Juan Lopez Seleccion no 1 UTL ABR 19 (WTR)

[Shatner's Bassoon]

Part A: dry
I’ve had a couple from this box already, and they’ve been decent smokes but a bit one-dimensional, so my thoughts naturally turned to dipping one in a glass of water. First, though, I’ll smoke one in the orthodox fashion. Construction is good, the wrapper is a pleasant dark shade.

The cigar opens with a pronounced flavour of roasted peanuts and spice. This is quickly joined by an earthy note, and a slight touch of cocoa through the retrohale. By the end of the first third the roasted peanuts have sadly departed.

The second third’s main flavours remind me of a Partagas: sourdough and paprika take centre stage, and by the end of the second third these have entirely replaced the earth and spice of the first third. There is an intermittent sweetness on the finish which - to me - has a satsuma quality to it. This is particularly pronounced on the retrohale.

In the final third it’s more or less pure sourdough, although the intermittent sweetness remains and the roasted peanuts return for a brief encore. The cigar gets slightly tannic towards the end.
 

The cigar lasts for 90 minutes. The burn and draw are excellent; smoke production is good, and the body is medium-full throughout. Overall, in keeping with the others I’ve smoked, it’s a solid if unspectacular cigar. I look forward to comparing tomorrow’s watered example. This one gets an 89 from me.
 

 

 

Part B: wet

First things first: we’re going to need a bigger class. My transformation from pint-drinking cigarette smoker to connoisseur of Havanas and fine spirits has been almost entirely positive, but left me lacking a Corona Gorda sized dunking glass. I hope the failure to achieve 100% submersion doesn’t disqualify me from the cigar stand!

The wrapper is dry again in less than five minutes, the draw is perfect, and I’m ready to go. The first third lacks the brief but very nice roasted peanut note from yesterday; instead the sourdough of yesterday is sweetened, swapping sourdough for a cake flavour. There is a long finish with earthy and vegetal notes. Body is down from yesterday to a solid medium.

In the second third the flavour continues as before: it’s a sweet cake flavour with an earthy finish. The cigar goes out at about the halfway point, but otherwise the burn is surprisingly good. The cigar gives a slight nicotine hit, which is unusual for me.

No change to the cake flavour or the finish in the final third; a touch of coffee joins the cake, but otherwise the cigar remains the same for the full 90 minutes. As with yesterday’s example, it becomes slightly tannic towards the end.

Overall, although the cake flavour is one that I enjoy in cigars like the Lusitania or Fundadores, it just isn’t crisp enough for me here, and there isn’t enough to keep me interested throughout. I give this one an 86. I think I’ll try this technique again on a couple of cigars which so far have been a bit dry for my tastes, and it was an interesting experiment. Cheers, FOH!