Bolivar Belicosos Finos TEB JUL 07

[Joker]

Paired with Dalwhinnie 15 yr old scotch

The box has a wonderful aroma and the sticks have a beautiful plume

Angled cut, slight resistance on draw

1st third

Mild spice – gingerbread / nutmeg flavour with orange citrus undertones

Medium strength

Nice plumes of smoke, with a sweet aromatic tobacco smell

Even burn with a whitish ash

2nd

Spice has tapered off slightly

Flavour reminds me of dry biscotti with roasted almonds & pistachios

In fact I might have an expresso with the last 3rd

Slight uneven burn, but nothing to worry about

3rd

I don’t normally have coffee with my cigars, but must say that the expresso complemented the BBF flavours nicely

Almost want to dunk it into the coffee!!

Still getting the nut / spice flavour profile

Overall not a very complex smoke, but nonetheless still very enjoyable and smooth

A great smoke to relax and unwind with

Have previously tried a younger BBF, and recall it had more spice and pronounced flavours.

The flavours of this stick seem to be mellow and unified – assume due to its age.

Cheers

Joker

[ramon_cojones]

I just can't get behind these. I have some from a box split '11 that smoke well but not enough flavor or complexity for me. Nice review.

[dicko]

Great review Tony!

Never would have noticed you had Italian heritage from the flavours you picked out :-p

I agree re complexity with both of you. But if you have to be stuck in one dimension, it's a pretty damn tasty dimension to be stuck in with these smokes, love them

[mk05]

I just can't get behind these. I have some from a box split '11 that smoke well but not enough flavor or complexity for me. Nice review.

You would not be alone. I have not had a good BBF in many years. It is exactly as you say, just no richness out of these like Royal Coronas. These may either need a very long time to develop like CS or RASS, or the recent '08-'11 were garbage. Either way, I am not old enough to claim that I smoked the '97 and '02s when they were fresh to make the proper comparison.

Thanks for the review on a cigar that I love, but don't smoke often (for this reason).

[maverickdrinker]

Nice review. Haven't had a BBF for awhile. Gonna have to dig one out to try. Thanks for posting

[Blakes]

I love the BBF, Had a few not so good ones but when its "on" its one of my favourites!!!

... quite fond of the 15 year old Dalwhinnie too!

Thanks for the review!!