After a great meal at the Cheesecake Factory tonight, I decided to smoke something savory and strong, and the Obsidian didn’t disappoint.  This is a new cigar for me, so other than the excellent tips I’d received from our other writer Josh, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect.

Vitola:

This robusto sports a nice 5.5″ with a 54 gauge. Not the biggest cigar out there, but a deceptively long smoke. The Obsidian is a very oily cigar, which slows down the burn. I’ll talk more about smoking time later, but this is definitely a cigar to sit and take your time with.

Dry Draw:

I decided to use the punch cutter I got from my friend Darian tonight (attached to an attractive Nibo double torch lighter no less) to cut the Obsidian, and I was very pleased with the ease of draw I was getting. Surprisingly  cocoa was the most notable dry draw flavor I was getting, and would prove to be a dominant smell in the cigar’s bouquet (note: not a flavor in the cigar itself).

Smoke:

The Obsidian gave off very large quantities of nice, white smoke. The plumes were so large in fact, I almost felt like I was smoking my hookah. This is pretty unusual for a cigar, and I’m not sure if my stick was an errant aberration or if all Obsidians smoke this much. As I mentioned earlier, aroma notes out of the Obsidian were quite different from the flavors I was getting, with cocoa and coffee being quite evident.

Flavor:

The Japanese have a word that describes the Obsidian perfectly: umami. Meaning savory, it embodies everything about this wonderful stogie. First puffs after lighting are rich, with  tobacco dominating. This quickly gave way to a lovely roasted tobacco flavor, which would last until the cigar’s second third. The coffee gave way to one of my favorite cigar flavors: a savoriness bordering on meaty. “Meat” is not how I would describe it; rather, the cigar gives a feeling of savory contentedness that one receives after a particularly hearty, meaty meal. Having followed an excellent dinner, this was the perfect way to wrap up the night. The cigar’s final third saw a rise of another flavor. Though light, woodiness is unmistakable. Slightly oaky, this balanced well with the savory meatiness of earlier. It should be noted that the cigar was not peppery at all, and remained silky smooth throughout the entire smoke.

Drink Accompaniment:

I decided to keep things simple tonight with Jim Beam and coke. No need to get fancy, this is a nice, stiff drink. Jim isn’t the most robust whiskey out there, and it didn’t detract from the Obsidian’s delightful flavors.

Total Smoking Time:

1 hour 34 minutes. As I mentioned earlier, this seemingly small tobacco stick offers a nice long burn thanks to the oily wrapper.