Popular Post Robin young Posted May 21, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted May 21, 2022 First, a big thank you to you guys here. This forum and the smokes have been great. I’ve been smoking cigars since I was 17, but took a break for several years when my kids were young. Recently, I have been getting back into the hobby. The time away really changes the way that I can appreciate the smokes. Rather than growing with the smokes, there was a step change for me that was even more sublime than when I first started smoking them. Now on to the Mag 46s. I’ve been smoking on this box for the last month or so after getting them on a Wednesday 24:24. And I lucked out; they shipped me an aged box. When I opened the box, I was hit with that distinct barnyard smell. I got so excited I had to start smoking them right away. Since then I’ve been doing about three to four a week exclusively. Now that I’m mostly through the box, I have a pretty good idea of the variance between smokes in this particular vintage. It’s been a pretty big range. I’ll cover the physical characteristics, the smoking experience, and then smoking companions. The Sticks: The wrapper quality and color have a wide variance. Some are lighter, while others are a bit darker. Caps were all pretty consistent. 2. Construction was mostly solid, however, there were several sticks that were a bit too tightly rolled, and a couple that were too loose. Ironically one of the very loosely rolled sticks was the most plugged. 3. Aroma from the sticks also had a pretty big variance. Some smelled noticeably stronger than others, especially the darker wrappers, and I thought that they may smoke better, but they didn’t. The Smoke: The good ones were sublime, but all a little bit different. The best smoke I had out of the box had a very strong note of hay and vanilla. It’s like I could close my eyes and hear horses and cows in the distance. The beauty of a great smoke is a bit like music, it can transport you to a different place and time. The second best smoke I had was memorable because of the dried red date notes that appeared in the middle third. My favorite part of the smoke was the last third. Everything came together towards the middle of it with peppery floral notes, though some were spicier than others. There were a few duds. Two of the smokes had construction issues and split at the last third. Even then i mostly smoked them down to the nub. It just took a little more effort. One stick I had to toss at the beginning of the last third because it was too wet and kept on going out leaving a really bitter taste. Overall I rate the average of the smokes to be 91/100. With about 65% of them being very good. 20% being decent, and about 15% being subpar. The Companions: Red wine — something with a little body goes well. If it’s too light it wont stand up to the complexity of the smoke. But if it’s too heavy like a really strong Cab / Bordeaux it can over power the experience. I settled on something like a Syrah / Cote du Rhône / Shiraz or a Pinot Noir / Burgundy with some backbone. San Pellegrino — A little sparkling water helps to cleanse the palate between sips of wine and a puff of the smoke. Cheese — in between I have experimented with nibbles of aged Brie and Comte. Challenge is to make sure you cleanse your palate with sparkling water / wine before a puff. If you go right to puff with cheese in your mouth you may not get much nuance. Rooibos tea — Since I often smoke at night I don’t want to have extra caffeine in my system before bed so I use rooibos as it’s caffeine free. The aroma is a good counter point to the complex smoke. Spittoon — I’ve found that spitting enhances my experience. It’s not always convenient to do when outside or at a friends house. But since a friend introduced me to his method (he uses a nice cup with some tissues in it), I’ve been hooked. These smokes take me about two hours start to finish. I’ll usually have all three beverages and cheese with me while I’m smoking. Thanks again guys! Have an awesome weekend! 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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