Popular Post Capn_Jackson Posted February 15, 2024 Popular Post Posted February 15, 2024 Ah, the Boli Beli! I’m a little late on this one, maybe too late for the draw, but still wanted to share my thoughts on this nearly five-year-old BBF. Loving these review contests, as they give me a chance to hone in on what I’m getting from each smoke. I’ve often called JL2 my desert island cigar, but BBF was my top smoke up until I started smoking Lopez a few years ago. Truthfully, BBF does hold the all-time crown for me. Back in college, the early 2000’s, my songwriting partner and I used to smoke ‘em often while writing hasty lyrics, the type young 20-something rockers write when they’d probably rather just cover Led Zeppelin tunes. Lots of memories of great BBFs from back then and in the years since. They’ve been faithful to me for a couple decades, and it’s time I re-crown them as my favorite. As I’ve often said, there’s nothing like a Bolivar. This one’s got some bumps and a few veins. Solid pack, with just the right amount of give. Wrapper is a milk chocolate brown, with some mottled spots here and there. The cold draw gives me hickory and prunes. Nice medium draw. Almost too firm, but it’ll do. On the opening light, I taste just sweet toasted tobacco, a little charred oak, and an unmistakable twinge of dark honey on the finish. Very wonky burn at first that evens itself out quickly. As things get rolling, I get a creamy stout, prunes, honey-roasted almonds, and the texture is creamy as can be. The finish is all baking spice and figs, reminding me of a holiday fruit bread. On the puff only, with no retro, I just kinda get toasted wheat and some slightly bitter nutmeg. Heading towards the second third, the citrus starts to take shape, trying to nudge out the prune and figs. Strength at this point is just a shade over medium, with signs of increasing. Worth mentioning, this is one of the flakiest ashes I’ve seen in awhile, but it’s also solid. Not going anywhere. In the second third, stone fruit and stout start to take over, and the citrus has taken on the character of orange peel…with an ever-so-slight bitter sweetness that isn’t unpleasant, but reminds me of, well, biting an orange peel. There’s also some majorly toasted bourbon barrel happening here. The mouthfeel starts to turn more dry, with just a slight bit of oil. Stone fruit is probably the most dominant thing, with a lot of plum sweetness but none of the tartness of a plum. On puff-only, with no retro, I’m reminded of what my friends across the pond call a biscuit, along with some peanut shell and bright, medium-roast coffee. Around the middle of the stick, I have to relight a couple times. I didn’t dry box this because the draw felt alright, but perhaps I should have. Not affecting the flavors, though, and things roll on as they should. In the last act, the leather I’ve been waiting for shows up, and the prune says bye-bye. Still some orange peel and a little bit of plum, still some bourbon barrel, but burnt molasses and leather take center stage. Great stuff here! The mouthfeel gets oilier as I get near the end, not much of a creamy texture anymore, but oily and viscous. Shortly after, what showed up as dark molasses has morphed into more of a caramel taste, and there is a tiny bit of Honey Nut Cheerios happening as well. As expected, strength has kicked up a few notches to med-full. The body has been, of course, rich and full the whole ride. I’m always surprised how fast I go through a BBF. I’m a notoriously slow smoker, but these beauties never take much longer than about an hour and 20 minutes. Perhaps I’m enjoying it too much, and cheating a little faster between draws, but an hour and 25 minutes is all this one takes. Like I said before, at least to me, there is nothing like a Bolivar. My score: 91. Would’ve been higher, probably, if not for having to re-light twice. Cheers! 10
BossHogg Posted February 16, 2024 Posted February 16, 2024 Thanks for the review 👍 BBFs are one of my favorites. 1
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