ERDM Formosa Tainos JUN 19

[t1String]

El Rey Del Mundo Formosa Tainos JUN 19

The box was purchased in HK and heavily plastered with the beautiful stickers they have there, so I'm not sure on the factory code.

 

 

Nice firm roll without any soft spots. Small veins in the wrapper. Nice Colorado color with some sheen. 

Density Shot:

 

Cold aroma: Hay and a light leather.

Prelight draw: Cuban perfect. Cedar/wood. 

At light: fresh cut grass. Dry, no sweetness. Very mild, no spice. Smooth smoke. Draw is perfect

1st: first 1/4 inch is too mild to discern flavors. Brioche flavor on the front of the draw, turns to sourdough by the middle of the draw, finishes with a punch of grass, definitely herbaceous, that fades quickly. The aroma is intoxicating while the ash is limp. By the end of this third, grassiness on the front of the draw that fades into a brioche with some sourness there. 

 

2nd: sourness is gone. Herbaceousness is gone. A light roasted milk coffee with a slightly nutty finish is there. Rich, creamy, velvety smoke with a heap of soft, delicate nuts. A shot of sweetness, maybe caramel - hard to nail down. That kind of describes this third so far for me. A lush stick with flavors that want to stratify into their own, but remain bound together. Most undoubtedly because this box was still on the dock a few weeks ago. Persistent sweetness there towards the back of the tongue at the halfway mark. 1 hour in. Tiramisu. Imagine a great one, now place it in the fridge for a week or two so the flavors just sort of blend together and go a little flat - that’s what I’m getting here. With the exception of a wavy burn for a few minutes, it has been an absolute razor. Nearing the first band, sweetness is now gone except for late on the finish which has become quite long. At the first band, Coffee and white pepper now characterize the bulk of the flavor with some bitterness on the finish - pleasant bitterness. Pepper is persisting on the palate to the next draw. 

 

3rd: the youth in this cigar is becoming more apparent. Medium roasted coffee with white pepper is dominant here. Sweetness is coming in and out in waves. Generic sweetness on the sides of the tongue. Some ammonia is there by the second band and burn has gone a little wonky. Getting a nutty coffee through the retrohale. Bitterness on the long finish, but it is fleeting. A touch up is required. Not as much ammonia here as I would expect. However, there isn’t much to note here as it’s a lot of the same until I give up on it. Doesn’t become hot as early as many of the young cigars I’ve had. 

 

 

Total smoking time: 2h 3m

 

It’s hard to score this in its current form. However, based on my palate tonight and the flavors I detected, I would put this at 88/89. If the glimmers of brilliance fill out, there is a lot of upside here - maybe as much as 5 - 8 points. 

I hope this has been helpful for any of you on the fence about picking up a box.  If you have some, I would strongly suggest waiting a couple of years to put it to the torch.  Cheers.

[t1String]

Thanks, mate. Appreciate the kind words. 

[earthson]

Great review!  A classic cigar that is missed dearly.  RE pricing was unfortunately into what I thought was ridiculous, so I'm sticking to the Choix Supreme for my aging stock.

[Sir Diggamus]

Great review! ? Sounds like these are worth stashing away a few years.