TL;DR - an outstanding pepper-blast Cameroon experience. đź‘Ť
5 mos aged ⏳️
Prelight black pepper. Construction, good. Goldilocks draw. No surprise, the initial impression is an earthy Cameroon. Loads of black pepper with this one, and it's a great mix. đź‘Ś Halfway through and it seems like this is a mix between an Arturo Fuente Hemingway and a blast of black pepper.
I can easily say I'll be getting more of these.
Boxpressd keeps changing my posts from day to day? One moment my text is there, next it's gone. Then the smoking time goes, and the tasting notes? Cmon...
I do love a good cameroon wrapper. The Oliva Serie G, Fuente Hemingway, etc. So this has a lot to live up to. It starts by looking good. Wrapper is toothy. Cap is deep and well set. The box press is nice as well. Double bands, but not one on the foot. It smells of rich chocolate and coffee from the unlit foot and wrapper. Guillotine cut is handled well. Cold draw gave chocolate wheat bread. Upon lighting, tasting notes for me were black pepper, wheat, chocolate, and coffee. The retrohale gave more pepper, and a little coffee with cream. The burn line started to wave up almost immediately but it never was too bad. Flavor notes during the first third for me were pepper, milk chocolate, leather, almonds, and wheat bread, no fruity notes for my palate. The burn line corrected itself with no touch ups. Ash was solid, white, and not too flaky. About an inch in and the floral notes showed up, a very welcomed tasting note not present in a lot of cigars. By the end of the first third the pepper died down some and a little nutmeg came through. The cigar ashed itself at the beginning of the second third. Also at the beginning of the second third, the first band came off nicely with heat. The second one came off shortly thereafter. It was here that the milk chocolate became delicious on the retrohale, along with a note of sweet vanilla, almost like vanilla extract. Foot smoke was aromatic here too. A bit of saltiness jumped in and out, but overall the flavors melded together beautifully. Long, nice finish. This was the money third indeed. The second band is large, and as anticipated, the side closest to the burn came off easily, but I had to be careful with the back half so as not to damage the wrapper. I noticed a scent of hickory coming off the foot on the draw, but didn’t taste it as much. Draw was perfect throughout. Still a great experience going into the final third, where the cigar ashed itself again. It was here that the chocolate turned into graham cracker, and hay came through. Strength increased a little bit and the nutmeg became more pronounced. Anise started coming through along with good barnyard. I smoked it until I couldn’t hold it anymore (a little less than a half inch). Wonderfully complex smoke with great output. Flavors were medium through the entire stick. Strength was medium to full by the end. Highly recommend!
When I say from start to finish, I literally mean from start to finish. It started with the cold draw with a hint of floral and cinnamon before it was even lit. The draw was perfect using a V-Cut. The burn was even throughout. It tasted wonderful with the hints of flora and cinnamon more intense when lit followed by a smooth chocolate. This will definitely be a cigar that will be in my humidor from here on out.
