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Old 03-18-2008, 01:23 PM   #1
ElkTwin
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Illusione 88 - Recent purchase

Dark wrapper. Triple cap. Oily shine with a fine web of veins. Very attractive cigar. Stood perfectly proud and straight on its foot end. Lightweight in the hand but firm to the touch. I was concerned about the faint ammonia smell when I unsealed the bag of these, but the pre-light flavor revealed no hint of that, just dusty, earthy cocoa with a bit of tingle on the tongue. Very easy draw.

When lit, the early flavors were aggressive and bitter. Tons of smoke poured forth. The taste was was edgy and unrefined and left an oily, chemical finish that had an astringent effect. After the first half inch the assault had diminished somewhat, but the flavor lacked any development in character or depth. By the halfway mark the source of the ammonia had emerged; the cigar soured and became moderately offensive. On the bright side, the burn was straight and the ash was firm and not flaky in the least. The aroma was nondescript and dissipated quickly.

The early examples of this marque I had last year were quite different, with a very refined flavor and no hint of youthful nastiness. I hope this cigar was just a bad example, but I fear that the latest release, seemingly available everywhere now, might not be up to the same exacting standards as the first. I shall seek out a few more to test that out.

I hung in there until the two thirds mark, but the song remained the same. Flat, uninspired and nasty on the finish. Sad.

Appearance: 10/10
Construction: 7/10
Flavor: 12/20
Finish: 5/10
Smoking experience: 16/20
Aroma: 9/10
Overall impression: 14/20

Total: 73/100
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