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Old 10-14-2005, 07:35 PM   #1
jazznut
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Location: Montreal, Canada
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Taboada

"Si Señor"

Rodolfo Taboada Long Robusto

Country of origin of tobacco utilized: Cuba
Dimensions of cigar: 5.77 inches by 50 ring gauge
Name of vitola: Sometimes referred to as a Double Robusto, though basically an elongated Gordito
Date smoked: Friday October 14th, 2005

Setting:

Relaxing in the study on a rainy autumn evening.

Accompanying drink:

I had pondered the possibility of pairing Taboada’s creation with an older single malt Scotch or fine cask-aged Rum, but settled instead on a healthy pour of Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Tennessee Whiskey. As it turned out, the maple-charcoal bittersweetness of the American both complemented the Cuban and cleansed my palate effectively, providing for a perfect match. Oh yes, there was plenty of water at hand as well.

The cigar:

Texture of capa: Very smooth overall.
Sheen: Oily and glossy.
Tooth: Apparent, varying from microscopic to practically pimple-textured.
Veining: Fine
Rendering of wrapper: Smoothly edged yet visible seams. The outer leaf extended beyond and folded over the foot of the cigar.
Colour of capa: Colorado. Rich cocoa profusely endowed with patches of Van Dyke brown. The ebonized veins lent a resplendent, marbelized look.
Colour of tripa: Dark and quite homogeneous. Minimal ochre-tinged sandalwood. Predominantly cocoa through Van Dyke brown to deep Indian red.

Construction: Of a notably high standard.
Box-press: None
Cap: A well-crafted triple-seam affair set to a depth of more than ¼ inch, culminating in a somewhat flattened and slightly canted head.
Scroll pattern of tripa: Evenly rendered, classic bookleaf arrangement of the filler leaves, which nonetheless looked rather loose at the foot.
Roll density: Very good to excellent, despite the aforementioned looseness at the foot.
Finger feel: Firm approximately ¼ of the way in from the foot, but otherwise medium-firm. An excellent degree of superficial resilience evidenced the hygroscopic nature of the leaves.
Draw: Excellent. Designed to deliver.

Combustion: Immediate and thereafter constant. The smoking tempo was ideally paced.
Texture of ash: Quite solid, with a relatively smooth exterior.
Length to which the ash held: Around 2 inches.
Shape of remaining ember: Blunted cone.
Colour of ash: Pale to medium grey around the outside, graduating to a combination of warm, dark grey and charcoal at the center.
Burn edge: Perpendicular with minimal angulation and some periodic mild scallops. I carried out two minor corrections, though they probably weren’t really necessary.
Relights: None.
Total smoking time: 1½ hours.

Overall assessment of aroma: Composed and enticing.
Pre-light aroma: Fragrant, sweetly earthy tobacco and musk discreetly hinting at sun-withered ripe fruit, dried lemon-grass, cinnamon sticks and honey. Distinctive.
Pre-light draw: Cuban leaf with an enlivening core of fresh cedar branches and cardamon accompanied by a demure dash of five-berry peppercorns. Balanced. Harmonious.
Post-light aroma: Attractive meld of simmering tobacco and sweetness, the latter suggestive of embering fruitwood and baking spices.

Palate entry: Down pillow-deep layering of ripe ligero leaf evoking Cuban farm fields. Bold yet comforting. Traces of musty antique wood chests and an elusive confectioner’s sugar sweetness. Strong and elemental to the point of reminding me of my first encounter with Lagavulin. Black pepper ground right into the grain of the tobacco as well. Not one to power puff unless your larynx has the consistency of leather.
Early portion of session: Strong. Very rounded. The first hint of dried berry fruits – cranberry or cassis, perhaps – beneath a heavy blanket of tobacco which, though displaying a sumptuous warmth, seemed not toasted but rather braised in tone at this point. Subtle underlying herbaceousness.
Mid point: All for one and one for all. Tremendous integration. Seductively mouth-filling sensation of well-cured tobacco, now beginning to acquire a more toasted quality.
Latter stages: Incrementally escalating peppercorn presence prickling about the perimeter of the core tobacco taste. A tightly grained woodiness, too. Heady. Still perfectly proportioned, however, despite the fact I envisaged myself reposing on the veranda of a Cuban hacienda. Full. Smooth. Not one iota of bitterness.
Finish: Kept offering up that delicious, immensely satisfying tobacco flavour, to the point that I wished it would never end. But it did.

Summary: Digestif!

Thank you, Roger!
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