goathahalol purchased this cigar on 2009-01-01.
Spicy mocha flavors punctuate the initial lite and first few draws. Aroma on initial lite was fairly average for a dark maduro smoke like this.
Starts off with an earthy spice with a good tobacco kick in the back of the throat. The draw has a little less resistance than I prefer, especially for a torpedo which I barely nipped a quarter inch off the tip. The stick is putting off a nice amount of thick white smoke that coats my mouth. There certainly is a bit more spice than I expected for an AJ Fernandez smoke. Burn is pretty straight with a nice tight white-gray ash. It's smoking rather fast partially due to the somewhat open draw but not hot or bitter at all.
Twenty minutes in at the end of the first third I'm starting to pickup some very rich flavors of espresso in my sinus with a slightly cedary aftertaste.
Slipping right into the second 3rd I was very surprised by a sweet syrupy flavor that vanished pretty quickly. A nice toasty earthy core is left behind with a very slight cedar nose. Seems as if the burn has slowed down a bit now and it's still holding a nice looking ash about 1.5" that doesn't look like it's gonna come off anytime soon. A very nice sweet smelling aroma coming off the resting cigar now, I'd almost like to just let it sit and enjoy the aroma. About halfway into the second third some of the sweetness is coming back on the draw and leaving behind some tobacco spice on the aftertaste.
Very pleased with the burn so far, the construction is great for a 3 dollar smoke, hasn't gotten hot in the least bit and I consider myself a fairly fast smoker. The strength has picked up slightly and the tingle on the tongue has returned once again. Haven't tasted any sweetness lately as the tobacco spice has began domination my palette. Still some nice toasty notes on the finish and picking up a bit of espresso through the nose. I'd say this smoke is just reaching the full range midway through the final run and is still undeniably smooth. Sometimes I like to take what I the "baby pull" off a cigar and get just the tiniest bit of smoke to exhale through my nose. I find this a good way to get a real feeling for the sweetness and earth/soil flavors that tobacco tends to have. Doing so on the diesel did not disappoint, give it a try sometime if you don't already. Not much else to say about this little Unholy Cocktail except it was a damn fine smoke with a great burn and good flavors. And in the 3 dollar range I'd definitely say these are a bargain. A little stronger than what I would consider an everyday smoke but to each his own.
I'm supposed to be getting a sampler of some brand new to the market sticks this Wednesday, so I'll likely be back writing another review of something I've never had before a la the Diesel. Thanks J!