Vitola:

I’m not sure what to expect of this particular stick, simply because I’ve never heard of it before. After all, I am still an amateur. I have here with me the Nicarao Seleccion, supposedly a very underrated cigar. From what I’ve read, it has a connecticut oscuro wrapper of Cuban seed (which is an extensively aged connecticut that has taken on a darker hue), which I find to be quite appealing. I’ve had one other connecticut oscuro, and it was the phenomenal Gurkha Black Beauty, a delicious cousin of the Beauty (which I had reviewed just yesterday in fact). Anyway, back to the cigar of the evening. Its dimensions are eight inches by a 49 or 50 ring gauge, a churchill, and the wrapper gives me high hopes. Let’s get this guy cut and toasted.

First Third:

Punch cut again. Right from the first puff, no starting bitterness. Begins very smoothly. Sweet tobacco, leather, and nuts in the bouquet. Slightly bitter on the palate. After a little bit, I’m about three-quarters of an inch in. Now I’m starting to get a little bit of smooth cream, which I wasn’t really expecting from a connecticut oscuro. Nice touch.

I’ve smoked about an inch and three-quarters down at this point. The flavors are very smooth and the smoke is nice and thick, but surprisingly light on the nostrils. Once in a while you’ll find that certain cigars do not give you that intense burn in your nose when you take a whiff at the wrong time. Even smelling fairly concentrated smoke doesn’t cause that bad of a burn. This is one of those cigars. I’ll be smelling a lot more of this smoke. It’s terrible for my health, but this should be a very nice smoke session.

It’s a fairly quiet night. I can hear the crackle of my cigar every time I puff. It’s a comforting feeling.

Second Third:

A very interesting change in the flavor profile upon entering the second third. The introduction of coffee. It’s very light and creamy, not like espresso or java.

How very odd… Now all the tastes are suddenly gone. I’ve taken about seven or eight puffs, but still nothing. Just a little bit of sweet tobacco in the nose and bitterness on the palate. Very strange. Hopefully the flavor will be coming back soon.

This is very odd. Ten more puffs and still nothing. The burn is pretty even and the draw is good, but the flavor just isn’t there.

An entire two inches, and I am still sensing nothing. I am starting to think that this particular stick may be a dud.

Geez, finally. I’m starting to taste a little bit of cream again. Now the coffee, and now a little hint of vanilla. A welcome apology. For others’ sakes I just hope mine was just a bad egg. Unfortunately, I’m almost done with the second third, and this stick better take it up a notch to impress me.

Final Third:

Now I am thoroughly confused. I don’t know if my nose is screwed up, but upon double, triple, and quadruple checking, I must confirm that there is a certain…sour tartness? in the aroma? It’s a very odd but strangely appealing scent. I’m still trying very hard to identify it. I think it’s the most similar to the sort of cinnamony, citrusy scent of dry, whole cloves. I will also venture to say that the scent is sort of doughy as at the same time. It’s a far-fetched comparison, but it’s the closest I can get. I am enjoying this scent immensely and it’s really sparking my curiosity. Of course (though highly unlikely), I haven’t completely ruled out the possibility that I’ve been catching secondhand marijuana smoke from downstairs and I’m just imagining things.

Surely enough, the strange myriad of aromas is still present and the one-half mark of the final third. The finish has gotten a little toasty as well. The flavors are the same, but something about the finish is a little more substantial. So that you, the reader, could imagine this sensation, I will recap one more time: I smell a little bit of cream, coffee, vanilla bean, and that mildly-sour-cinnamony-citrusy-bready-clove scent. On the palate, I taste what is clearly nuts and a dash of pepper. The finish lingers on a little and finishes off toasty. The palate is otherwise very clean.

This is indeed a very odd combination and I think I should get my nose checked. But what counts is that I am enjoying this scent very much. Alas, time has run out, and I must put this down before I burn myself.

Verdict:

I honestly don’t know what to think of this cigar. Nevertheless, here I go.

1. I should get my nose checked.

2. The construction was pretty good and the burn was fairly even and self-correcting when necessary.

3. WTF in regards to the complete absence of flavor in the majority of the second third.

4. Another huge WTF in regards to the flavor that defies classification in the final third, though I thoroughly enjoyed it.

In conclusion, this was a very strange smoking session. I don’t know how good of a review this will make, but nevertheless this is what I smelled and tasted. I’m pretty good about picking flavors out accurately, but now I’m starting to doubt myself. The mystery flavor smelled nice, but I don’t know if it’s supposed to be there (or if it even WAS there for that matter). Hence I do not know if I would recommend this cigar to another person, since I am pretty convinced that my cigar was a mistake. But all that aside, this smoking session wasn’t all that bad, minus the flavor taking a short-notice vacation in the second third. If you even get a chance to smoke this cigar, any corrective, enlightening comments are welcome.

Total Smoking Time: 1 hour 15 minutes