bogglor Posted January 23, 2014 Posted January 23, 2014 Finally cracked my box of these that I picked up on the last LFTH back in Nov/Dec. This cigar was a delight to just look upon -- a nicely box pressed stick with a splotchy dark brown wrapper, simply riddled with oil patches. I gave it a quick snip with my guillotine cutter to reveal an earthy/spicy predraw with a touch of tangy citric sweetness and perfect resistance. I have had fresh RASS before and I was not a big fan, to be honest. They were relatively flat and nondescript in taste, vaguely earthy but nothing to really distinguish them. Every time I had one, I basically wished I'd had a good D4 instead. This thing was another ballgame, entirely. The first puffs were all dark cherry sweetness and some extremely light earth and pepper, eventually giving way to a figgy taste. It had a lingering mid palate finish that just lasts forever, one of the best I've tasted. The retrohale was pungent and filled with cinnamon spice, but still managed to be creamy. At the outset, the burn on my stick was crazy and all over the place, but I attributed that to the smoking conditions (cold and windy in VA that day). 1/3 - As the cigar opened, I found it the overall flavor texture comparable to recent production JL2s that I've had but not quite as vanilla forward in the profile. While smoking, I kept thinking of dark chocolate cherries with a swirl of nutmeg as the dominant note. Simply divine. The burn was all over the place, but the stick self corrected time after time. It even held a 2 inch ash at one point. 2/3 - The flavors deepened and became more intense. I didn't want this stick to end, ever. Nicotine was medium/medium-full. Some plum, fig, prune, date notes start to take over here. 3/3 - It's incredible, but this stick never got tarry at all. The burn remained fantastic in the toughest conditions. The finish of this stick was glorious full mouth / full palate, still tons of those lingering sweet earth notes from the prior 2 thirds. There wasn't a ton of flavor complexity and variance throughout the thirds of this cigar; it was more of a puff-to-puff complexity. Thoroughly enjoyable. 94 points and one of the finest robusto experiences I have had. Big thanks to the FOH crew for finding this box. It is a real treasure.
cottierm Posted January 23, 2014 Posted January 23, 2014 Thank you for this interesting review. Best, Michel
Puros Y Vino Posted January 23, 2014 Posted January 23, 2014 Great review. I'm a big fan of RASS. I enjoy them fresh but the consensus is that they do very well with age. My oldest samples are from 2009. I should do a side by side comparison with my 2011/12's.
Profmd Posted January 23, 2014 Posted January 23, 2014 Great review! Very happy to hear its a great cigar. I bought the other box from that LFTW sale also. Sitting in my OLH until the spring hits Toronto and I'll have it shipped!! Thanks for review.
coug28 Posted January 23, 2014 Posted January 23, 2014 Smoked a 2004 on NYE that was fantastic. Say what they will about cabs being better, every dress box 04 I've smoked have performed brilliantly. That said, not sad about my 2011 POL cab...much less tame but will just continue to get better & better IMO.
TM-US Posted January 30, 2014 Posted January 30, 2014 Now that gives me hope. I have some RASS right now that are kind of flat. I do hope they get better. Your review sounds like RASS that I know and love.
Laxman Posted February 13, 2014 Posted February 13, 2014 Have a TEB box from 07 resting I have not touched in years going to have to break it out now! Thanks
finecigar Posted February 14, 2014 Posted February 14, 2014 Nice review... Sounds like a real pleasure. Those extra years really make a difference for RASS...RA as a whole marca, too.
Chelsea8 Posted February 18, 2014 Posted February 18, 2014 My RASS box code TEB OCT07 is my go to cigar, whenever I can't decide which vitola to smoke. Problem is that I also emptied a box of DEC11s into the mix and now can't tell which is which. The year before and early last year the difference in taste was noticeable, but this year it is all good, or it could be that I have just been selecting the OCT07s to light up
Firebender Posted February 18, 2014 Posted February 18, 2014 A couple of TEB NOV06 I smoked were top notch smokes!
zmancbr Posted March 10, 2014 Posted March 10, 2014 Just smoked one of mine with the TEB OCT 07 box code last week. Seriously wowed me! Its been awhile since I last had a RASS as I have been killing box after box of the RASCCs. Glad I dipped into it. The first third was very much dried fruit, maybe raisins with a touch of spice and hints of cocoa. Not much strength to it yet. The second third built in intensity and complexity quite a bit. There was a lovely bouquet of dried fruit on the tongue, perhaps some apricots, plum, or something equally rich and a tad sweet. Add in a hint of spice (maybe nutmeg) and vanilla and it reminds me of drinking a nice cherry dessert wine after eating a slice of pumpkin pie! The final third had the fruit die down quite a bit so it was barely there, and the spice picked up. The strength picked up quite a bit as well and I had a bit of a buzz going on by the time I nubbed this guy (surprising since this guy is almost 7 years old now) . Damn near burnt my fingers savoring each and every bit of this cigar. Very very enjoyable and if you have patience enough to hold onto these guys, you will be rewarded!
Dimmers Posted March 11, 2014 Posted March 11, 2014 Nice! I've read that RASS still has one of those old school blends which may mean a peak long after 10 years.
Maplepie Posted March 11, 2014 Posted March 11, 2014 Nice one! They should call you: Bloggor! good show reviewing a cigar that's normally always smoked young. never found reason to age these bitties... maybe now's the time!!
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