TX Duo Review - Caldwell Eastern Standard Midnight Express Robusto (unknown)

[Çnote]

@Capn_Jackson thanks for these!

I'm pretty sure I mentioned to Jackson that I had found a couple of these in a corona, aged at a lounge that wasn't particularly inclined to sell cigars that day. He found these at a known reputable discounter. These have been discontinued for a minute. 

Mellow, but a big pop of sour soy sauce up front, thankfully this fades over the next inch or so and continues to mellow into a rum raisin and cocoa powder vibe. Punches up some peanut butter chocolate and burnt toast getting to the band. Gets to spicy nutmeg, black pepper in the nub, eventually getting some forest floor and mushroom with slow puffs. Not the greatest construction with some stripping and maybe bunching issues showing.

You get what you pay for, but this isn't bad at all.  Perfectly smokable if a touch more savory than I'd care for regularly. 84? I want to like this more but the corona in my memory was better.

[Capn_Jackson]

Found these for such a steal that I had to jump. To be honest, I’ve never had a Caldwell cigar, though many have been given to me over the years. I’ll try them eventually, they’ve spent a good amount of time resting in my humis. Apparently the Modnight Express was discontinued after the fire at Tabacalera William Ventura in late 2022. That would place this one at least 3 years after production.

I like the gold foil band that’s found on the foot of this cigar, with the words “MIDNIGHT EXPRESS” typed on. Not too fancy, just a little elegant. This is called a maduro, but it’s one of the lighter maduro wraps I’ve seen. Certainly not inky dark, closer to Padrón maduros in color.

The foot has a nice aroma of nuts and savory spices, and the cold draw has the same plus some mild coffee. Light-up brings me dry cocoa, mild red pepper, and some nuttiness. 

Very wonky burn at first, but it corrects itself quickly. Flavors are pretty muted for the first third. There is coffee. There is milk chocolate. There is some nuttiness. Nothing really popping so far. Thinking maybe these were a steal for a reason. Extremely smooth, but nothing standing out. No richness or depth, to me. That changes towards the end of the first segment. A white pepper note on top of almond paste, but it’s faint. Really searching here. Then, a little buttery cocoa starts to emerge. Very faint, really searching here.

Second third starts off with some chocolate covered nuts, and a tiny bit of dried berry. More woodsy aromas, too. Not a lot of smoke output. Either that or I’ve got a wonky burn again. Right at the midpoint, fire goes out. After a quick purge and relight, there’s some nice cocoa and nuts again. Lots of coffee, a tiny bit of orange peel. Not rich enough or complex enough to warrant this kind of babysitting, though. 

Last third is by far the most rewarding. Lots of nuts and coffee, soft leather and even some molasses. For a moment, there’s a heavy dose of salted popcorn in the finish. If the entire stick had been this flavorful, I would be telling a different story. Alas, the end turns to bitter and ashy, but this is the kind of finish that’s indicative of a bad burn, and too many touchups. I’m hoping this was a dud, and will give this one another go sometime. @Çnote, I think I gave you more than one of these, and you might need it to get a good one… who knows?

75 from me. It wasn’t kind. Very likely a dud.

[Çnote]

22 hours ago, Capn_Jackson said:

I think I gave you more than one of these, and you might need it to get a good one… who knows?

Who knows? I'll add to Duo.