RealFreakinCigarReviews

There are times in life, where one is compelled to splurge.  I found out today that I was awarded a special award from the company I work for, so I decided to celebrate this evening with a $145.00 bottle of scotch and a $30.00 cigar.  The good news for me, is that this cigar was safely ensconced in a hermetically sealed tube, so even if the humidor from which it came from was at 78%, this stick is safely oblivious to that.

 According to my friendly (yet over-humidifying) tobacconist, the Beauty has well aged tobacco in it (he claims 20 years).  It should pair nicely with the barely legal Macallan 18 year old that I've purchased.

Beauty

Initial Thoughts

First off, let me say, that contrary to what my local tobacconist, it does NOT appear that the "Beauty" has 20 year old tobacco in it.  As near as I can tell, the wrapper is aged 7 years, and binder and filler are 5 years... I suppose if you add them all together that is 17 years.  Or... perhaps Tobacco Retailer (December 1st, 2006) is wrong.  At any rate, the presentation on this stick is quite impressive.  A frosted glass tube with a cedar wrapped stick inside.  After removing from its hermetically sealed tube, I'm greeted with a powerful, pungent tobacco smell.  Construction wise, no soft spots, and a truly gorgeous wrapper.

Briefly, let me say that the scotch did NOT disappoint... I mean seriously... Velvety smooth, lots of flavors, nuances, and not even a touch of the bite you'll find on the "not so good" stuff.  After lecturing the animal-rights-activist-teen-ager for one last time about the importance of actually putting forth some semblence of effort in high school, I'm ready to go outside and thoroughly enjoy myself.

The Smoke

Pre-light draw is perfect -- not too tight, not too easy.  Straight up, if I don't get anything less than stellar flavor from this cigar, I'm going to video me stomping the crap out of it.  I mean seriously... the foreplay leading up to actually lighting this thing is unbearable (even if it is self-inflicted).  After using my punch cutter, I toast the foot and take my first couple of puffs.  Boys and girls, THIS is what a fucking cigar is ALL about!  I kid you not... plenty of flavor and nuances, including but not limited to leather,  hint of toasted nuts or something or other.  All I can say, is the smoke is nothing less than luxurious.... yes, its really THAT good.  To say that it pairs nicely with the scotch would be the understatment of the week.  The burn and draw are perfect, and the flavor is absolutely fantastic!

At the 1/3rd point, the flavor continues to be nothing short of fantastic.  Plenty of flavor, nuances, and it pairs really well with the scotch.  The draw and burn are perfect -- no unevenness at all.  There is a small peppery flavor being added to lots of other flavors.  The cigar itself continues to be a truly excellent experience thus far.  The scotch is equally equisite... both were well worth the price of admission.

At 2/3rds of the way done and over an hour of cigar smoking pleasure, this stick continues to be nothing less than spectacular.  There is absolutely zero harshness as I've experienced with some of the Gurkhas I've reviewed.  Burn and draw are perfect, flavor is awesome.  The flavor has upped itself a notch or two, and is definitely in the medium bodied range.  I gotta say, if I could afford this experience on a regular basis, I would absolutely do it!

After just over 2 hours and taking it down to the nub, I'm done.  Straight up, this is the best cigar I've ever had the pleasure of smoking.  Seriously, I didn't find a single flaw in the experience.  The wife was quick to mention that I "couldn't do this again," and she's probably right... but I fucking deserved it, so I indulged.  As I polish off the last of my scotch, I'll raise my glass and drink to hard work and companies that actually appreciate it.

The Rating