Virtual Tasting 1: Juan Lopez Selection No 2 UPM JUL 07

[aavkk]

I was thinking Choix supreme the moment you mentioned citrus. My guess is young (07).

[El Presidente]

» » Youre a cynic Smith

»

» Hear me out though mate, you would become businessman of the year if you

» could convince your clients to buy virtual cigars, hell it worked for all

» those dot.com companies in the early 2000s.

....and it would be healthier :cool:

[Guest rob]

Great concept Pres... and well done Chuck.

Been in a fight Pres? Thats a hell of a bandaid you've got there.

[El Presidente]

» Great concept Pres... and well done Chuck.

» Been in a fight Pres? Thats a hell of a bandaid you've got there.

Lisa bites as well as having a great right hook

[smokum]

Out of all the robustos...this is my favorite. With age...delectable. Great fun guessing on this. Chuck will nail it every time I bet.

[anacostiakat]

So do you have any '05 stock of these? You can email me... ;-)

[brooklyn]

Hoyo # 2 07 is my guess.

[jadawin]

» Hoyo # 2 07 is my guess.

no need to guess anymore, it was revealed above;-)

[El Presidente]

Virtual Blind Tasting.

OK this is not really fair as I am doing the tasting but I thought I would give it a try :-D

I will post the tasting…..you tell me what cigar and a box year. Sounds fair

Good looking Robusto 50 x 124 (4.9") …….I put that in for you Ken…..to give you a hand. ;-)

Feels good in the hand. Have some concerns about a spongy foot and slightly hard spot just before the band. The aroma at cold is sensational. Pure Vuelta Abajo tobacco and fresh leather.

Serrated the cap. The draw is on the tighter side than I like. I spend a few minutes massaging the tighter section under the band and clipped the cap for a larger opening. It appears to work with the draw improving approximately 25%. All ready for take off.

Fired up the foot with the Lotus Vector. The cigar comes slowly to light and initial flavours are soft…tobacco, touch of citrus dancing on the edges. I can’t say I am happy with smoke volume so I retouch with flame which appears to improve the volume of smoke and the intensity…..still light in body.

It takes a half inch for the body of the cigar to move from light to Medium. Interesting elements here…..charcoal, tobacco, sweet citrus. It appears slightly muddled in its delivery. Enjoyable yes….in love with it?.....not yet.

There is a battle going on within the cigar. It is now delivering great body (medium full) but there is a coal element which beats off the incursions of citrus/coffee(black)/shortbread. It really is a no contest by the end of the halfway point. The coal aspect deliver a slightly bitter effect on the tongue and overpower the finer flavour nuances. The smoke is chewy and viscous. The aroma of the smoke is sandlewood and sweet spice.

The final half of the cigar perplexes me somewhat. It certainly wants to be more complex than it is. Occasionally I will get bursts of citrus but in essence coal and black coffee dominate. Still medium full/still some shortbread which just continues to be overpowered. There is an underlying sweetness in this cigar which calls you only to disappear when you reach out.

The cigar finally settles down towards the end. Its true self reveals. The flavour profile is what in Australia we call a confectionery called a Jaffa “orange flavour outside….chocolate inside”. It took a long while for the cigar to reach this profile and I suspect it will take 3 years for it to consistently do so.

So……what is it?

[El Presidente]

I am impressed!

Many of you picked it but it was Chuck who nailed it.

"The descriptions were close for several cigars in my mind. What sealed it for me was the flavor of Sandlewood and sweet spice. Because of the extremely flakey ash, the age of this cigar is very young.

I believe this cigar to be a Juan Lopez Sellecion No.2 either a 07or a 08 model."

Welcome to Juan Lopez Seleccion No 2 UPM JUL 07.