ambientboy
...from the internet.
Friday night is a long night in the restaurant business. 9hrs on my feet waiting tables, then 2 hours practicing for an upcoming wedding... never have I been in such need for stick at the end of the night.
I foresaw the long evening and put this Padilla Edición Especial Achilles (corojo) in the dry box before I left for work. The temp/humidity in my apartment has been perfect for dry-boxing using only an old Fuente box on a shelf.
The temp is about 52F and it's raining outside, so I snagged this stick (which is compliments of CoryJ) and headed for one of my favorite late night smoke spots.
At 2am, no one is awake in the little canalside village of Spencerport. There's a gazebo on the water and it's mildly lit with a soft yellow glow from the dock lights, reflecting the little raindrop waves. The epitome of cigar smoking heaven in my book.
I was excited to try this smoke as soon as I took a whiff of the sweet, cedar-y pungent wrapper and foot. Wet the cap a little, drew a sweet pre-light draw, lit two matches, toasted the foot and puffed away.
1st quarter:
The initial light spanked me with cedar combined with graham cracker and toasted almonds right off the bat. I was not expecting that much flavor from the first quarter inch of the cigar. Shortly past that, the almonds subsided and gave way to the sweet sense that matched the wrapper's aroma. I couldn't put my finger on the taste specifically until I started thinking about the wedding I was prepping for...the couple is from Charlotte, NC. What I tasted was so much like that of southern style Sweet Tea, that I took a quick stroll around the corner to a 24/7 convenience store.
"Hey, I know this is lit, but I'm alone and am not leaving it outside. I just want to grab a Sweet Tea."
"Yeah...I guess that's cool." said the seemingly 12 yr old working behind the counter.
I tossed him a buck for the Arizona can (thank God for Arizona cans for a dollar!) and walked back to the gazebo. I popped open the tea, took a swig and it was amazing. The flavors matched perfectly. In fact, the combo brought out even more sweetness from the cigar...that almost liquidy plum-juice kind of flavor along with the tea taste. I wanted to eat this cigar. It didn't ash until the 1st quarter was gone...
2nd quarter:
The consistent rich taste and cumulant smoke was precious. Sitting by the water, I swear I almost reached a trancelike state, and then I realized it was like 230am and that could have something to do with it. I found this stick to vacilate between the sweet tea essence and a quasi-bready/graham cracker flavor during this quarter.
3rd quarter:
The brewed taste pulled a little away here so I purged and ashed again. The after effect was like eating a s'more without the chocolate. The hot sweetness jumped out like I toasted a marshmallow and was smoking it. I had never tasted this in a cigar before and that's the best I can describe it. Occasionally a hint of leather or spice wandered in and then out, chilling with the adorable tobacco part of the palate.
4th quarter:
The sweet subsided by about 75% when I ashed here again. The almonds returned with the cedar. I nubbed this sucker to about a finger's width and was sad to let it go.
Overall notes:
This was a very contemplative, complex, yet delicate smoke. It's a smoke made to sit, relax, be quiet, and appreciate. Not one you'd haul through quickly. I smoked it in about 90 minutes.
As noted, I ashed about once a quarter. It held firmly and landed with a thud when it hit the wet sidewalk outside the gazebo, requiring some effort to be parted from the stick itself. The burn was flawless and I had no wrapper issues (though it seems many people do with these). The smoke was rich and plentiful and I almost wished there was no breeze so it would have lingered longer.
I offer my thanks for Cory for this smoke.
After much thought.I think I'm going to have to give this one my Bo Derek rating... because I found nothing at all wrong with this cigar!!
I foresaw the long evening and put this Padilla Edición Especial Achilles (corojo) in the dry box before I left for work. The temp/humidity in my apartment has been perfect for dry-boxing using only an old Fuente box on a shelf.
The temp is about 52F and it's raining outside, so I snagged this stick (which is compliments of CoryJ) and headed for one of my favorite late night smoke spots.
At 2am, no one is awake in the little canalside village of Spencerport. There's a gazebo on the water and it's mildly lit with a soft yellow glow from the dock lights, reflecting the little raindrop waves. The epitome of cigar smoking heaven in my book.
I was excited to try this smoke as soon as I took a whiff of the sweet, cedar-y pungent wrapper and foot. Wet the cap a little, drew a sweet pre-light draw, lit two matches, toasted the foot and puffed away.
1st quarter:
The initial light spanked me with cedar combined with graham cracker and toasted almonds right off the bat. I was not expecting that much flavor from the first quarter inch of the cigar. Shortly past that, the almonds subsided and gave way to the sweet sense that matched the wrapper's aroma. I couldn't put my finger on the taste specifically until I started thinking about the wedding I was prepping for...the couple is from Charlotte, NC. What I tasted was so much like that of southern style Sweet Tea, that I took a quick stroll around the corner to a 24/7 convenience store.
"Hey, I know this is lit, but I'm alone and am not leaving it outside. I just want to grab a Sweet Tea."
"Yeah...I guess that's cool." said the seemingly 12 yr old working behind the counter.
I tossed him a buck for the Arizona can (thank God for Arizona cans for a dollar!) and walked back to the gazebo. I popped open the tea, took a swig and it was amazing. The flavors matched perfectly. In fact, the combo brought out even more sweetness from the cigar...that almost liquidy plum-juice kind of flavor along with the tea taste. I wanted to eat this cigar. It didn't ash until the 1st quarter was gone...
2nd quarter:
The consistent rich taste and cumulant smoke was precious. Sitting by the water, I swear I almost reached a trancelike state, and then I realized it was like 230am and that could have something to do with it. I found this stick to vacilate between the sweet tea essence and a quasi-bready/graham cracker flavor during this quarter.
3rd quarter:
The brewed taste pulled a little away here so I purged and ashed again. The after effect was like eating a s'more without the chocolate. The hot sweetness jumped out like I toasted a marshmallow and was smoking it. I had never tasted this in a cigar before and that's the best I can describe it. Occasionally a hint of leather or spice wandered in and then out, chilling with the adorable tobacco part of the palate.
4th quarter:
The sweet subsided by about 75% when I ashed here again. The almonds returned with the cedar. I nubbed this sucker to about a finger's width and was sad to let it go.
Overall notes:
This was a very contemplative, complex, yet delicate smoke. It's a smoke made to sit, relax, be quiet, and appreciate. Not one you'd haul through quickly. I smoked it in about 90 minutes.
As noted, I ashed about once a quarter. It held firmly and landed with a thud when it hit the wet sidewalk outside the gazebo, requiring some effort to be parted from the stick itself. The burn was flawless and I had no wrapper issues (though it seems many people do with these). The smoke was rich and plentiful and I almost wished there was no breeze so it would have lingered longer.
I offer my thanks for Cory for this smoke.
After much thought.I think I'm going to have to give this one my Bo Derek rating... because I found nothing at all wrong with this cigar!!
