TX Duo Review - Holiday Party!

[Çnote]

@Capn_Jackson and I met and smoked a few cigars. Lots of conversation, not alot of coherent notes, and we broke the seal and talked alot about what we were tasting. I have gotten over the idea that I'm wasting cigars so will try to be smoking more Duo, especially as they just keep adding up!

Cavalier NFG24 'Swiss Cheese' 

A fabulous start and appropriate as we met at the UG. Sour creme blintz, if you want three quick words. Biscuit, marzipan, ginger; creamy, but with a twang. No transitions, but smooth as silk, in a great place today. 89-90

Viaje Holiday Blend Petite Torpedo 2011

Again, zero transitions and smooth all the way. Smoking Holiday blend 16-22ish I've often gotten a SCdH vibe of spice cake and it certainly delivers here. Molasses, treacle, pumpernickel, light allspice, but nothing too high of a frequency to rock the boat. Very enjoyable. 91?

Casdagli DotW 

I'm not 100% sure what this is, Jackson got it and was very much looking forward to it, so here we are, smoking more cigars. More of the same in marzipan - biscuit territory, but much rougher as compared with the 1st two. No real transitions. Pleasant enough, but I'm not shopping it. 87

I finished up the day with a BR n06. Much more interesting that anything else so far today, but a very funky burn. Still obviously young with more upside potential than anything else today, also the only cigar with anything close to CC twang and transitions, but so much hesitation. 89?

[Capn_Jackson]

Cavalier NFG ‘24 Swiss Cheese. Appropriately smoking this at the Underground in Arlington, as I think these are made for other yearly NFG festival …which I have still yet to attend.

Tight draw on this sucker. After a straight cut, I go head on with a V as well.

Cold draw doesn’t give me much besides some earth and a little barnyard. Light-up is a nice balance of coffee and cream. Little bit of dark cherry lingering behind.

Going on, coffee and cream still rolling. The finish has a great note of agave, lasting long until the next puff. This evolves into a really delicious funky cheese, but not necessarily Swiss, as its name would suggest. Instead, I’m getting something like baked brie, with some fig preserves and crushed hazelnut.

Conversation with @Çnote ensues, and my notes get sparse, but this is one smooth cookie. So rich, but nothing is really sticking out flavor-wise. Just a damn good smoking experiences. Cody convinces me that the gold leaf doesn’t need to be peeled off, so I smoke right through it. Smoking gold!

Finishes much as it has been. Very good notes of coffee, wood, and cream. Some marzipan. Excellent, easy smoke to love. 90

[Capn_Jackson]

Viaje Holiday Blend, 2011

If I took few notes on the Swiss Cheese, I took even fewer notes on this one. 

Light-up is full of dark honeyed nuts. Early going, this is a nice, smooth bed of coffee and sweet but dark spices. Pumpernickel, fruitcake. Going on, just an extremely smooth, mellifluous smoke. Almost luxurious. No elbows to be seen.

Going into the second third, some flavor loss. Gets a little bland for just a minute. It comes back, with a change in profile though. We’re still in holiday spice land, with a nutty finish, but I’m getting spiced peaches now as well. Syrupy, good stuff. Some green tea in the mix. Very rich towards the end. Cocoa and nutmeg. @Çnote mentions SCdH, and...yes, it reminds me of a La Punta, very easily.

Great smooth smoke, just a little transition in the last third, but otherwise just a good easy smoke.

90.