QDO No. 54 – LTO-ENE-20 (49NRW)

[StogieSteve23]

QDO No. 54 – LTO-ENE-20 (49NRW)

Opening Remarks:  The lady and I went on a little foodventure today.  Picked up homemade Birria Tacos & Consume from a little rundown house in West Palm! My fiancé found this place on Instagram and placed an order with them via DM, we pulled up the house, someone came out and brought the food right to us in the car.  These were the best Birria’s I’ve tried. Also had them for lunch from Roccos Tacos (a local chain restaurant) the day before which were good but not great like these.  Albeit they were beef and not goat like the traditional ones in Mexico, but incredibly good for being made in a little house in a not so nice area.  Drove over to a little park on the intracoastal waterway and sat on a bench while we enjoyed.  A couple pics of the last two days of Birria tacos. 

Cold draw yielded slightly less resistance than I like. Almost a wind tunnel, but not quite. The predominant notes coming from the pre-light draw are Honeycrisp Apples, cedar and hay.  There is a strong barnyard fragrance coming off the foot.  With a few large veins on the stick, it feels a bit like Leatherface in my hand. 

First Third: Upon first puffs post lighting of the foot, cinnamon is the first thing that jumps out immediately. The draw is slightly more firm than anticipated after how open it was on the cold pulls.  Graphite? Slate? Something that I can only describe as pencil shavings. A weird flavor and smell off the foot. Thankfully this doesn’t last more than a couple puffs and turns to florals.  A little piney on the retrohale. Salted raw cashews seem to roll in and I’m pleasantly surprised. Burn is slowly starting to get a little crooked toward the beginning of the 2/3, but I’m going to roll with it and see what happens.

 

Second Third: Buttered popcorn is heavy now.  I can’t seem to stand the burn getting worse, so I succumb to a touch-up. Buttery popcorn still lingers although toasted pine nuts type flavors creep in.  There is a waxiness like parchment paper that rolls through the nostrils on the retro now.  Its not a bad as I’ve had in some other sticks but certainly a weird flavor.  Draw and combustion are still excellent. Flavors mellow out and its very earthy for a bit.  Vanilla extract comes in.  Freshly baked pound cake and roasted chestnuts.  Smoke smells like straight cedar.  Very enjoyable scent coming off the foot. Almost to the band and final third. Lavender comes in to take over the retro.  Interesting note that I’ve never experienced in these or a No. 50 stick.  The buttered popcorn note comes back randomly for a couple puffs.

Final Third:  Draw and combustion remain excellent but the burn keeps lacking on one side of the stick. Another small touch-up required.  The waxiness is back on the tongue. At this point the stick has become very soft entering the final third.  Temperature however, remains cool and nice in touch.  The odd graphite flavor has also come back.  Some dry roasted almonds and tobacco are now predominant. By now the burn has finally straightened out.. More roasted nuts and some milk chocolate comes in for the last few puffs before putting it out with less than an inch left. 

 

Closing Remarks: These have been kind of hit or miss for me.  This one flavor wise, was right in the middle.  Some nice notes and some funky ones.  Liked the roasted nuts, cake flavors and chocolatey finish.  Did not like the waxiness or graphite flavors.  The wax notes I also received recently on a Escogidos stick that I reviewed.  They were both quite young so I attribute that flavor to age.  Overall an enjoyable smoke for a relaxing Saturday afternoon with a full belly. 

 

Burn: 3/5 (A few touch-ups. One in each third)

Construction: 4/5 (Good draw/combustion the entire way through but got soft in the final third)

Flavor: 3/5 (OK – nuts, pine, cedar, graphite, chocolate finish – a weird wax note on the retro)

Smell: 5/5 (CEDAR)

Wrapper: 3/5 (Golden brown with a large vein – and what felt like a stem trying to poke through)

Overall Score: 18/25

[GVan]

The outside bar at Roco's Tacos is awesome after a round of golf near West Palm!  Great location, cold beer, beautiful women and I love the "Carne Molcajetes" - more good food than a person can eat.

[BeerPimp]

I just got my box of QDO 54 last week so it will be a bit before I can try one.  Thanks for the review.

[StogieSteve23]

12 hours ago, GVan said:

The outside bar at Roco's Tacos is awesome after a round of golf near West Palm!  Great location, cold beer, beautiful women and I love the "Carne Molcajetes" - more good food than a person can eat.

Agreed! This was the one in Boca.  We have some other spots we like a little better but Rocco's guac, margs and some other items on their menu are great.  Eye candy as well!