A la carte Review: San Cristobal De La habana / El Príncipe (June 2017)

[HopeUgood]

I have had good experiences with this cigar in the half a dozen I smoked.  I may have gotten a little aggressive and over heated this particular cigar, more on that later. The draw and burn were most likely perfect.  In the picture the burn line appears a little wonky, probably caused by me getting one side of the cigar wet by being careless.
The cigar had flavors that were familiar to my palate but I found illusive to pinpoint. There was a subtle sweetness,  and an essences of maple wood that were in the background.  More prominently there was a nutty profile combined with some sort of semi-sweet pastry and cooking spice lite nutmeg.  I was embattled mentally trying to find the perfect word, almond biscotti was perhaps the closet I could come although not the perfect fit. The hunt for the words is where I think I may have gone awry by overheating the small cigar.  Heading into the second third, all of the sweetness and nuttiness was replaced by a dominant wood, leather, and earthiness.  I became aware that maybe I had overheated the cigar, so I purged it and consciously puffed with less aggression. Not much changed throughout the second third, the wood, leather, and earth taste remained dominant. I told myself to quit chasing what was and enjoy what is, or what may become. There was an addition of a shy mushroom note. It would courageously join the party and then fade to the background.  The final portion of the cigar invited a coffee element that replaced the wood profile.