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Review by Greg |
Appearance: 10 out of 10 |
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Box Code/Year: 2005 |
Construction: 10 out of 10 |
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Average rating: 10.00 |
Flavor: 10 out of 10 |
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Value: 10 out of 10 |
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Experience: 10 out of 10 |
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Review notes: I was in the mood for a smoke and wasn’t sure what I would decide on when I went to the humi. After looking through I came across a 4 x 40 Monte #5. A bit young but still ready to smoke. I took it out the humi and as always picked up my tools as I headed out the back door.
It was another gorgeous sunny day with a good breeze. Temps were in the lower 50’s (F), so a bit on the cool side. I found a nice warm spot right behind the house where the breeze wasn’t so bad and had a seat. Mandy (dog) found her a nice, warm spot behind me along the edge of the house and put her belly up to the sun. We were some lazy, loungin’ hounds!
The construction was near perfect with some slight veins. Some tooth was visible and the wrapper was semi oily. It was quite firm with a good bit of tightness around the band. Hopefully not a plug…
I did find it unusual that this stick didn’t have the typical triple cap. It actually had what looked like one, possibly two with a tiny cap on top. The foot revealed very nice layers of tobacco.
I used my Swiss Army to punch the head and pre-light draw was as I expected, slightly on the tight side, however not plugged. A nice taste of good tobacco with a bit of woodiness was what I detected.
Using my Z-Plus converted Zippo, I toasted the foot and used a sliver of Spanish cedar to put fire to it. From previous experience with a tight draw, it usually takes a couple/few good pulls to get the smoke going. I did not find it with this little smoke. The first long draw brought forth an abundance of creamy smooth smoke that was a medium to full body. I’ve found that for me, exhaling both through my mouth and nose gives me the best possible taste of a cigar, and flavor poured forth with the first exhale. All the usual flavors of wood (cedar?), leather, dark creamy chocolate, maybe a bit of black licorice. I also found an absolutely delicious flavor of dark berries, possibly blackberries or even dark, soft, ripe strawberries. To me, this little smoke was amazing. These flavors were abundant and consistent throughout most of the smoke. Towards the end the flavor changed over to a more woodsy, leather flavor, but still smooth and delicious with the hint of fruit lingering. Usually at the nubbing point there’s a slight bitterness with most smokes. Not with this one. Good to the last drop! |
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Bolivar
