Live review: mystery stick

[maverickdrinker]

A great botl sent me a couple of mystery sticks to blind review. Should be fun.

Been sitting in my humi for about a week now so, I figured tonight's a good a night as any.

The wrapper is very rough. A long, pronounced vein from the middle of the first third to the triple cap. The wrapper itself feels very toothy and bumpy as I squeeze it for soft spots.

the construction seems good though. No soft spots. Feels nice and packed. Ready to go. The foot is nicely packed as well

The colour of the wrapper is a molten chocolately brown with some reddish hues. Triple cap is decent.

The aroma off the wrapper reminds me of a hazelnut latte. Cocoa, cream, vanilla with some coffee notes and a touch of hazelnut.

A quick punch throughtout the very flat triple cap and we are ready to go. Cold draw reveals cedar, cream, vanilla and a slight sweetness. Very faint. The cold draw is all good. A little resistance. Just right.

Time to take this to the flame....

[maverickdrinker]

First third

A blast of citrus, floral notes and leather pounce on my palate on the first few puffs. Didn't see that coming at all. Really takes me by surprise. Reminds me of a for de cano Selectos.

Very strong, concentrated flavours off the get go. Starting to settle in though. Very heavy in the floral, citrus, leather department every though the strength has died down.

The ash is a light 'dirty' grey. Burning fairly quick. Nice burn line with lots of smoke. Easy draw

Starting to get a flavour like sour keys. Interesting.

Some honey notes appear. Goes well the the floral, leather and citrus notes.

Strength is settling into the mild to medium category. Only a little twang. Makes me want to grab a coffee as the flavours are fairly delicate. Ironically, no cream, cocoa or hazelnut the I smelled off te wrapper are coming though.

Afterfinish is somewhat short. Fading flavours of floral notes, honey and citrus.

I am guessing the ring gauge is around 48 and it is slightly longer than a robusto.

[canadianbeaver]

Looks pretty good for a Ghurks platinum edition

[maverickdrinker]

Second third

Cigar strength has settled in now. Mild with a tip to the hat of medium. Floral notes lead the way. Reminds me of roses. Very delicate. A light touch of honey and a nice dose of citrus for good measure. Some woody characteristics come in to play peek a boo.

Flor de cano keeps coming up in my head. Don't know why as I have only smoked a couple of them. Who knows? Lol

This is a cigar that I would most likely enjoy with a morning cup of coffee. Laid back in strength, delicious and delicate flavours. A nice way to start the day I think. No harshness to speak of. A hint of sweetness starts to creep in. Caramel maybe. A tribute to Por Larranaga.

The sour keys taste is gone. Only floral notes with some sweetness and a hint of leather on the afterfinish. It stays just a little longer than the first third and the. Poof, it is gone like a one night stand. Only stays long enough to be a good memory. Lol

Burn line stays solid. Still lots of smoke but the draw has tightened up a bit. Interesting.

So far, I like the fact that the flavours are keeping me interested however, there isn't much change between the first and second third, outside of the initial blast of flavour in the beginning. Will see what the final third brings.

[maverickdrinker]

Final third.

Strength picks up in a good way. Mild to medium now. A increased dosage of leather combines nicely with the floral and citrus combination. A layer of sweetness and cream round out the flavour profile. It's like a whole new cigar. Lol

Much more complex than the first two thirds. A nice turn of events. No hint of earthy, woodsy notes at all.

The after finish is still short and sweet. Like a fleeting kiss. You want more but the moment has passed.

Draw has opened up again. Starting to get a little hot though. (short filler?). Time to moisten the lips with some four roses single barrel. .

Strength has settled as well as the flavours. Time to out it down as the there is too much heat for my sensitive lips.

Final impressions.

This is a nice morning or chill out cigar. Very delicate in both strength and flavour profile. Fans of floral, leather and citrus notes should seek this out. Very curious to know what marca this is from.

[maverickdrinker]

Well, just got informed on what the cigar was. A 1999 RyJ exhibicion No 4. Never would have guessed that. What a delightful cigar.