Kentucky Fire Cured - Just a Friend 6x52 (AshWRC)

[ctsigler317]

My daughter bought me a lovely ashtray for my birthday last fall, so this was the perfect time to showcase it!  It's not your typical cigar ashtray... probably meant for cigarettes... but it works just fine for some of my smaller gauge.  To be honest I never sit and rest my cigars in the ashtray, so it works fine for the larger too.  Just not a lot of room for that big ash.   

The ashtray was inspired by our lovely kitten Milo.

He's about 7 months old now and is a bundle of joy.  He doesn't meow much... rather he just has a cute squeak.  Alas-  here's the ashtray!

Here he is holding a Mag 50 Tubo for size comparison.  

The cigar I'm reviewing is the Drew Estate MUWAT Kentucky Fire Cured - Just a Friend - 6" x 52 Toro.  If you've never had one, you must try it at least once.  To say it's an experience is an understatement.

Drew Estate's Kentucky Fire Cured cigars are made from (you guessed it) American fire-cured tobacco leaves from Kentucky and Virginia.  The curing barns are filled with smoke, much like a big rack of meat would be slow smoked and cured in a barn.

I'll paste my notes exactly as I wrote them down during the "experience."

Removed from cello.  Smelled the wrapper- wow, smells like I'm at a mesquite BBQ pit with smoke rolling over my nose!

Made a V-cut, took a cold draw, and it tastes just like I'm sucking in and breathing in the smoke while standing in the middle of a BBQ pit.  Wow.  Wonder how it tastes?  Very amazing how strong the smoke smell is.

First draws, bitter & tangy pork BBQ sauce.  No sweetness.  Retrohale has lots of tangy bitterness, in a good way.  if I close my eyes and imagine, it's as if I'd just taken a bite of a pulled pork BBQ sandwich.  

After 5-10 minutes, I'm beginning to taste the mesquite smoke taste again.  Although not nearly as strong as the cold draw and smell.
Leather taste is starting to appear. very mild smoke.  Not a lot of smoke at all.  No rolling clouds.  Slight grit on teeth.

Aroma of slightly smoky.  stored at 65/65 but having to take double puffs or more frequent, as it doesn't want to behave.  Very windy outside and 60F degrees.

2nd third, pepper and spice making first appearance. Small. Burn evening out.  Ash still holding strong.  Full on aroma of BBQ pit.  I will be expecting my neighbors to walk by at any minute, asking what I'm cooking for dinner!

Final third.  Becoming more savory and smokey on the aroma.  Aftertaste on the palette is still very leathery.  Burn is going crazy again- wrapper has a huge flap. Nothing that will stop me.  Finally producing more smoke.  Pepper is going away.

Finally finished.  The aftertaste- very smoky mesquite taste.  My hands and face smell like I have smeared BBQ pit sauce all over my face that I need to wash off.   I really feel like I need a wet nap.

Very unique experience!!   Would I crave them?   Absolutely not......  would I smoke one again?   Hmmm........  maybe so!  It's definitely something I would encourage others to try at least once.

 

[ctsigler317]

On 1/16/2024 at 10:59 AM, VeguerosMAN said:

This Kentucky cigar becomes extremely sweet when you pair with Strong IPA.

Thanks for the tip! I’ll have to go for a round 2 this summer.

[Viva Vegas]

This cigar is one of the few NC cigars I smoke and like.

[CaptainQuintero]

  I've never had one of these but I've had (and love) Toscano cigars. If anyone hasn't had one before they're Italian cigars  and fire-cured as well. But they are very sweet and rich, almost date-like with a dark roast coffee core. 

  I would have thought fire curing would make any fire-cured cigar taste the same, regardless of blend or tobacco used (I think Toscano use Virginia) but I'm surprised it doesn't seem the case based on this. A side by side would be interesting to see if blending is a really important, even with something as powerful a process as fire-curing

 

[ctsigler317]

10 minutes ago, CaptainQuintero said:

  I've never had one of these but I've had (and love) Toscano cigars. If anyone hasn't had one before they're Italian cigars  and fire-cured as well. But they are very sweet and rich, almost date-like. 

  I would have thought fire curing would make any fire-cured cigar taste the same, regardless of blend or tobacco used (I think Toscano use Virginia) but I'm surprised it doesn't seem the case based on this. A side by side would be interesting to see if blending is a really important, even with something as powerful a process as fire-curing

 

Never tried a Toscano.  I'll have to pick a couple up and see how they compare to these.

[Ford2112]

13 hours ago, CaptainQuintero said:

  I've never had one of these but I've had (and love) Toscano cigars. If anyone hasn't had one before they're Italian cigars  and fire-cured as well. But they are very sweet and rich, almost date-like with a dark roast coffee core.

I have a couple Toscano packs I'm waiting to try. 

[CaptainQuintero]

They're such a great change of pace cigar, I imagined that they would literally taste like smoke/burnt but if anything it's just the richness dialed up to 10.

[El Presidente]

Great review