Trinidad Media Luna TLU ABR 20 (FYARW)

[Enduin]

I bought a box in December, received in January and let it rest for two months at 65%. The first cigar from the box was unbelievably plugged, the second was regular plugged but very bland. I weighed all the remaining cigars and chose the lightest to smoke. Weight is 9.01g. I smoked outside in my backyard with a 83F/28C temp and 54% humidity.

I pulled the pigtail and got about an 8mm or so opening, the draw on this Media Luna sample was excellent (YES!). Slightly on the open side but very good nonetheless. Cold draw was mostly raisin with a touch of natural tobacco.

 

First third started off great. Smoke production was slightly below average. The cigar was very smooth, extremely elegant, some raisin, some butter, hint of that cookie dough I read about, touch of sweetness. The burn was a bit uneven so a touch up was required. The ashes were the most fragile I’ve ever seen. With maybe 1/2” of ashes I turned the cigar upright and while looking at it the ashes fell on my hand. Since they were still quite hot, they burned me slightly, which triggered the pain reflex that made me drop the cigar on the ground. Now when I say ground I mean sand. Florida soil is just straight sand. Very fine, very sticky sand. So with now a bunch of sand sticking to the head of the cigar and not wanting to ruin the experience with a mouthful of sand, I peeled off the cap and a bit of the wrapper so I could put my mouth on the binder underneath. I wish I had a camera rolling as I’m sure the whole scene would have been pretty entertaining to watch.

 

Second third was very similar in flavor, but with the addition of a hint of caramel coming and going and some latte coffee. These flavor notes were making me think of dessert. The smoke production also increased a bit and reached a perfect level, but I had to pay attention to puff a bit more often than my normal speed or the cigar would start to die on me. Smoke was creamy and smooth. Second touch up.

 

Around the end of the second third I removed the band which unfortunately resulted in the wrapper unraveling. I tried keeping it on the cigar with my hand but I’m not sure I was successful. The flavor shifted towards more muted notes, a touch of almond and that’s it. The cigar in the last third was also a bit loose in the draw and very spongy feeling. I eventually decided to ditch the wrapper and just smoke it as it was. If you are curious as to what a Trini Media Luna binder looks like check the pics! I have to say, “water spots” aside, those binder looked pretty good for being binders, very little veins compared to what I was expecting. The last third continued to be fairly disappointing until the end and required a third touch up. I wonder if it was more the last third being seemingly underfilled or the separation first and then complete lack of the wrapper that was responsible for a lackluster 3/3. My money is on the wrapper, as I’ve always been a supporter of the theory that wrappers are more than just looks and are responsible for a good amount of flavor, especially in non-huge RG cigars. But it could have been both.

 

Conclusions: the construction on this Media Luna was far from ideal, the burn was uneven, the ashes were extremely fragile, the cigar was slightly underfilled and last third was lackluster but that could have been my fault. In spite of that I loved it!

The flavor profile was absolutely fantastic and this cigar was in a nutshell what CCs are about: it can be frustrating and there is no denying the spotty quality control, BUT when they deliver, you get an experience that is simply amazing and unlike anything else in the cigar world. I also want to add that I took more detailed tasting notes while I was smoking and they accidentally got deleted so I had to type everything again from memory, I’m sure I left something out.

I was going to post this review as a regular review, but I thought that entering the worst ashes I ever got for an ashes contest would be hilarious! Pic 5 is the longest I got LOL

 

 

 

[rcarlson]

Good review.  Bummer on the stick.

Trick I learned for a wrapper that starts to unravel if you don't have any cigar glue.  Put a tiny dab of cream, whole milk, half-and half, whatever you have with the highest milkfat content, under the wrapper and lay it back down.  Works amazingly well in a pinch, and "no" it doesn't affect the taste one bit.    

[Enduin]

Thanks for the tip! I’ll definitely try that next time I have a wrapper unravelling. 

[Enduin]

It really was something but I thoroughly enjoyed it! The cigar, not the spectacle.