Alec Bradley Tempus Imperator

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Cigar: Alec Bradley Tempus Imperator
Setting: Front porch of my house down at Illinois State University. A very nice, but lonely summer evening.
Entertainment: Cigar Pass, CigarWeekly, and checking out fantasy baseball stats
Drink: Water
Total smoke time: two hours (I know I'm a slow smoker!)

This Alec Bradley offering was very pleasant to the eyes. I really liked the double label, it made it have a very classy look to it. The wrapper was somewhat toothy and dark brown in color. There were a few veins running along the cigar, but nothing too major and the cap was very neatly placed.

Throughout the cigar, I had a perfect draw and for the most part the cigar burned evenly. I did have to make two minor touch ups, but touching up a cigar has never really bugged me all that much. The ash had a mixture of white and grey, not the prettiest ash, but certainly not the worst I have seen. I only ashed twice throughout this 6.1 inch cigar, and the first ash fell off after 3 inches - very impressive. I also want to note that I didn't have to baby this ash, there was no smoking upside down or carefully placing it down so it wouldn't fall off. It just seemed to keep holding on no matter what I did.

For the first half inch I noticed a good deal of chocolate as well as a bit of spice that hit the front of my tongue. Towards the inch or so mark, I received a great deal of earthy flavors along with a bit of leather. This flavor held constant throughout the cigar, but at times varied in intensity. I found this flavor to be very pleasant, and well balanced. The cigar was smooth throughout, I never tasted a hint of bitterness, and certainly never had to purge it. A cigar automatically gains a few brownie points in my book if I don't have to purge, so a big thumbs up. I believe this offering to be in the full bodied category, as I did feel some of the nicotine, but I would not say that it is an N-bomb. I have quite a low tolerance to nicotine, and tend to feel it in some medium cigars, so to a full bodied smoker, this may be in the medium-full range.

Overall, I was extremely impressed with the Tempus. I was expecting great things, and this certainly delivered and exceeded my expectations. I would recommend this cigar to any seasoned cigar smoker, but I would not suggest this to a newb. Without a doubt in my mind, this is 5er or 10er worthy. I cannot see myself purchasing a box of them, but that should not discourage anyone from doing so!

Rating: 87/100