Gifted to me by a co-worker who enjoyed this (always glad to received gifted stoagies), I was looking forward to a good cigar. And I got one.

The initial light and puff delivers quite a punch of pepper, but it quickly mellows out, as with all good cigars. The draw is very smooth and the smoke is cool in the mouth overall. Immediately, a sweet smoked-meat taste fills the mouth, quickly revealing layers of a sweet milky creamyness on the tongue with some liquorice. A light pepper remains on the back of the tongue and throat in the aftertaste as the smokeyness dissolves into an earthy, nutty taste. Retrohaling brings out more of the smoked meat quality, resulting in an almost marshmallow like taste on the tongue. The pepper really hits when exhaling through the nose.

The aroma is lush and deep with a lot to enjoy. Primarily, it carries a sweet milky scent even when idling. A very distinct earthy tobacco quality prevails while layers of toasted nuts and even a light sugar can be discovered.

This definitely is a great cigar, there’s a lot to enjoy in the taste and aroma as the smoke progresses. Very rich with deep textures, it’s a powerhouse without being too offensive. I must try one with a Habano wrapper as I’m a big fan of those, I can see it only being just as great.