Lotusguy Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 Smoke time: 1:15 Paired with Aberlour 12YO Gorgeous medium-brown wrapper with no spots and very little veining. Best-looking cigar band EVER. Prelight: Cut with scissors. Slight resistance to the draw. Hay, tobacco. Start: Generous amount of smoke. Pepper tickles the back of the throat on the first few puffs but then retreats to be only felt at the exhale through the nose. First third: Caramelized roasted almonds. Slight spice remains in the nose but gets weaker. Razor-sharp burn. Sweet-nutty. Whiskey threatens to overwhelm the subtle taste so only taking a few small sips during the smoke. Creamy like a good latte. Medium body. Unusually long lingering aftertaste after every puff. Tastes a bit like butterscotch but with nuts. Slight spice comes in and out. More refined than a typical PL, but the taste is there. By comparison, the PL Encantos was much more rough and raw – maybe because it was a year younger? Second third: Ash holding on until end of first third. Best way to describe it would be like a butterscotch melted in a latte. Still lots of smoke on every puff. Smooth, smooth, smooth. Haven’t had so much smoothness since my first BHK54. Should have paired with a coffee or a nice, aged Rum instead of Single Malt. Nuttiness more pronounced after taking a sip of the Whiskey – more like peanut brittle. Not a powerhouse cigar by any means. Total and utter lack of harshness. Would be great even for a novice smoker. If it wasn’t so expensive, this would be one of my favorite lunch smokes. A bit of Monte “twang” coming in now. Hints of fruit… not cherries, more like blackcurrant. Never tasted that in a cigar before. Spice has faded away by midpoint. Still burns very evenly – no corrections required. Savoring the lingering aftertaste with every puff. Towards the end of the 2nd third, tastes more and more like a good Monte #2. Last third: Gets nuttier after ashing again. Still extremely smooth and creamy. If a Parti Shorts tastes like a leather sofa, this cigar tastes like a silk chair from the court of Louis the 13th . Burn needs one correction. More nuts. Smoking rather slowly so not to overheat the cigar. A bit more robust and the spice comes back towards the end but still far from harsh. Remains medium-bodied through the end. Nubbed it until I smelled burning flesh Final score: 95.5 (the .5 is for that gorgeous band) – a must-try that redeems many mediocre REs and puts the Encantos in a corner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pilgrims Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 Good thorough review...cheers for sharing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBL Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 Great review of a very interesting cigar! I might ask my friend to bring one for me from London. I'd love to see that band up-close. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colt45 Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 Thanks for the great review I've a box of Encantos in storage that I'm looking forward to trying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cigaraholic Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 My mouth's watering! Should have traded you Encanto's for these. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Savoy Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 One of the great regionals...kicks the Magnifico's tail....these will soon be gone .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcarlson Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 Got two in my humi. Can't wait to compare notes once we get to a warm night for me to have on the deck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanuckSARTech Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 Claus, I just had the chance to read this review now. Well done man, really awesome review. And yes, I now get what you were talking about last night when you were discussing this cigar, the overall flavour profile, paired with that beautiful band. I'd say that band is definitely neck-and-neck with the RA EL 2011 band, that's for sure. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cckandb24 Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 Claus, I got an awesome Alec Bradley Prensado churchhill i will trade for one of those. You know CA rated it #1 . Maybe you should give me two PL's for it now that I think about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cckandb24 Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 Great review by the way Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
almudawi Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 Great review mate.. I guess this will be on my shopping list once I get my pay check... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peanutpete Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 great review of a very good cigar,i think by the time they have 2 years on them they will really be something Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainQuintero Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 Fetched one out the box today to see how they are doing and that blackcurrent is deffinately progressing, ditched it after half way as it became bitter and was burning inside the wrapper, I think these will need another 5 years before they really start to behave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lotusguy Posted January 23, 2012 Author Share Posted January 23, 2012 Thanks for the compliments, guys. I have since had another couple that were equally good. I wish I had space and $$$ for another box at this time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mazolaman Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 Had one of these, never noticed the fruit, maybe slight apricot, but mainly PL toasty tobacco, with plenty floral hay flavours.Good cigar. Cheers for the review. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokinpeace Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 Fine. You guys win. I just ordered a box. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mazolaman Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 Fine. You guys win. I just ordered a box. you'll enjoy them, a good quality cigar. sorry if you had to sell a kidney. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hidechen Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Great Great Review! The UK Regional edition has always been reputable of being in good quality ( flavour wise and of course band wise). The RA Belicosos, LA Gloria Glorisos, ERDM, and Punch series D'or No.1 are all great cigars, now their little brother is in town to join the parade. Need to give it a try later on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokinpeace Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 you'll enjoy them, a good quality cigar. sorry if you had to sell a kidney. It's cool. My two year old doesn't seem like college material anyway, so I just used his college money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mazolaman Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 It's cool. My two year old doesn't seem like college material anyway, so I just used his college money. Fair enough, they have to find their own way in life.... and it's not like you're flittering it away... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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