Ramon Allones Celestiales Finos ER Asia Pacifico - OMA AGO 09 (JBWP3RW)

[saltbox]

Bought this box for fun, after hearing how well it seemed to be smoking now and my intense FOMO. I've given it 5.5 months of rest now, so finally dipping in. I also bought a box of the Por Larranaga Robustos de Larranaga ER Asia Pacifico at the same time and smoked the first one a couple weeks ago, and it turned out great, so hoping this one does too. There was a bit of a crack in the wrapper near the head but some cigar glue and wrapping paper secured it nicely.

First third: opens with intense stewed fruit and plum tartness, over a sweet rich nuttiness. Notes of chocolate and a touch of leather on the finish. The nuttiness takes on an almonds and honey characteristic. Towards the end the plum notes really ramp up, specifically the tartness and tannins of the skin of a plum.

Middle third: the almond nuttiness becomes a bit more prominent, as some peppery spice appears on the finish. There are occasional notes of bitterness but they're always faint enough to ignore and forget about.

Last third: the plum skins are really front and center now, with some light marzipan in the background.

Overall: this particular smoke tasted like if you took the typical plum tartness I get from regular production RASS and amped it up to the max, almost bringing it out of balance vs. the baseline creaminess that I get from good RASS. It was interesting and enjoyable, but not necessarily better than the best RASS I've had (out of a 3.5 year old ASR JUN 17 50 cabinet). Will be eager to see how the box improves (hopefully) with more rest. 88/100