RealFreakinCigarReviews

Dan smokes an Upmann Cedar Aged Cameroon, hoping for an excellent experience.  He finishes disappointed.

H. Upmann Cedar Cameroon

Initial Thoughts 

I have a soft spot for cigars wrapped in cedar wrappers.  It really adds to the complexity and flavor of the stogie.  Opening the cellophane and taking my first sniff of the smoke damned near gives me wood.  I remove the cedar sleeving, and observe a couple of small spots of white… possibly mold… that’s not good!  The digital hygrometer says “68% humidity, so I’m a little surprised here.. It brushes off easily, so lets hope that was just a false alarm.  Looking at the stick, I do notice a few minor imperfections – small dark spots, but nothing too detracting.  I look closely at the foot of the stick for any other signs of mold, and I don’t see anything, so hopefully I’m in the clear.

The Smoke

I clip the cap, and observe no cracking or breakage.  The cigar is firm.  I fire it up and take my first puff…. Excellent flavor, good taste, and YES, you can in fact taste some additional complexity of being wrapped in cedar.  Excellent flavor as I puff on it some more.  The burn is perfect, and the draw is as smooth as silk.  I don’t have anything to drink, so I’m just out here, relaxing and thoroughly enjoying the smoke.  At the 2/3 point, burn is still even, flavor is medium, and is definitely increasing a little in strength.  The taste on this smoke is absolutely wonderful… lots of complexity and nuances to it.  I’m noticing some slight unevenness in the burn -- nothing too major, but enough to notice.

Well, shoot… the stick is almost done, and unfortunately the burn continues to be a little uneven.  I’ll be honest, I’m a little disappointed in that, because to an extent, I didn’t really get my money’s worth.  The flavor and complexity was absolutely wonderful.  I hate to give this cigar a “7” rating, but I call ‘em like I smoke ‘em.

The Rating