Hold onto your hats ladies and gents, this here’s quite a ride. Man O’  War has become quite a staple for me whenever I’m looking for that full bodied punch after a savory dinner. This particular ruination certainly did not disappoint.

Vitola:

This bad boy features a 54 gauge at 5.5″. Quite the robusto, this stick packs quite a wallop despite the seemingly small size. The ruination comes in two robusto sizes, this one and a 6″ 60 gauge monster. Considering how strong the tobacco is, I’m quite content with the smaller of the two.

Dry Draw: 

I decided to punch cut this thing instead of my usual straight cut, and I was pleased with the ease of draw I got. Initial pre-light flavors were very complex. It took me several moments to sort out exactly what I was tasting. Coffee was present, but secondary to an unusual pre-light flavor: earthiness. Not common by any means, earthy flavors are usually absent in a dry draw, so this was quite the surprise.

Smoke: 

Smoke quantities from the ruination were moderate, nothing fancy. Considering I was sitting in a cigar lounge surrounded by no less than a dozen people smoking cigars at the time, this didn’t bother me so much. Aromas coming off the cigar were very unusual. An indescribable sweetness lingered in the smoke, quite at odds with what flavors the cigar itself gave off.

Flavor:

If there’s one word I had to use to describe the ruination’s smoking experience, it would be “smooth”. Regardless of what flavors I was getting at the time, this stogie was velvety throughout the entire smoke. The first third of the cigar starts off quite spicy. The complexity of the flavors is quite enjoyable, though. White pepper is predominant  at this stage. The spiciness slowly gives way to more pronounced yet lighter flavors, with oakiness being very evident. This just tastes like a well aged whiskey, and I can’t help but feel a little disappointed that the cigar is half gone. The final third of the cigar sees a toastiness rise alongside a flavor that I at first have quite a hard time identifying. It tastes like how a campfire smells, if that makes any sense. A toasty, woody, burnt flavor that is actually very nice. Almost comforting I’d say.

Smoking Time: 

The ruination has a very oily wrapper (evident in the corona-like sheen surrounding the burn) that prolongs the smoking time of this tobacco stick significantly. Burn time for me was just over an hour and a half.

Drink Pairing:

I enjoyed a Jameson and ginger ale with the ruination. I wasn’t quite in the mood for straight whiskey, but the 12 year aged Jameson has a nice woodiness to it that I think meshed with the ruination nicely. The ginger ale just helped to sweeten the overall experience; after all,  the ruination is full bodied and quite a heavy smoke.