Habanos Torres 40 Year Aged "Ugly Stick"
Thanks to MithShrike, I have something truly special to review tonight. This is the forth and final cigar that he sent me from Habanos Torres. It is made out of tobacco from Tim's private stash that has been aged for a whopping 40 years! That means that the tobacco in this cigar was harvested in 1967, many years before my birth. That fact alone blows my mind. This cigar came with this warning from MithShrike--"The ugly stick, you'll see, is made from Tim's personal stash of tobacco, 40 years old, and is stronger than a mule's kick. WARNING: Do not drink alcohol, operate any vehicle or heavy machinery, and be near a bathroom if need be after smoking the ugly stick." After reading that, I was scared. Real scared. I heeded his warning and waited for the right time to smoke it.
Here's the beast up close and personal!
The head--
And the foot--
Construction was immaculate! The wrapper felt very thin and delicate yet it was tight and in perfect condition. It was beautifully marbled and smelled of sweet, earthy, rich tobacco.
I wasn't sure how to light the rough foot so I just went for my standard technique--I toasted it and then lit it by puffing and rotating over (but not touching) the flame. It worked fine.
My girlfriend spotted me while I experienced this cigar. I took the first puff while standing up and she cracked up when it almost knocked me on my butt! This baby was strong! Very thick white smoke. Smooth as butter. Primary taste of earthy tobacco with a slight sweetness. I showed it the respect it deserved and sat down for the rest of the session. As I was still a bit cocky, I tried to snork this cigar a bit. My eyes turned to glass and my girlfriend laughed some more.
The burn was nice and even but did follow the wrapper just a little.
1/3 of the way in, some citrus notes emerged and the earthy tobacco flavor became even stronger. This is about what I imagined that a strong ISOM would taste like from reading descriptions of them. The nicotine was hitting me hard. I felt like I had already smoked a whole medium-full bodied cigar at this point.
Halfway through, some cedar popped up along with all of the previous flavors. I was having a bit of trouble keeping up at this point. I had consumed a full breakfast of blueberry pancakes and vegetarian sausage with lots of real maple syrup so I though I would be able to handle anything but I had to set this cigar down after every puff for a minute or so. I had been drinking filtered water up to this point but now I had to switch to my (now cold) quad Americano with sugar and milk to help counteract the nicotine. I had my girlfriend try it to prove that I wasn't a wimp. She said "oh my God that's strong", immediately went inside and did not return.
The world was spinning around me at this point but I couldn't stop. It was delicious. Perhaps I'm a masochist. While I didn't take any more pictures, I did smoke this devil to the nub (1/2-3/4" remaining). It never got hot or harsh but just kept kicking my butt all over the place. Somehow, I made it inside my house and to my bedroom. I laid down for who knows how long. Time had stopped. I didn't get sick, I just couldn't stand up. I felt quite euphoric.
Sadly, this is probably the last Habanos Torres cigar that I will have the opportunity to smoke for quite some time. Another HUGE thanks to MithShrike and Tim at Habanos Torres for setting a new benchmark for the best (and strongest) cigars that I have ever experienced!
Thanks to MithShrike, I have something truly special to review tonight. This is the forth and final cigar that he sent me from Habanos Torres. It is made out of tobacco from Tim's private stash that has been aged for a whopping 40 years! That means that the tobacco in this cigar was harvested in 1967, many years before my birth. That fact alone blows my mind. This cigar came with this warning from MithShrike--"The ugly stick, you'll see, is made from Tim's personal stash of tobacco, 40 years old, and is stronger than a mule's kick. WARNING: Do not drink alcohol, operate any vehicle or heavy machinery, and be near a bathroom if need be after smoking the ugly stick." After reading that, I was scared. Real scared. I heeded his warning and waited for the right time to smoke it.
Here's the beast up close and personal!
The head--
And the foot--
Construction was immaculate! The wrapper felt very thin and delicate yet it was tight and in perfect condition. It was beautifully marbled and smelled of sweet, earthy, rich tobacco.
I wasn't sure how to light the rough foot so I just went for my standard technique--I toasted it and then lit it by puffing and rotating over (but not touching) the flame. It worked fine.
My girlfriend spotted me while I experienced this cigar. I took the first puff while standing up and she cracked up when it almost knocked me on my butt! This baby was strong! Very thick white smoke. Smooth as butter. Primary taste of earthy tobacco with a slight sweetness. I showed it the respect it deserved and sat down for the rest of the session. As I was still a bit cocky, I tried to snork this cigar a bit. My eyes turned to glass and my girlfriend laughed some more.
The burn was nice and even but did follow the wrapper just a little.
1/3 of the way in, some citrus notes emerged and the earthy tobacco flavor became even stronger. This is about what I imagined that a strong ISOM would taste like from reading descriptions of them. The nicotine was hitting me hard. I felt like I had already smoked a whole medium-full bodied cigar at this point.
Halfway through, some cedar popped up along with all of the previous flavors. I was having a bit of trouble keeping up at this point. I had consumed a full breakfast of blueberry pancakes and vegetarian sausage with lots of real maple syrup so I though I would be able to handle anything but I had to set this cigar down after every puff for a minute or so. I had been drinking filtered water up to this point but now I had to switch to my (now cold) quad Americano with sugar and milk to help counteract the nicotine. I had my girlfriend try it to prove that I wasn't a wimp. She said "oh my God that's strong", immediately went inside and did not return.
The world was spinning around me at this point but I couldn't stop. It was delicious. Perhaps I'm a masochist. While I didn't take any more pictures, I did smoke this devil to the nub (1/2-3/4" remaining). It never got hot or harsh but just kept kicking my butt all over the place. Somehow, I made it inside my house and to my bedroom. I laid down for who knows how long. Time had stopped. I didn't get sick, I just couldn't stand up. I felt quite euphoric.
Sadly, this is probably the last Habanos Torres cigar that I will have the opportunity to smoke for quite some time. Another HUGE thanks to MithShrike and Tim at Habanos Torres for setting a new benchmark for the best (and strongest) cigars that I have ever experienced!
