Big Sky Bitterroot

Purchased: 2 Single Toros (6 X 54)
Price: $13.00 ea
Store: Mac’s Palo Alto
Buy Again? Probably
Box Worthy? I think so…

A guy on Reddit posted a picture of the Big Sky Mad Minnow Fly Box yesterday, and as I had never heard of the Big Sky brand, my curiosity was piqued, and I decided to do a little research on them. After reading the material on their website and about their different blends, I clicked on their “locations” link to see if there was a retailer in my area. And lucky me, Mac’s, practically a Palo Alto historical landmark, was a Big Sky Retailer! And even better was that I was going to be in the area, so I could make a stop at Mac’s to pick up a few sticks. They had most of the line represented, but I decided to only do two of the blends this time around and got the Blackfoot and the Bitterroot that I’m writing about here.

The construction of the Bitterroot is solid, with just a little give when squeezed. The wrapper is light in color which initially made me think it was a CT wrapper. But it’s a Habano wrapper.

At light-up, it’s all about toasted nuts and cedar. Then some red pepper ensues after the first couple of puffs. Getting more into the first third, black pepper, cream, malt, baking spices, and a vanilla-like flavor enter the scene, then a bit of grass and earth. The first third is where the cigar loads up its flavor presentation because it stays right there.

There are no transitions after the first third, just an increase in intensity of the flavors but the interesting thing about that is that none of them dissipate. It’s a pretty cool effect.

A testament to the great construction is the ash. Even when building up more than 2″, it didn’t want to fall off. And it actually took a little effort to ash the stick (sorry folks, I ash my cigars; too many messes).

The first half burned down quickly, taking less than thirty minutes to get to the halfway point as the draw was very Padron-like. I consciously keep my puff rate low, so for a cigar to burn down that quickly, tells me something about it. BUT, once it hit the halfway point, it put on the brakes. It was like a Corvette doing 120 then the driver sees a highway patrol up ahead then slows down to the speed limit. I guess the oils needed a bit of time to build up.

But once the cigar slowed down, that’s where the fun began! Though there were no transitions, the smoke became super-rich, thick, and creamy. Each puff produced a thick cloud of white smoke. Up until that point, it was medium- in strength. But once it slowed down, it became medium+ in strength though the nicotine stayed around medium-. This would be a great cigar to introduce the brand. The burn was mostly even and would self-correct. I only made one correction because I’m sometimes a little anal about burn lines.

Final verdict? I’m probably going to buy a few more of these to keep around and see how they do with age. I have a feeling they’ll get better with a little humi time.