Epicure, 5.5" x 54 ring gauge, $6.25On Tuesday, I reviewed the Yellow Label (Maduro) version of this cigar. The filler and binder of this version is reportedly identical to that one (all Nicaraguan), but this cigar features a Cameroon wrapper.
The wrapper was a nicely-mottled light to medium brown with a few large veins visible. There was also a little toothiness to the appearance. The body of the stick was, again, barnyard, although only faintly, and the foot featured the same cocoa & coffee notes as the maduro.
The prelight draw was easy and has a touch of spice along with some flavor best described as tea. The initial light produced a lot of smoke and there is a definite bready quality to the taste as well as the tea (hot or iced...your preference). During the first third, the sweet Cameroon wrapper was very evident--the flavors of tea and brea were enhanced by it, in fact. There was little to none of the black pepper evident on the maduro version of this stick, even in the retrohale.
As the second third starts, the flavor changed to more of a roasted nuts quality. There was still some sweetness from the wrapper, but its influence seemed to be diminishing a bit, or at least changing in relation to what was burning in the filler. It continued much the same through the second third.
As the last third began I did get a big of a burn problem, but it was easily corrected and it was, in fact, the only construction issue with this stick. The draw was uniformly great the the burn line was otherwise nearly perfect. This was a really good cigar, but the flavors were just not as good or as complex as what I experienced in the maduro expression. It is significantly milder than that stick and would be a better lunch-time cigar or one for a smoker trying to step up from mild or flavored smokes.
Body: 5/10
Strength: 4/10
Complexity: 6/10
AFP Scale:
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 1.5/2
Flavor: 3.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 8/10
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