Pre-light Experience

Aaron: The wrapper on the West Tampa Attic Series Attic is medium brown with some lightly raised veins and a fine toothiness. The seams are smooth and the caps very well applied. There are two bands, with the primary being grey and gold and denoting the line and sub-line. The foot band is tan and gold and has a picture of what looks like a chaveta with a handle, the line and sub-line name as well as a QR code that takes you to a YouTube video about the cigar. The aroma from the wrapper is a mix of dark earth, wood and bakers chocolate. The foot brings cedar and tobacco sweetness. The pre-light draw is identical to the foot aromas, but also brings some spiciness to my lips.
Seth: I don’t judge how a cigar smokes by how the wrapper looks, but this West Tampa Attic Series Attic had an ugly wrapper. I am not going to make a joke about it being in the attic, or anything along those lines, but it was not an attractive wrapper. There was some greenness to this maduro, and that’s a first. Aromas of rich earth, tobacco, wood and nuts.
John: The West Tampa Attic Series Attic comes in cellophane and has a UPC sticker that tears in half when the cellophane is opened. The cigar is double banded with the primary band indicating ‘Attic Series Attic’ and a foot band that has an integrated QR code. Unfortunately, when removing the foot band, there was some additional glue from the band that tears a section of wrapper near the foot. Aromas from the cigar included rich, earthy and syrupy tobacco with aged wood providing support notes underneath. From the foot, I was getting raisin and sweet tobacco.
Jiunn: The West Tampa Attic Series Attic has a Colorado maduro wrapper shade. The wrapper feels thick and hearty. Veins are well pressed, seams tight, bunch and roll even and head is well wrapped and capped. Aromas from the wrapper tell of cedar, herbal tea and slight campfire. Aromas from the foot give cedar and meat. Cold draws reveal mainly cedar and hay.

Team Cigar Review: West Tampa Attic Series Attic

First Third

Aaron: The cigar begins with toasted cedar and sharp baking spice. At a quarter inch in, the baking spice loses the sharpness and dark earth joins the profile. At three quarters of an inch in, the baking spice transitions to black pepper. The retrohale is toasted cedar, earth and lightly zingy black pepper. At an inch and a quarter, the toasted cedar and dark earth are now even up front with the black pepper a bit further behind and carrying a long finish. As the third comes to a close, the black pepper mellows a bit, but continues with the long finish. The strength was at medium-full.
Seth: The cigar began by cracking all over the place. Wonderful experience. Really no flavors present as well. Some earth and tobacco. Smoking to smoke. Medium in strength and body.
John: The first third opens with a sweet blast of pepper. Creamy earth moves into the retrohale as the pepper reaches medium-full strength. Faint chocolate breaks into the retrohale and settles in. Wood joins the finish on the draw as it progresses. By the halfway point, pepper has fallen back to a background note. The profile in the bottom half settles into creamy wood and tobacco.
Jiunn: The first third’s profile is fairly linear. Flavors are pretty narrow, consisting of dirt soil, cedar and leather. Retrohaling brings in some much needed dried red pepper spice but also gives way to greater dirt soil. The finish is short, with lingering dirt and cedar. Strength and body is medium.

Team Cigar Review: West Tampa Attic Series Attic

Second Third

Aaron: As the second third begins, the earth takes a slight lead in the profile. At a half inch in, the black pepper mellows a bit more. The retrohale is mimicking the mouth draws pretty well as the earth is slightly ahead of the toasted cedar with a lightly zingy black pepper. At an inch and a half in, the earth has gained a larger lead over the toasted cedar and the pepper has mellowed even more. As the third comes to a close, the earth is ahead of the toasted cedar with the black pepper a fair bit behind but exhibiting a long finish. The strength remained at medium-full.
Seth: Yes, the cigar improved in this third. That is the first time ever! Subpar to average. Flavors of earth, tobacco and cedar present. Bits of hazelnut and mocha as well. Still medium in strength and body, but there’s something going on in this third.
John: My initial flavor impressions are creamy chocolate with baking spices largely defined by nutmeg, with pepper returning to the retrohale at medium to medium plus strength. The intense pepper recedes to light plus as the second third progresses. By the bottom half, light bread is present through the retrohale.
Jiunn: The second third is exactly like the first third. Medium strength and body with flavors of dirt soil, cedar and leather. Absolutely the same mediocre feel as the first third.

Team Cigar Review: West Tampa Attic Series Attic

Final Third

Aaron: The final third continues on with the profile from the second. At a half inch in, the earth and toasted cedar are back to even. The retrohale has the earth ahead of the toasted cedar with mild black pepper. At an inch in, the toast level increases a bit. As the cigar wraps up, the earth and toasted cedar are even up front with the black pepper a fair bit behind but maintaining a long finish. The strength remained at medium-full.
Seth: The final third was right in line with the second third. Soft hazelnut and mocha flavors to add some complexity, but mostly tobacco, wood and leather. Really no spice, which was surprising, but a grounded cigar. Medium in strength and body.
John: The last third begins with creamy, light pepper, bread and wood. That wood rapidly moves into the center of the profile to linger between each puff. There are no other flavor transitions to remark on through the final third.
Jiunn: Reeeemiiiix. Just kidding. Nothing new and exciting to note within the last third. It’s still the same narrow focused profile of dirt soil, cedar and leather. Strength and body finishes the same medium.

Team Cigar Review: West Tampa Attic Series Attic

Burn

Aaron: The burn was perfect throughout and the ash held on in inch and three quarter increments.
Seth: This cigar wanted to fight with me the whole time, but we figured it out.
John: There were a number of burn and construction issues through the review. The initial issue was remarked on during the pre-light examination where removing the foot band resulted in wrapper damage. The burn itself was straight through the first third, going out in the bottom of the first third, requiring a re-light. The cigar went out again in the second third, requiring another re-light. Removing the primary band, the wrapper was also cracked underneath with a significant amount of wrapper damage.
Jiunn: Amazing burn performance. Even burn, tight ashes, cool burning temperature and ample smoke production.

Team Cigar Review: West Tampa Attic Series Attic

Draw

Aaron: The draw was perfect, with just the right amount of resistance that I prefer.
Seth: Draw was good. Despite the cracks and faults, the cigar still smoked.
John: The draw was quite snug, roughly 3-1/2 to 4 notches towards the resistant spectrum.
Jiunn: Amazing draw performance as well, giving the best balance of air flow and resistance.

Overall

Aaron: The cigar began with toasted cedar and sharp baking spice. Some earth joined in a bit later and the baking spice transitioned to black pepper. The second third saw the earth take a slight lead as the pepper mellowed. The final third saw the earth and toasted cedar come back to even with the pepper mellowing more. Construction was absolutely perfect. The West Tampa Attic Series Attic started with a nice combination of flavors and balance. As the earth took the lead in the second third, the profile dropped a level and was fairly mundane the rest of the way. The cigar carries a fair bit of strength to it, so something to watch out for. I don’t see this as a cigar I’d come back to with any frequency as it wasn’t very interesting after the first third and the strength was too much for the flavor profile.
Seth: I’m giving this West Tampa Attic Series Attic an average rating because though it was falling apart, it looked like crap, and it had a terrible start, it turned itself around in the second and final third. I am not saying it was a complex flavor profile or even a good cigar, but it turned itself around. It did something that too many fail to do. I don’t know if I would have kept smoking it after the first third if I was not reviewing it, but I am glad I did. The pep talk with Aaron helped. I’m not praising this cigar, but maybe there’s more to a book than it’s cover and first third. Think of this cigar as a trilogy where the first book/movie was terrible, but the second and final third had some entertaining scenes.
John: The West Tampa Attic Series Attic started out with some promising flavor combinations in the first third. By the second third, the profile had become fairly average, and as the construction problems mounted, the overall experience continued to fall. The draw was snug, and the cigar went out twice and had wrapper damage under both the foot band and the primary band. Cigars are a handmade product and from time to time construction issues will happen. I’d be inclined to give the Attic another try, just to see whether the burn, draw and construction issues impacted the flavor profile. Total smoking time was 2 hours and 48 minutes.
Jiunn: The first release of the Attic Series was a complete miss. Given the West Tampa Attic Series Attics narrow focus of flavors that’s quite linear, I constantly wished there was more to it. It honestly didn’t taste all that different than the typical offerings from the massive Scandinavian Tobacco Group. In the future, I hope Rick comes up with fresh new blends that taste like a departure from his prior time at General Cigar.

Aaron Loomis

SCORE

6.10

Cost/Point

$2.13

Scoring System

Seth Geise

SCORE

4.60

Cost/Point

$2.82

Scoring System

John McTavish

SCORE

5.15

Cost/Point

$2.52

Scoring System

Jiunn Liu

SCORE

5.75

Cost/Point

$2.26

Scoring System

Team Cigar Review: West Tampa Attic Series Attic