This West Tampa Chef Rick was a bold and rich cigar that felt satiating. The candy sweetness paired with big spice retrohale, earthy, and herbal background was just the right amount of full flavors and fuller strength to keep me wanting more draws. I'd for sure want to smoke more of these.
Can one flavor note make a cigar good if it pops that much? My answer is no, although I LOVED the jammy stone fruit delivery of this JRE Aladino 250th. But the jam was accented very nicely by marshmallows creamed coffee, zippy minerals and cedar. On a side note, I'd love to know what tobacco is giving that great jammy stone fruit taste.
The Rocky Patel The Edge Corojo Toro started pretty average, focused around the toasted cedar and earth. It increased in enjoyment in the second third as the black pepper returned, rounding out the profile a bit more. It took a step back in the final third as the wood bitterness increased and the pepper mellowed. This is a serviceable lower priced offering. While I wouldn't see myself really coming back to it with any frequency, for those that like a cedar and earth flavor combination and prefer lower cost offerings, this might fit the bill.
The Micallef Color Blend Bundle #2 is a good cigar. It kept my interest from beginning to end, and it has a nice core flavor profile. It helped that the burn and draw were perfect from start to finish as well. The peanut notes were great with the cream and cedar, and while softer, I have not had a flavor profile like this since the Humo Jaguar 14 years ago. I can see myself buying some down the road.
The Don Emmanuel Anunnaki Anu delivers a solid but ultimately average experience. It offers a smooth, balanced start but gradually transitions into a more wood-driven and less dynamic profile. It’s an easygoing cigar that doesn’t challenge the palate, but it also doesn’t quite deliver the evolution needed to stand out.
The Ferio Tego Metropolitan 30 Years delivers a well-balanced and enjoyable first third supported by excellent construction. While the profile gradually becomes drier and more bitter as the cigar progresses, it never falls apart or becomes unpleasant. The lack of meaningful evolution and the increasingly wood-driven finish ultimately keep the cigar in average territory, but it remains an enjoyable and competently constructed smoking experience.
While I liked the overall flavors centered around leather, cocoa, dried red pepper spice, cedar and faint anise, I didn't like how drying the mouthfeel was. And by the time the cigar got to the final third where the cedar got bitter, it was salt added to the wound. As such, this Cohiba Serie M Reserva Plata is a pass for me.
The Matilde Limited Exposure No. 3 Toro has a good flavor profile throughout the cigar with a nice strength and body level. There is a nice bit of complexity and depth, and while the blend may not speak to all, it’s a good cigar. I would love to see it in other vitolas.
The Tradecraft Vitruvian Toro is a well-executed example of a traditional, lighter-profile cigar. It doesn’t aim to be complex or transformative, but it succeeds in delivering a consistent and enjoyable experience, earning its good rating through balance, construction and reliability rather than bold evolution.
The Alec Bradley Kintsugi Wabi Sabi had a nice start, with a good combination of flavors. It took a step down in the second third as the creaminess departed and the earth increased. The final third took another step down as the wood bitterness increased and then morphed into vegetal bitterness. Overall, a fairly average experience with a not so great finish. Not a cigar I'd see myself returning to.