Canonazo VI 2023 review (NRWMO)

[amberleaf]

My first review so be gentle.

Tonight was the Wales v Fiji game so a big smoke was called for. My first and only experience with the Canonazo so far was not great, with only 4 days rest it had a lot of sharp edges with some bitterness, flavours were also blunted by a mild cold I had at the time. Will 12 weeks in the humidor see a transformation?

Pre-light: I love barnyard aroma in CCs and the Canonazo has it's own unique take on barnyard with floral notes. Cigar was firmly packed with no soft spots and felt heavy for its size. The wrapper is a nice matte russet brown colour devoid of sheen. I recall Rob and Hamlet saying that they were rolled on the tighter side to provide some resistance to the draw and it's pretty much perfect.

First third: No subtle build up here, straight into cream and wood with a hint of leather. Some nuttiness and baking spice are in the background. Medium-full but soon settling back to medium.

Second third: The nuts and leather subside and cookies and baking spices come forth with a hint of sweetness. The creamy mouthfeel continues. Excellent smoke production, but it is a cigar that should be sipped slowly or it can bite a little.

Final third: I was expecting a huge ramp up in flavour and intensity in the final third but it remained remarkably pleasant and restrained with only a modest increase in strength and body finishing a little above medium. Meanwhile Wales are doing their best to lose the game.

Total smoking time about 2 hours. Flawless construction and burn.

Final thoughts: The boy Hamlet done good. As someone who has only dabbled in NCs over the years and always returned to smoking Cubans, this along with the other Nudies releases has me converted. Unlike the Carlotas and PCs, the Canonazo won't be in my regular rotation as it isn't often I can commit to a 2 hour+ smoke, but when I can I'll certainly consider reaching for them. Will be interesting to see how they develop over the next couple of years.

[TacoSauce]

I like the subtle flex of showing that you have three FOH cigar stands. 😆

[David88]

Sounds fairly similar to Canonazo I had yesterday during South Africa v Scotland. Quite up and down and mine hit full bodied at times. Wales Fiji was a more exciting game than mine though!