Thirds

Congrats to you and yours, Miguel. Cheers.

PSE2 UBM ABR 18 (PAWRC) Courtesy of @MigsG Spice shows up end of first third with a heavily present floral note, most evident through the nose. The gray flakey ash fell off about an inch in and the intensity of the cigar gained at roughly the same time. I could taste cedar, hay, a pleasant citrus zest and overall, the first 3rd was a smooth smoke with ultra smooth retrohale. At the beginning of the 2nd 3rd it delivered flavors more in line with what I associate with Partagas: spice, pepper, and an earthy bitterness (not unpleasant bitterness). There’s a sweetness to the cigar now that didn’t come around in the first third. It’s definitely more complex but the spicy, leathery, sweet straw and spice goes well together. My palate isn’t keen enough to decipher the earthy flavor elements but it is somewhat mushroomy/barnyard/manure but complimented by the floral spice. This middle third was the most enjoyable for me. I paired this with juice so when I drank the juice and then took a draw I could detect a cocoa note but that note never presented itself without being preceded by a drink of the juice. In to the final 3rd the earthiness dominates with a peppery spice retrohale and a highly woody profile. Towards the end of the cigar, hints of sweetness returned and that was a welcomed resurrection of flavor. It was an enjoyable cigar but I found I preferred the flavors following a drink of juice rather than as a stand-alone. It was milder than I anticipated and the flavor was less complex than I would have liked. Having recently smoked a P2, I would grab the P2 10 out of 10 times over the E2. The cigar didn’t burn evenly and required a few touch ups and failed to deliver the wow factor of its cousin, the P2. It was fairly light on the palate and I found myself forcing myself to finish vs wanting to smoke to the nub. I’d be willing to give this another shot but I wouldn’t go box deep on this yet. While not a bad cigar, I just didn’t find it terribly interesting and would grade it an 88.

You put out the best food spreads ever! That tortilla looks as good, if not better, than the cigar!

Afternoon RASS I could smoke this every day. Cherry pie filling and dark honey with the leather mitigating the sweetness.

@jlinz nice lineup 👍🏽

Thanks for sharing and I had no idea about the GT game being filmed at halftime. That’s awesome. Been to quite a few games but as a fan, not an alum.

I like that system and do something similar although I’m sometimes leaving the dry boxed cigars much longer than that (not intentionally but I smoke about the same as you and sometimes I just don’t get to smoke them). I’ve tested individual cigars and I’ve been down to ambient humidity (this time of year for me is low 50s) and even those sticks were surprisingly delicious. I’m just curious if those would’ve been better had I not let them sink that low! I’m definitely lazy when it comes to dry box monitoring but it sure is fun to experiment.

Fellow newb but have acquired a nice stockpile in the short time I’ve been smoking CCs. 1st piece of advice: time all your incoming deliveries for when your wife is out of town. This alone will save your marriage. Serious advice and this isn’t something I figured out on my own: smoke CCs dry, dry, dry. Absolutely zero harm and tremendous upside approaching that 58-60rh level when smoking. I wouldn’t store all of them at that RH but the ones you are preparing to smoke, go low for show. Get to the store and try singles of each marca/vitola that you think you might like. I bought a wide variety of singles from the store and the quality has been there each time. So you don’t know the box code, who cares? You’re new and will have plenty of time to collect box codes. I recommend a few of each so you can gauge more than one sample. I was underwhelmed by a few singles selected on the first sample but after rest and lowering RH, it totally changed the experience for me on the exact same cigar. Cigars have gone from blah to wow factor and I wouldn’t have known that had I not bought 2-3 singles. I don’t want to make suggestions on specific cigars because your tastes are likely not my tastes but expose yourself to a variety and dial in what you like. Don’t be afraid of cheapies and don’t assume expensive always means quality. You’ll find some cheap sticks that blow you away...chalk those up to value points for doing your due diligence. And remember to have fun. Smoke them slow and take note of what you like and don’t like. And in the words of @slowsmoke -Collect Them All. Another final parting piece of advice, from a guy that bought a desktop humi and then another and then a 3rd, just buy a big humi to start with because you’re going to need it!

I’m not moved emotionally all that often but this scene and I guess this song gets me. It’s the only time I can remember tearing up at a movie. Do you feel me @Buck14? Go Irish!

Gift from our host from a while back...presumably 2018 box code. Incredible cigar. Sign me up for a truckload of P2s. Definite fan.

Upmann - all of them so far. Mag 46, Mag 54, #2, Connie 1, Connie A...I just don’t get anything from this Marca. I still have a lot of samples to try and I’m giving them more time and reducing RH but so far, Upmann is my least favorite. I want to like it but it does nothing for me.

PSD4 - a definite winner.

Well said, Delta. And I see we share the same tastes in victory cigars. Cheers.

Nothing like taking a grueling week head on and coming out victorious. All week it was constant interruptions, noise and phones, miles on the road, and decision after decision made on the fly. Now I sit here alone in the dark with this delicious Monte 2 reflecting on the accomplishments and tired, but in a good way. Success is ours...except for the moment the ash pictured fell in my lap; an undeniable failure that will be forgotten by the next third. Smoke on.

If I can suggest something, go lower still. I’ve had some folks recommend 60 and lower and I find they are absolutely correct. Letting it sit in a non-humidified space changed the flavor profile dramatically (where you can actually taste different profiles). I still can’t taste a thing in Upmanns for some reason and it’s driving me insane. Did a box split with some guys and their descriptions blow mine away. Somehow I’m going to learn to taste what an Upmann is supposed to be like but until then I’ll keep exploring others. The low RH makes the experience totally different. Try two weeks...get those suckers dry. If you don’t like them as is there’s really no harm in experimenting further.