Last month, I wrote an entry on the Man ‘O War Puru Authentico and I mentioned that it probably needed some more resting time. When I wrote that, I had the stick less than a week and I was unimpressed by the first third. But as I got deeper into the stick it revealed a depth and richness that blew me away!
So, I let the others sit in my humidor.
I’m so glad I did! A couple of days ago, I pulled one out and giggled when I took the first few puffs. It was a completely dissimilar experience from what I had originally experienced. Whereas my original smoke was uninspiring and downright boring at the start, just with this short amount time, this new stick hit me with intense flavors from the get-go! This shit’s no joke! I’m hooked on these!
Spice, cacao, espresso are the foundation, and are the predominant flavors in the first third. But as you get into the second third, while the spice makes itself a little more known, the smoke gets creamy, and the cacao transforms into a chocolate milkshake and the espresso becomes more like chewing espresso bean candy. By the back half of the second third, that creaminess gives way to leather and a bit of dry earth. The finish becomes slightly astringent with a pleasing sour note.
And though I’m smoking a corona (5 X 42), which is very close to being a petite corona, the smoke, even in the last third, doesn’t get hot at all. I believe that this is due to the tight roll of the stick. The construction is amazingly solid and dense. Even in this small vitola, there’s a heft to the stick.
Yeah… that extra time really did this cigar a LOT of good. This week, I smoked my other four from my 5-pack. But that just gave me an excuse to get a couple of boxes of 10. They’re on their way!!! And when they arrive, they will have a nice rest before I break into them.
Unco B's Stogie Diary 