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Old 09-13-2009, 08:03 PM   #1
Ginseng
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Join Date: Aug 2004
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Ramon Allones Celestiales Finos

From a recently received box, the first was tame, bland, and not at all strong. The second, well, here's my liveblog of the experience:

I'm on my second from this box and all I can say is Wow! This cigar is nothing, I mean nothing like the first one I smoked. Piercing, powerful trailing smoke aroma. Full-bodied and strong. An almost oily smoke on the palate that is a touch astringent but clean on the palate. A bit of back-of-the throat burn but no ammonia or other hints that the tobacco is improperly or insufficiently cured. Primarily woody, sweet, but man, strong. Nothing at all like RASS I've recently been smoking. A much cleaner, less complex body that is not as earthy, or leathery.

I take back what I said about ammonia. I'm 1.5" in now and am getting regular nosefuls of it. It's become a challenge to smoke. I swear to god the area around my nostrils and lips are stinging like from a Habanero burn but without the actual sensation of spice. This is turning out to be a damned tough cigar.

Oh yeah. This cigar is a definite hard case. As strong as a young RyJ Cazadores but not quite as unsmokeable if that makes any sense. Every single nose hair is tingling and I'm not even expelling nasally. It's killing me, puff by vicious puff.

Beginning of the final third and I honestly don't know how much longer I can take this. My throat is burning and my eyes are intermittently watering. I can keep most any smoke gripped between my teeth as I smoke but I find I'm taking this one out pretty regularly.

Ou-freakin'-chie.

About 1.75" left and the raw power has toned downed just the slightest bit. The cigar is in the ashtray right now while I give my nasal membranes a rest. Just starting to get touches of warm leather and earth but it has left me with a bitterness deep down in my throat. Surprisingly, the nicotine buzz is not as heavy as one might expect. It's strong as hell but I don't feel dizzy or nauseous. Drinking coffee with sugar and cream might be helping just a tad.

Super light puffs and keeping the cigar on the edge of extinguishing seems to make it more manageable. This is the same technique I use for smoking the strongest of the strong (e.g., Litto Gomez, Joya de Nicaragua Antaño) and not something I've had to do with Habanos.

I honestly can't remember ever smoking a Habanos that has been this punishing. I find myself reflexively grimacing when I bring the cigar to my lips. About 1.25" left to go. To its benefit, it has still not gotten unbearably harsh or acrid. It's just freakin' strong.

Getting a little tightness in the chest. Pretty sure it's not a heart attack.

At the final inch now and it's finally telling me the end is near. Burn has been flawless so far. Straight with a clean burn line. Tight medium gray ash and clean, conical coal upon ashing.

Slowing down my pace is keeping it on track. Punishing. Touches of almond and smoldering wood behind the mind-numbing power haze.

Pulse rate is 84. My normal standing heart rate is 64.

The in-room aroma is really quite pleasant. Fresh, pungent tobacco. But cigar-in-face it's just rough.

Even at 0.75", it's "smokeable" in the sense that it hasn't fallen off the cliff and gotten nasty. But I think I'm going to put it down soon. Curious to see how far this stick will go.

Ok, fingers are burning so it's time to put this thing down.

In sum: An unbelievably strong cigar. No two ways to put it. Just naked power right now. But amazingly I don't get the sense it is a bad cigar...just like someone accidentally put all ligero in the blend. There's no real fullness to it. Clean, clear, but insanely potent.

Never, ever give this to a Habanos newbie...unless he regularly smokes LFD Chisels or Double Ligeros. This is the strongest Cuban I've ever smoked. Bar none.

I don't know how this will develop with age. Will other flavors come out? Will the blend reveal some hidden treasure? I couldn't say. It's simply too strong to make that determination at this time.

Wilkey
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