A weird cigar, it kept me second guessing it all the way through.

The smell at cold was very pronounced pure cocoa. Drinking chocolate, not regular chocolate. Wrapped in light colorado and light in the hand- clipping revealed a predictably loose draw.

Opened with light body and a medley of flavours, sweet biscuit and wood dominated the palate, with lighter floral and nut aromas through the nose. Reminded me of of its bigger brother the Lonsdale (may it rest in peace). After an inch or so a incongruous burst of burnt caramel ushered in a sea-change...

A harsh strong woodiness started to surround the sublter flavours. I was struggling with the loose draw, trying to keep it from burning hot. This went on for a while. There seemed to be nothing else in the pipeline 'Oh well' I thought. 'Sh1t happens'.

At the final third. Another burst of similar burnt caramel came through, of a form and intensity that I have never tasted before, followed swiftly by a dank mushroomy earthiness. Odd flavours, but not unpleasant. The body had picked up to med-full, by this point. From hereon-in this stange meaty/mushroomy flavour alternated with a considerably lighter citrus and floral tone. The flavours danced on the palate, with a rare intensity.

This smoke was hard to rate- I was battling constnatly against the loose draw, and this certainly affected the flavours. I feel there was a weird and wonderful cigar trying to escape from this one. 76 ex 100.

Thanks for the review, did64. If I remember correctly I have never smoked this cigar. I'm intrigued by the interesting flavors you describe. It may be the result of aging. Should get one to try; hope to have a better luck with the draw.

I've got to say though, loose draw is less of a problem for me than the tight one. If I feel it's too loose, I try to draw very little, very slow. A lot of times this actually helps get the nice flavors, because when you draw much from a loose cigar the taste gets lost somewhere in the heat and some harshness strikes your palate.

I had the Longsdale which I was shocked at how good it was. It was from 2000. I think that size is no longer produced but for me that was a great under the radar smoke.