ..have to relight..greeted by more chocolate upon first draw.. no bitterness...great, nice light cocoa dusting on the draw, sweet to bitter chocolate..this is a chocolate bomb!! , more mushroom, some toasted tobacco lingers on the palate, end of first third. So far so good.

Second Third.

3:50PM now.

mocha coffe now..bitter chocolate, more cocoa dust, more cocoa dust, smooth performer so far, cocao yet again!! wow!, tobacco toastiness comes in, cigar is hitting a taste plateau..but still very enjoyable..not so enjoyable is the clouds covering the sun..a slight chill sets in..but i dont care...,smooth nuttiness..that's more like it..like a mild pecan, cigar wants to go out I puff 4- 5 times to review..intense cooked mushroom aroma ensues! ,i correct the burn a bit, nutmeg and anise? interesting, steaky hints with pepper finish, cigar is showing some strength now? , maybe not..cigar goes back to cocoa..very smooth, almost a bit of truffle on the finish too, pecan taste returns, nice sharp burn now, loads of smoke again, bitter chocolate on the last 3 draws, earthy notes, mineraly notes, pepper finish, more strength, interesting journey so far as I get halfway through the second third,

nutmeg returns, cigar getting spicy now, some more dark chocolate, interesting anise hit with a toasty tobacco followup, toasty tobacco, wow..serious cooked mushrooms coming out in the smoke!, oh oh..no smoke...out again?? yup..hjold the cigar to my nose..cooked mushroom! confirmed!, 2nd 3rd almost done. smoke is back, GF takes photo of me smoking, intense tobacco hit, time is 4:25PM, earthy notes, reminiscent of truffles.

Third Third

pecan/walnut mix comes into the fray, fingers cold as I type, not going to rush this though, tobacco hit with slight spiciness, coffee followed by nutmeg, hmm bean flavours now, this sure has progressed nicely, cocoa dust again, very nice contrast, ash still salt/pepper burn is very good, more tobacco toastiness, anise hit!, make move to take EL band off before its too late

....it comes off with a pinch, slighty bland draw but it delivers a nicotine hit, loads of smoke, mild bean flavour returns, slight caramel finish too, fingers getting cold...toasty tobacco followed by bean, getting colder out here , loads of smoke..more tangy tobacco, woodsy earthy tastes, beans again, I take a big swig of fizzy water, ash drops as I rest the cigar, almost time to pull cohiba band off,

some chocolate returns, milder mushroom taste, getting cooler out here, cigar is halfway through the 3rd 3rd, light tobacco flavours on the next two draws, slightly bland draw, mild tobacco, still good smoke coming out, may end up nubbing this one, mild nutty flavours, nicotine hits in the background, cigar goes out again, I relight, toasty tobacco follows, intense bean flavour returns, earthiness and slight bean flavours, good smoke again, tobacco again, draws are slightly bland, stong hit of tobacco and pepper, now 5:01PM, some cocoa hints return, getting cold out here....almost done

...light anise flavours, lots of nicotine at this last bit, strong finish in terms of powr if you like that thing, beans, burn is good, still lots of smoke, mild tastes now, nothing really discernible, colder now, peppery draw,

cigar smoulders towards nubland, slight chocolate hint, nutty finish, just toasty tobacco on the last draws, the cigar is done.

Finish time is 5:12PM EST

Score: 92.

Conclusion:

I was pretty jazzed up about being able to smoke one of these before the weather turned sour here. The aroma off the box is fantastic so lighting this up made my day. For the most part, this cigar was laden with chocolate. The mushroom aromas were the most memorable aspects of the cigar. It offered up a good variety of flavours throughout except for about halfway into the third third where it became "mainstream". That little bit prevented the score from being 95+. Otherwise, this was an excellent cigar. I had a great time smoking it. If you can find these, grab them. I'll smoke another come Springtime or most likely, the Montreal Herf. That may not be enough time in which to see progression, but I don't care. It was a damn fine smoke.

Final Words.

For those of you who have never seen my reviews, you'll most likely find it a bit "wordy". Between the commas I try to capture what I taste in each draw. It's a bit much, but that's the style I've developled. On the downside though, I find that it takes a lot of time/energy to review it with this much detail. As much as I enjoyed smoking the cigar and writing my thoughts on it, I would've enjoyed it more in the company of good friends and no pens/paper or laptops nearby. So, while I haven't been a prolific reviewer in regards to how many reviews I've penned I have been less than brief. I'll do this from time to time but perhaps at a much slower pace. I hope you've enjoyed the review.

Cheers,

Frank

[Colt45]

I'm glad you enjoyed it. I've smoked four from my box - one a year, and they just haven't been very good.

Thanks for the review.

[riazp]

Great Review Frank! glad to see you enjoyed that gorgeous cigar!

[matt14]

Glad you enjoyed it, I loved these young, gotta go with Colt though the last one I smoked was off not a shade on what they where. I will dig another out when I get home and revisit.

[Guest leanderdsilva]

Nice review Frank!

[TonyV]

Thought i was reading a prizefight recap with a blow by blow description,very nice touch.

[CanuckSARTech]

Awesome job, Frank! Sounds pretty nice. So....you're warming up that box for me for next summer then?!

[#2 man]

Thanks for that very informative review !!

[maverickdrinker]

great review Frank. Thanks for sharing

[LLC]

I enjoyed the review Frank, well done!

[Len]

I had the pleasure of smoking quite a few of these in 2008-09 and they were stellar then IMO. One of the only LE's worth a damn JMO.

[thechenman]

Great review Bundwallah...very nice cigar.