cohiba siglo vi

[Ken Gargett]

rob dropped this one over yesterday morning (and i do mean dropped). it was intended to be one of the older ones from 03 and i was all terribly excited, as i have a box untouched from 03 (mine june and his august but same factory). then came the call. whoops, it is a current one. no matter, always been a big fan of the siglo vi and happy to take any opp to try one. rarely let you down.

nice appearance except for a small split where rob had dropped it (told you he dropped it over). it was quite tightly packed but interestingly, more so on one side. i wondered whether this would influence the burn (and wish i'd taken photos). in the end, need not have worried. the burn here could not have been more immaculate. absolutely even, perfect, consistent and slow.

smelt cold, very enticing. some of that old forest and old leather character.

immediately when lit, it could be argued it appeared as if a bit too young to smoke but very quickly settled in and rolled along flawlessly - a complex, spicy effort. draw was good, a peect ash of about two inches before i knocked it off for the first time, revealed a lovely little geometrically perfect cone.

there was power, subtlty, spice and complexity here, some hints of honey and rum (i was drinking woodford reserve bourbon so not some sort of transferred flavour). flavours ebbed and flowed throughout but remained almost always in balance. did not see any grassiness in this one.

one small detracting point - there was a hint of bitterness on the aftertaste towards the finish but i suspect that this is merely a function of youth. as for potential, i'd say huge. this are fabulous cigars. i can understand some don't like the size - when you first start to smoke one, it always feels a touch like shoving a baseball bat in your gob, but if that is not an issue for you, i'd suggest some around for smoking now but mak sure you are well covered for the future. 93 with a bullet. can't wait to try this older one.

[havanaclub7]

Interesting review, Ken. I'm surprised yours didn't have any of the grassiness at all. As I noted in my review, mine did -- but mostly in the first third. By the half point of the cigar, it was all gone. I'm glad you had a perfect burn and I'm curious how the draw was. Mine had a perfect draw -- not too loose and not too firm. But the burn was very uneven. I was excited when the draw was so perfect and then disappointed with the burn. I agree with you 100% about this cigar's potential!

[Ken Gargett]

draw was fine. i was keeping an eye out for any grassness, given the rep, but could detect none. very much agree re the bitterness. had expectedburn problems given that one side seemed to be packed tighter than the other but none eventuated. terrific smoke.

[SmokinAl]

:clap:

Nice job Ken. I've been smoking these recently from both a box and tubos. I can't prove it, but it seems the tubo ones are smoking better then the box of 25. Burn and draw is better on them too. I'm determined to stash some for the long term, but the flesh is weak...