Black Pearl Gran Robusto

[jazznut]

"User Friendly"

Black Pearl Gran Robusto from the Dominican Republic
Size: 5.25 inches by 52 ring gauge

As part of an Air-Mail assault delivered to my doorstep by Eugene (CW's hopelessly unselfish crossbow), this Black Pearl Gran Robusto stood out as something of a dark-horse.

Concocted from 100% Cuban-seed Corojo ligero Dominican filler and wrapped in an Oscuro Connecticut Broadleaf, the Gran Robusto was just slightly oversized by Cuban standards.

The Black Pearl certainly lived up to its name in a visual sense, its fairly matte 'full-roasted' extremely dark brown capa displaying moderately pronounced longitudinal inky veins as well as rosewood highlights.

The cigar felt to be medium-firm in resilience, and exuded a distinctive sugary sweet and spice cupboard-like pre-light aroma along with mocha nuances and hints of rich soil.

However, once afire, the Gran Robusto readily released thickly pungent scents of molasses-soaked old leather garnished with cayenne turning to embers in a fruitwood bonfire.

The smoothly surfaced grey-white ash also displayed a somewhat surprising consistency given my original assessment of the cigar's degree of firmness, being quite flaky and more than willing to drop at a moment's notice. Nonetheless, the Black Pearl burned uneventfully, if at a marginally faster pace than I'm used to.

More surprises were in store on the palate, where a very rounded and mellow interpretation of that sugary sweetness noted earlier coated underlying tastes of expresso and dark chocolate infused with ginger and Malabar pepper earthiness, while flashes of fresh cedar came and went.

And there the flavour spectrum remained, in a medium-bodied manner, throughout the entire session. Despite this apparent lack of progression, the Dominican was very likeable and balanced, not a single rough edge detracting from its pleasant demeanour.

The Black Pearl Gran Robusto strikes me as an exceptionally 'user-friendly' cigar that doesn't demand a great degree of attention in terms of either technical or contemplative attention. It makes for a perfect casual smoking interlude.

Thank you Gene for widening my horizons ever more.