This cigar is another one of my favorites. It’s a great cigar with a straightforward array of flavors, but there’s some really interesting notes if you really focus on it. Upon first reflection it seems like it’s just oak, some dry grassiness, a little pepper, and some creaminess toward the end. But when I smoked this cigar for review I also noticed almond liqueur.

I’m not one to pick out strange and specific notes from cigars, partly because I don’t think it’s useful, and mostly because I can’t. But seriously, I don’t think most people are trying to identify those kinds of bizarre and specific notes. However, I’m quite sure about the almond liqueur note, both that it’s there and that most people could detect it.

Now I think that’s a really interesting and unusual flavor, and it really rounds out the other notes very well. Otherwise this cigar would seem like something incredibly ordinary – plenty of other cigars are sweet, creamy, and oaky. This cigar is certainly not ordinary.

• Prelight Aroma: Hay, mineral notes, bit of earthiness
• Prelight Draw: The draw is medium-loose, with notes of dry leaves, lit match (sulfar + charred wood), fermented grass
• Inital light: More dry leaves, charred wood, grass

First Third

Immediately there’s some sweet oak and vanilla aroma coming off the foot, and almond extract, like the smell of an almond torte cake, on the palate. That almond flavor clings to the tongue, it’s really strong on a dry retrohale. Midway through the first third and the almond extract that was on the palate is now evident in the aroma, with some added sweetness.

Second Third

Coming into the second third the flavors are basically the same, more oak and almond with the introduction of some black pepper. Some pulls are quite almondy, with more of the aroma coming off the foot. The cigar was ashed halfway through the second third without my consent by a komikaze fly. I’m guessing the ash would’ve stuck on for another ½” or so. It turned a bit more woody after ashing (I’m hoping that’s not the fly), then went straight back to being a bit almond forward.

Final Third

At the beginning of the final third some leather was introduced, but the cigar is still predominantly almond and oak. The oak and pepper are picking up a bit here. Midway through the final third the oak flavor is turning into more of a charred oak and the flavor is getting a bit creamy every now and then.

Closing in on the nub, the flavors are getting rather harsh and the cigar is getting hot at this point. If you enjoy cigars for the flavor, here is a good place to stop. If you’re in it for the aroma, like me, the harsh flavor is an acceptable entrance fee to the decadent almondy, oaky, creamy smell coming off this cigar. In my opinion, this is the best part of the cigar.

Verdict

This is a fantastic cigar, with some mostly simple flavors. This is a great smoke for New Years, especially in this vitola. The almond liqueur flavor does a really nice job of rounding out the other flavors. The reason I scored this cigar an 87 and not an 88 is because the smoke is a bit dry, and the other notes are pretty pedestrian.

That stated, for $5.67 this cigar is a great value. Even though it’s a pretty small vitola it still has a runtime of 55 minutes if you nub it, and you get a familiar flavor profile with an almond wildcard mixed in. I’ll definitely pick up more of these once I’m through with the 7 pack I bought.