Pre-light Experience

The wrapper on the ACID Plush is on the darker side of medium brown and carries some knotty and thick veins. The seams are easily visible as they are raised in some areas. The head is finished off with one deep cap and one shallow cap. There are two bands, with the primary being the standard design but in a purple and pink color combination and denotes the brand. The secondary strip band is thin and just denotes the line. The aroma from the wrapper is a pungent mixture of herbs and sweetness. The foot brings what seems to me like sweetened rosemary. The pre-light draw is very sweet as I get an initial bit on the draw and then a lot from my lips. There is a faint wood and black pepper mixed in there as well.

First Third

The cigar begins with some charred wood and some artificial sweetness from the head of the cigar on my lips. At a quarter inch in, there’s an aftertaste that’s sticking to my tongue similar to what you get from an artificial sweetener, but without the sweetness. At a half inch in, some mustiness comes between the charred wood and the aftertaste that’s sticking to my tongue. At three quarters of an inch, the aftertaste becomes very light as some baking spice has joined in to go along with the lightly charred wood and mustiness. There is still a light sweetness from time to time on my lips. The retrohale has a mix of wood and baking spice. The third wraps up with lightly charred wood, mustiness, baking spice and that light sweetener aftertaste. The strength in this third was slightly below medium.

Second Third

As the second third begins, the profile continues on from the first third and has a sweet finish. At a quarter inch in, some wood bitterness joins the profile. At a half inch in, the wood bitterness and artificial sweetener aftertaste are teaming up for a not so pleasant profile. The retrohale is musty pine with a light baking spice. At an inch in, the profile is musty wood along with the bitter and aftertaste combination. As the third comes to a close, the musty wood is still in the lead, but the bitterness and aftertaste combo are right behind. The strength remained at slightly below medium.

Final Third

The final third begins with an increased char level for the wood and mustiness and the bitterness and aftertaste have lessened. At a half inch in, the wood is becoming a bit drying and the mustiness has faded while the bitterness has increased slightly. At an inch in, the profile has settled in to just a musty wood combination. The retrohale is a mirror image. The cigar wraps up with just the musty wood. Strength in this third dropped down to mild-medium.

Burn

The burn was a bit of a struggle. The burn was wavy throughout and required teo touch-ups and the cigar went out three times requiring re-lights.

Draw

The draw was slightly tighter than I prefer but didn’t cause any issues with the smoking experience.

Overall

The cigar began with charred wood and artificial sweetness. As it progressed, an artificial sweetness aftertaste was sticking to my tongue. Later, some wood bitterness joined in and teamed up with the aftertaste which brought the overall enjoyment down and held on through the remainder of the cigar. The burn was an issue with multiple touch-ups and relights and strength was below medium the whole way. The ACID Plush provided its normal aromas that you would expect from an ACID, but once lit, it started out average and then the flavors presented went a bit downhill. Construction was also a disappointment and didn’t help things out. This would definitely not be my first choice when looking to smoke an ACID and I couldn’t really recommend giving it a try.

Aaron Loomis

SCORE

4.13

Cost/Point

$2.32

Scoring System

Personal Cigar Review: ACID Plush