ambientboy
...from the internet.
I'm prepping all this week for an opera performance I have on Sunday...a scenes production really. So I'm drilling myself with recordings of La Boheme Act III, and tonight was no exception. After a long day of singing and rehearsals, I sat at home working translations and got to the point I could sit around no longer... clearly it was time for a stick.
I dug around the humidor and pulled out the Pinar P3000 Small Panatela (5x32). It was time to finally try one of these suckers. These, unlike the P2000s, are apparently 100% Cuban tobacco.
So many people seem to hold a vile place in their heart for these seeming imposters of the Cuban world. But rather than listen to the rants of the biased, I decided to see for myself. So, I stepped out into the gorgeous 62F night air with my iPod for company, toasted the end and lit up.
The initial draw was perfect. It lit quickly and I was smacked in the face with a very new sensation of flavor. It had that Cuban funk to it, that little something that says "Yo, that's right. The Island is my home, and you're gonna smoke me, and like it."
A large amount of smoke came from this little bugger. The aroma was very specific...a very aged tobacco, almost fermented. The taste was interesting also, leading with a heavy spice, a dark leather, and a rooty nature (like when you pull a plant out of the ground, get the smell of roots and earth). I could not escape the fermented feeling though and a distinct aftertaste I couldn't quite place, pungent and almost sweet...almost. I had yet to decide whether or not I liked it.
As I smoked on, I determined I was enjoying my stroll with the wonderful tones of Puccini mixed with clean, undisturbed night air and a heavy smoke with a dark attitude. It was then it hit me, where I had tasted the essence of something unknown...marijuana. I know, I know...I don't smoke it (in fact I don't inhale anything) but I work in the restaurant business, so it's not like I haven't been around it. One of my ex coworkers buys the really expensive weed, and the aroma left in the air from that reminded me of the taste from this.
It was a surprisingly full texture and flavor that I both liked immensly and also held a small amount of disdain for. This cigar tore me in two.
Structure: Poor, I have to admit. The ash was flaky and lept from the stick after only 3/4in. (then again, I was taking a walk, but still). It burned hot quickly, but cooled with remarkable haste. I almost had to relight twice, but salvaged the initial heat through multiple puffs. There was no cone at all, completely tunnel, and the filler seemed small and flaky also, reminding me of pipe tobacco.
So did I find it to be a suitable substitute for post-embargo ISOMs? No. While entirely Cuban, a crappy cigar is a crappy cigar. I will have to admit that the flavor is more than worth it for $4. I may buy a few more, let them sleep, and pull them out when I'm in the mood for something off-the-beaten-path, or something small with a spanking of flavor that I won't mind ditching before I reach nub.
Back to translating Italian...
I dug around the humidor and pulled out the Pinar P3000 Small Panatela (5x32). It was time to finally try one of these suckers. These, unlike the P2000s, are apparently 100% Cuban tobacco.
So many people seem to hold a vile place in their heart for these seeming imposters of the Cuban world. But rather than listen to the rants of the biased, I decided to see for myself. So, I stepped out into the gorgeous 62F night air with my iPod for company, toasted the end and lit up.
The initial draw was perfect. It lit quickly and I was smacked in the face with a very new sensation of flavor. It had that Cuban funk to it, that little something that says "Yo, that's right. The Island is my home, and you're gonna smoke me, and like it."
A large amount of smoke came from this little bugger. The aroma was very specific...a very aged tobacco, almost fermented. The taste was interesting also, leading with a heavy spice, a dark leather, and a rooty nature (like when you pull a plant out of the ground, get the smell of roots and earth). I could not escape the fermented feeling though and a distinct aftertaste I couldn't quite place, pungent and almost sweet...almost. I had yet to decide whether or not I liked it.
As I smoked on, I determined I was enjoying my stroll with the wonderful tones of Puccini mixed with clean, undisturbed night air and a heavy smoke with a dark attitude. It was then it hit me, where I had tasted the essence of something unknown...marijuana. I know, I know...I don't smoke it (in fact I don't inhale anything) but I work in the restaurant business, so it's not like I haven't been around it. One of my ex coworkers buys the really expensive weed, and the aroma left in the air from that reminded me of the taste from this.
It was a surprisingly full texture and flavor that I both liked immensly and also held a small amount of disdain for. This cigar tore me in two.
Structure: Poor, I have to admit. The ash was flaky and lept from the stick after only 3/4in. (then again, I was taking a walk, but still). It burned hot quickly, but cooled with remarkable haste. I almost had to relight twice, but salvaged the initial heat through multiple puffs. There was no cone at all, completely tunnel, and the filler seemed small and flaky also, reminding me of pipe tobacco.
So did I find it to be a suitable substitute for post-embargo ISOMs? No. While entirely Cuban, a crappy cigar is a crappy cigar. I will have to admit that the flavor is more than worth it for $4. I may buy a few more, let them sleep, and pull them out when I'm in the mood for something off-the-beaten-path, or something small with a spanking of flavor that I won't mind ditching before I reach nub.
Back to translating Italian...
