Pre-light Experience

The wrapper is medium brown and there are a few well pressed veins visible. The seams are smooth and very well blended as is the triple cap finishing off the head. There are two bands with the primary being gold with burgundy on the border and carrying the brand name. The secondary band is green with gold lettering and borders and designates the overall line name. The aroma from the wrapper is a light barnyard note while the foot gives a slightly sweet hay. The pre-light draws give a sweet bready note as well as some saltiness on my lips which gets my saliva glands working.

Pre-light Experience

The Saga Short Tales Tomo III L.I.V. has a pale and dull medium light brown wrapper shade. Veins are very well pressed and seams tight and nearly invisible. The bunch and rolls feels great as there is no hardness felt and a uniformed even give persists throughout the cigar. The head is finished off with a well applied triple cap. Nosing the wrapper tells dry cardboard and white pepper. Nosing the foot gives construction paper and stronger white pepper. Cold draw reveals cardboard, slight white pepper on the lips and paint thinner.

First Third

Wood and black pepper in a buttery/creamy texture is how the cigar kicks off. At a half inch in, the black pepper note eases back a bit letting the smoothness of the wood and that buttery texture shine. The black pepper does have the lead in the retrohale with some creaminess in the background. As the third progresses the profile gets even more buttery with the wood and the pepper lessens. As the third comes to a close, a slight nuttiness joins the buttery wood that still has a bit of black pepper on the finish. The pepper has also toned down on the retrohale a bit. The strength in this third was slightly above medium.

First Third

First third exhibits namely a mixture of oak wood and black pepper with a slight natural sweetness from dried nuts. The pepper delivery is quite unique as it is both on the tip of my tongue and rear palate. Retrohaling gives more intense black pepper, naturally sweet dried nuts and a bright and tart cherry like note. The finish is earth dominant with slightly gritty dirt, oak and black pepper that is long and lingering. Both strength and body is medium.

Second Third

As the second third begins, the buttery note and nuttiness go away and a slight cream joins in with a wood that is slightly green now. At a half inch in, the greenness goes away and a slight char joins the wood while the cream remains in the background. The retrohale is the same slightly charred oak note. As the third comes to a close, the cream increases while the charred wood note continues. The strength in this third remained at slightly above medium.

Second Third

The second third shows very similar characteristics as the first third with one notable difference. Mouth draw flavors add a slight creamed stone fruit note to mix with the oak and black pepper. Aside from that, the retrohale is still deeper in black pepper and dried nuts. The finish still earth forward with gritty dirt, oak and black pepper. Strength is moving towards medium-full and body stays at a consistent medium.

Final Third

As the final third begins, the cream continues to increase as it pairs well with the slight charred wood. At a half inch in, some mintiness joins in as the cigar begins to heat up a bit. A little further in, the heat lessens as does the mintiness which allows the charred wood to come back to the front. This is how the cigar finishes out. The strength remained slightly above medium.

Final Third

The last third becomes a bit more spice driven, still uniquely tasted on both the front and rear palate. The cigar also picks up a slight wood bitterness. Retrohale further develops the pepper note, but also gives a nice sweet nuttiness and cherry note. The finish is the same long and lingering gritty dirt, oak and black pepper. Strength is still nearing medium-full while body stays medium.

Burn

The burn was slightly wavy but always kept up with itself. The ash held on in just over one inch increments.

Burn

A near flawless burn performance. The only negative is a quick re-light required within the second third. Other than that, solid ash marks, razor sharp burn line and a cool burn (as long as you give ample time in between draws).

Draw

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

Overall

This is a short cigar that packed a lot of flavor and a bit of strength. It started out medium-full but dropped down slightly pretty quickly and remained slightly above medium the rest of the way. The flavor dynamics in the first third were pretty special. As it progressed, it became less dynamic but still had a good flavor combination. This is my first experience with the Short Tales line but has me eager to try the other iterations. In a small format like this, it’s hard to ask for more in what it delivers. I would gladly smoke more of these and it is something I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend that you try to track down some to smoke so you can see what you think.

Draw

Perfect draw. Just the right amount of tug and airflow.

Overall

Never judge a book by it’s cover (see what I did there?). The pre-light draws were below average and downright unappealing, especially given the paint thinner note tasted. But the smoking experience called for fairly big flavors with a unique interplay between oak and spice. I will gladly turn to more of the Saga short cigars for future enjoyment.

Aaron Loomis

SCORE

6.92

Cost/Point

N/A

Scoring System

Jiunn Liu

SCORE

7.07

Cost/Point

N/A

Scoring System

Team Cigar Review: Saga Short Tales Tomo III L.I.V.