goathahalol purchased this cigar on 2009-01-01.
This cigar has a nice hand feel and weight, with a very nice prelight draw, almost perfectly suited to my liking.
Toast and Cedar predominantly power the first half inch or so, with a creamy buttery finish through the sinus. The nicely packed foot lit well and continued a nice straight burn with a medium sized burn line.
Let me start by saying that my latte was a little too powerful to be able to pickup on some of the more subtle nuances of this stick so I chugged it at the begging of the first third and switched to bottled water. Cigar is burning well, with a nice white top layer of ash and charcoal black layers underneath. While this cigar lacks the in your face pepper punch that I've become somewhat used to in fuller bodied cigars, I can say that I am already feeling the nicotine in my stomach even after a rather large meal.
Mostly Sweet cedar and wood on the front end with another sweet characteristic on the finish that eludes at the moment.
Finishing the first third starting to pickup some real nicotine tingle on the back of the tongue but hasn't quite made it's way into my throat yet. Just reaching the upper layer of the medium strength range.
Starting to pickup some floral notes along with the cedar and wood from the first third. This is a unique flavor to me, I can't quite say if I've come across something like this before although I have read other reviews where people mention it in passing.
The ash holds very nicely making it to the 1 1/2" mark with a slight curve to the left. Don't ask me how I know which way is the left. Required a small touch-up on one side but it's very likely because I waited too long between draws while pondering the so called floral bouquet.
Nearing the end of the second third the G.A.R. is pumping out adequate power and spice, but I must compliment it on it's smoothness which I am really enjoying. A full exhale through the sinuses lends a burst of sweet aromas and a hefty tobacco spice just enough to make you want to sneeze but doesn't hurt at all. Very smooth and enjoyable.
I lost the ash just past the 2" mark which is very impressive for most box pressed cigars that I have smoked in the past. The burn continues to be flawless since the small touch-up earlier. The smoke remains nice and cool and void of bitterness with only a slight sponginess down about a half inch below the burn line.
More cedar and wood round out the final third with all of the creamy buttery aromas melting away into a undeniable tobacco spice with every draw. The cigar has reached the full bodied range and is begging me to slow down on it a bit. I'm a little over 1 hour into it now with about 2 1/4" remaining.
Some of the floral notes are still present just at the end of each exhale but they quickly fade to a lingering spice that is becoming more of what I consider to be a peppery spice as opposed to a tobacco spice / tingle.
In my opinion this cigar did not pair well with my latte that I started the smoke with. Pairing with bottled water definitely let some more of those unique flavors shine through. I'm thinking it would also go quite well with a nice crisp Gin & Tonic to open up some more of the floral possibilities.
Running down near the 2" MARK I rank this stick in the low Full spectrum. I would recommend it to someone who's looking to make thier entry into the full body range, but make sure you have a meal before otherwise it could sneak up on you real quick.
The final third brought with it a lot more cedary woody notes with some tobacco spice in the throat, and stayed cool and smooth throughout.
You'll hear no complaints outta me on this 6 dollar smoke that is definitely going on my list to revisit.