Obtained from Cigar International’s Brown bag Sampler, I was looking forward to enjoying this solely because of it’s roughness and appearance. I was hoping for something good despite its looks! I allowed it to age about a little over a month in the large humidor.

Lighting the end of this cigar up was interesting due to the leaves and pieces jutting out unevenly. It lit quite well, however, and immediatly deliverd an immersive aroma and taste.

The cigar starts off quite peppery, as with a lot of cigars. This does tame down about half-way over the duration of the smoke, but the tongue will always receive a tingle on each inhale, following it to the far back of the throat in the aftertaste. The initial draw delivers a rich & rough smoked-wood taste but with a light cocoa-powder aftertaste. Some citrusy tang is noticable as the cigar draws on. A mild pepper coats the rest of the mouth. It’s not too hot to the taste. Retrohaling brings out a lot with a smoked-nut flavour prevailing, more citrus taste, and a sweet citrus tang being much more prevailant. The pepper doesn’t hurt the nose too much when exhaling.

The aroma is pretty enjoyabe with a rich, deep earthyness with some interesting tobacco notes, a creamy cocoa scent with a hint of a sugary layer. The smoke is quite hot to the nose.

Overall it’s not a bad cigar, it definitly smokes like it looks, but a little roughness can be enjoyable, and it’s at just the right amount here. It’s far from horrible tasting, and if the pepper isn’t too much, quite enjoyable. The aroma is well worth it.