Ashton Benchmade, blended by Don Pepin.
Over the last week I've finally smoked a couple of each size, so I figured I'd talk some about them.
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Sumatra-seed
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan mixed
Construction wise, these sticks are a medium filler cigar, with a roughish wrapper. They're bunched fairly evenly, but tend to be a bit loose. Issues with a couple unraveling after they were cut or drawing up bits of filler are not totally unexpected, but overall I found lipping the head of the cigar a few times to moisten it will stop the wrapper from coming apart when cut.
As far as the smoke itself, the draw is always even, somewhat free for my preference, but it was never too loose. The cigar holds ash surprisingly well, almost an inch before I tipped in fear of wearing it. It never gets too hot; in fact I took all but the unraveled ones down to an inch or less. The churchill size lasted a little over an hour (around an hour and twenty maybe?) to smoke at a comfortable pace.
Now to taste....it's hard to describe really. They're definitely a medium bodied smoke, but on top they're fairly smooth. Beneath that is a earthy spiciness that seems to make the smoke taste toasty overall. Never overpowering, but never without flavor.
Overall, at around 3 dollars a stick, give or take $ .50, these are an excellent go-to smoke. I'd definitely keep a couple boxes around. Since it's blended by Pepin, I don't know how long they'll exist since he seems to be pulling out of a lot of operations other than his own, so I plan on ordering at least a couple boxes.
I found I didn't have a preference to size other than my natural inclination towards robustos. All sizes smoked the same.
Over the last week I've finally smoked a couple of each size, so I figured I'd talk some about them.
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Sumatra-seed
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan mixed
Construction wise, these sticks are a medium filler cigar, with a roughish wrapper. They're bunched fairly evenly, but tend to be a bit loose. Issues with a couple unraveling after they were cut or drawing up bits of filler are not totally unexpected, but overall I found lipping the head of the cigar a few times to moisten it will stop the wrapper from coming apart when cut.
As far as the smoke itself, the draw is always even, somewhat free for my preference, but it was never too loose. The cigar holds ash surprisingly well, almost an inch before I tipped in fear of wearing it. It never gets too hot; in fact I took all but the unraveled ones down to an inch or less. The churchill size lasted a little over an hour (around an hour and twenty maybe?) to smoke at a comfortable pace.
Now to taste....it's hard to describe really. They're definitely a medium bodied smoke, but on top they're fairly smooth. Beneath that is a earthy spiciness that seems to make the smoke taste toasty overall. Never overpowering, but never without flavor.
Overall, at around 3 dollars a stick, give or take $ .50, these are an excellent go-to smoke. I'd definitely keep a couple boxes around. Since it's blended by Pepin, I don't know how long they'll exist since he seems to be pulling out of a lot of operations other than his own, so I plan on ordering at least a couple boxes.
I found I didn't have a preference to size other than my natural inclination towards robustos. All sizes smoked the same.