Canonazo VI Review (08/23) - @ 58 days rest

[GVan]

It's 86 degs F. outside and 76% Rh - a beautiful Florida evening!  These Puro Desnudo Amanti IV Canonazo's have been sitting in an empty wooden cabinet I had from Warped cigars at ~ 63% Rh and 74 degrees F. in the office humidor for 58 days since receipt.  Wife’s traveling; Time to finally try one!

 

 

A sweet smell is coming from the wrapper - reminds me of a freshly baked pecan pie. V cut, easy, loose cold draw - firm feel with a nice Colorado medium brown wrapper and no large veins. Light it @ 7:12 pm.  First few puffs taste like a very light Sancho Panza with a slightly sweet, meaty, pecan flavor.  Light grey smoke, very smooth tobacco taste, none of the bitterness that some have reported in ROTT reviews.  First ¾” is a perfect burn with a solid, tightly packed grayish-white ash. At this point it reminds me more of an Epi-2, very light bodied, less than medium strength a little nutmeg mingles in the background together with the pecan.  This is just smooth, smooth, smooth and very enjoyable.  Puffing every 30 seconds trying to discern additional flavors - I tell myself to slow-down and just enjoy!

 

At the 1 ½” mark I’m 24 minutes in and trying to compare the flavor with any of my other NC’s - 58 different NCs in my collection and no real comparisons emerge.

 

At the 1/3rd point I’m sticking with the Epi-2 comparison although this has a touch of sweetness that the Epi-2 doesn’t.  Ash held all the way through the first third - I knocked it off.  With the ceiling fan on medium I didn’t want to wear the ash!

 

 

After knocking off the ash I have a little uneven burn and have to touch it up.  This happens often, on many cigar’s when I remove a long ash - really just my OCD kicking in and always hoping for perfection. Still very smooth in the middle third. Less sweetness in the mouth but more sweetness in the nose - I love the bouquet of the smoke wafting around as I exhale. The closest aroma comparison is the Punch Short de Punch.  That’s one of my favorites.  A little canoeing in the middle third, probably still needs more time to rest and acclimate.  If there’s excess moisture, I don’t taste it - no bitterness and still smooth. I’ve been smoking slower; short of halfway and I’m at 48 minutes. No major flavor bursts this third. Some other reviewers taste cookie dough - this third to me is more like my 2016 Monte 4’s - a very smooth and slight milk chocolate bouncing around in the background and still smelling the sweetness but not really tasting it. 

 

 

Starting the last third, I’m 1 hour and 5 minutes in and I have to relight.  Purge, light torch and I’m off again.  Sweetness gone, mid-bodied and mid-strength.  I have some Oliva Melanio V robusto’s that are from 2017 - this last third reminds me of that flavor / strength combination.  Burns razor sharp for the next ½”.  A little more earth, bread, a touch of spice but way less spice than a typical Melanio.  Half-way into the final third I get a good expresso coffee type of bitterness.  This starts just as I’m feeling a little heat in the fingers.  I rarely smoke a cigar much past taking off the band.  Of course, there’s no band on a nudie!  I stop just past where the band would be - total smoking time is 1 hour and 43 minutes.

 

 

Final thoughts: a really good NC.  The first third was 93 to 94 points all day.  Really liked the aroma on the second third and just a smooth smoke in the middle third comparing to many 91 to 92 point cigars.  CA gave the Oliva Melanio V robusto 94 points.  The last third of the Amanti didn’t reach that for me but was still a solid smoke.  Overall, it started very light and “cubanesque” and transitioned through to medium / medium-full at the end.  Never boring and never vegetal or bitter as many young smokes exhibit.  When I seriously started collecting I swore I wouldn’t become a CC exclusive — although I definitely prefer a little age (4 to 7 years) on a CC.   Glad to find a NC blend that smokes young and hits a few of the preferred flavors and aromas for my palate.  These will help my CC collection last a little longer!

 

I’m an avid reader of all of the FOH reviews on this cigar.  I bought two packages based on Rob’s recomendations and others' reviews.  Rob is right - these are ready to smoke with 60 days rest.  I would guess that in 6 months this will be one that I will reach for whenever I have the time.  Also, will gladly share these with my cigar friends!  Given what Rob and Hamlet said they were trying to do, I’d say they succeeded.  A fair representation of close to a CC at a fraction of the current CC price with many positive comparisons noted above. 

 

Thank you to FOH!!!

 

George