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Old 08-05-2018, 08:29 PM   #1
Sp33d3rific
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Join Date: Aug 2018
Location: Enid OK
Posts: 4
Diesel Uncut

Cigar: Diesel Uncut Toro (6.5” X 52) Purchased in the CI Diesel Motherlode Sampler.
Filler – Nicaragua
Binder –Nicaragua
Wrapper –Pennsylvania Broadleaf

Date Placed in Wineador: 07/06/2018
Date Smoked: 08/04/2018
Humidor conditions: 66deg 65%RH
Cigar was stored with the cellophane on, but cut off at the foot (the cellophane is open at the foot of the cigar)


Things to take into consideration prior to reading this review

At best, I am a novice with cigar reviews. This is my first attempt to publicly share my smoking experience. I am just now getting into rolling my own cigars, and have decided to be more conscious of the flavors I am tasting when smoking cigars that I have purchased, and to try to better develop my palate. I consider this practice and am assuming that this will help in my attempts at blending my “dream” cigar. The thoughts and opinions in the review below are my own, and my feeble attempt to be clever with words. If you read something that sounds offensive, it’s a joke. Life is too short to take things seriously. I intend for this to be a fun and enjoyable read. My goal is for you to read my reviews and experience my cigar by reading it, not smoking it. I do realize that taste is subjective, but I enjoy putting things like this together. This also allows me to document what I smoke, and share it with the world. Please feel free to critique what you read if you wish. I am not easily offended and have to write reports on a daily basis for work, I am used to criticism. While I do realize that photographs are generally expected with cigar reviews. I took my initial “lets post this to the forum” picture, and while I was smoking I decided that I would start better documenting my reviews. I realized as I dropped the nub into my makeshift mason jar ashtray that I did not have any pictures other than the initial “look at me, I’m cool” photo. I can assure you, that if you continue to follow my reviews, there will be more photos added as the cigar burns.

The number system I use is straight from the Aficiando mobile app. I use the app to track my wineador contents. There is also a “note” feature that has a smoke timer and a flavor wheel. While smoking I use the app to track the flavors I am tasting, as well as add notes. Once the cigar is nubbed, I sit down and put these together. The flavor wheel utilized a 1-5 scale—I’ll stick with that system until I find something better. Please note that there are “flavor hints” on the flavor wheel. The categories on the flavor wheel with the “hints” are as follows:

Caramel: chocolate, coffee, toffee
Woody: paper, cedar, pine, oak
Earthy: tea, toast, leather
Spicy: cinnamon, licorice, clove, ginger, nutmeg, pepper, graham
Sweet: syrup, honey, molasses
Floral: mint, rose, balsa, jasmine
Fruity: lime, pear, coconut, orange, lemon, apple
Creamy: almond, buttery, vanilla

The “hints” are just that, hints. For instance, if below I state that I taste chocolate, and the “flavor by the numbers” says caramel: 1, please do not think that I taste caramel. I am assuming that I am not the only person that uses this app, or that others will start to use it. I am trying to keep my reviews consistent. I will describe what I am tasting as best I can, and then score it based on the wheel and the “hints” in the app. Clear as mud? Good!

Without further ado—let’s get this show on the road!


Initial thoughts​
Point blank- I am an AJ Fernandez fan boy. If I think hard enough, I can’t think of a single AJ cigar that I have had that I didn’t like. (I have had a bad experience recently with a Delirium, but I attest that to the cigar needing more rest time in the humidor; a proper review will come on it later). The cigar features a milk chocolate colored wrapper with an uncut and wrapped foot. It was beautiful in construction and the appearance of the cigar made me want to eat it (almost). I am a fan of maduros and dark cigars (this is not a maduro). I had a feeling that this would be quite the enjoyable smoke.

I know that AJ’s cigars are quite stout in strength, and I regularly enjoy full strength smokes, I do not feel the effects of the strength of cigars unless it is smoked on an empty stomach (which vary rarely happens). I did not pair this with anything other than water. I really wanted to taste the cigar and not over-power it with anything as this was my first experience with this cigar.

Pre-Light Draw​
This cigar was cut with a Cuban Crafters Perfect Cut knockoff. Cut the cigar perfectly. The pre-light draw was absolutely perfect and unrestricted. There were notes of spice, coffee, tobacco, and a very subtle bitter chocolate flavor. There were no unpleasant flavors in the pre-light draw. It was EXTREMELY pleasant. There was an odd mouth feel to the draw. While I have never been to a cigar factory, or witnessed torcedors roll these beautiful cigars, I can best describe it as "tobacco dust." I can imagine the feeling of being right next to a torcedor and taking in all of the pleasant aromas and the “haze” in the air. It was extremely pleasant.

Tasting Notes​
The first third of the cigar was packed full of flavor. Initially there was a subtle spice. I know this would ramp up in intensity as the cigar progressed. I was sort of shocked at the lack of initial spice being an AJ Fernandez cigar, it was quite the pleasant surprise. I knew that this would allow the subtler flavors to stand out a bit, and boy was I right. I tasted some sort of woody note. It was NOT cedar (like the H. Upmann Banker); it reminded me of oak. Once the oak flavor faded, there was something that was reminiscent of cocoa powder. Have you ever tasted raw cocoa powder? That was what this particular flavor tasted like—mouth feel and all. I also tasted something semi-floral. Don’t read into this too much, it was very subtle and only tasted on what I call a “dry retrohale.” If you can’t figure out what I mean by a dry retrohale—it’s a retrohale with no smoke. Try it, I find I can taste some more subtle notes on the cigars when this is done. The floral flavor was sort of meaty nut, kind of like eating an unsalted nut, but with a very muted nut flavor. It was very unique, and something that was new to me. The best I can compare this to is either an almond or cashew, maybe both. It’s hard to describe, but that’s what I got. The mouthfeel of the smoke is best described with an oxymoron—dry, yet oily. The finish lingered for about 2 minutes, with the spice remaining subtle, you know it’s there, but it’s not overpowering in the least bit. Remember that “tobacco dust” from the prelight draw—yeah, it’s still here. Ash held on for 3 inches and the burn line was razor sharp. Draw remained stunningly perfect. The draw cigar enthusiasts dream about. Flavors by the numbers according to the wheel: Woody- 4, Earthy-2, Spicy-2, Sweet-1, Floral-1, Creamy-1.

The flavors of the second third remained mostly consistent oaky in the wood category, and a slight earth kind of flavor. It doesn’t taste like dirt or leather, it’s an earthy tobacco kind of flavor. The spice ramped up to a 3 on a 5 scale. The chocolate has become more sweet and less bitter, but it’s still subtle. I’m also getting a faint, very faint, coffee flavor. Think dark roast that has been in the French Press for a bit too long before you take the plunge and pour it in the cup. (I’m assuming that everyone is like me and enjoys dark roasted black coffee—if you don’t, you’re wrong and need to make some changes in your life). The spice lingered more on the finish and the finish is now almost to 3 minutes. I am surprised the finish extended. This is unusual for me; it usually remains constant throughout the smoke, if it’s 1 minute in the first third—its 1 minute at the last third. The mouthfeel of the smoke changed just a bit. The first thought that comes to mind trying to describe it—is an oily nut. I can’t figure out what kind of nut, but it’s an oily one. It’s still dry. Don’t misunderstand me on the dryness of the mouth feel. I’m not reaching for my water, or talking cotton mouth here. It’s just a dry mouthfeel that sort of sticks to your mouth. The draw and burn are still what we dream about…..ABSOLUTELY PERFECT. Flavors by the numbers according to the wheel: Woody: 4, Earthy: 4, Spicy: 3, Sweet: 1, Floral: 2, Caramel: 1.

The final third...what can I say about the final third? Flavors are consistent. Chocolate is a bit sweeter than in the second third, but still has a slightly bitter taste. SIDE NOTE: It should be noted that this bitterness is consistent throughout the cigar. It is slightly reminiscent of ammonia. I am attributing this bitter taste to be due to the cigar possibly being young and needing some more time to mature a bit. This cigar was included in a sampler pack and has been resting in my wineador for approximately one month. I am not sure of the boxing date, so I can’t definitively say that it is young. That’s my assumption and plan on reviewing it again in a few months to see what happens. (Now, back to the regularly scheduled programming). The finish is a solid three minutes and holding fast. It’s still that oily yet dry mouthfeel with that “tobacco dust” kind of thing. Flavor by the numbers according to the wheel: Woody: 3, Earthy: 3, Spicy: 4, Sweet: 1, Floral: 2. Two inches to the cap and the spice is 5 of 5. I attribute this to nearing the end of the cigar; it’s getting hot. It’s not unbearable, but it’s there. It’s the kind of spice one expects from AJ Fernandez. The draw is still the stuff of dreams. The burn did get lopsided and needed a single touch up about the 1.5” mark. Could I have ended it there and called it done—sure. Did I? ABSOLUTELY NOT. I was still enjoying this cigar. 1” to the nub—1h33min total smoke time.

Final Notes​
Great smoke. Would I purchase more? Youbetchya I will. Pricing isn’t too bad on a bundle of 10. At the time of writing this review, they can be found online by several vendors for under $50. I thoroughly enjoyed this cigar and look forward to giving it a bit more time and having another one. I’m interested to see if the bitterness dissipates a bit with some more rest time. Overall the cigar did not burn or taste like it had not had a chance to stabilize being shipped from CI to Oklahoma. It’s has been held at 66def and 65%RH for like one-day shy of a month. The burn and draw were stellar. Please do not take this next statement as criticism of the Diesel brand, but I usually have to touch up the burn at least twice during a smoke. For me, the draw usually starts a TAD tight, and opens up to perfection as it’s smoked. This has been normal for me in the past. I attest it to a Diesel thing, at least that’s how the other Diesels have been from this sampler, and Diesel’s I have had in years past. This one did not have any issues what-so-ever until the last 2”. I’ll take that. Hopefully I have hit stabilization from shipping with the others and will have the same burn and draw of this cigar with the others I have. My final judgement on whether or not I will purchase more than singles or a 5-er of a particular cigar is this: Do I wish that I had magical powers at this very moment and could snap my fingers and have the entire cigar back from initial light and take another hour and a half and smoke the same exact cigar? If the answer is yes, it gets stocked. If not, I give it some time and try another one. I’m looking for that semi-religious cigar smoking experience. This one was almost there. Was I sad that it was over, yes. Did I seriously consider grabbing another one out of the wineador and having back to back Uncuts? No. Will I keep a supply of them. Yup. Price is perfect for an everyday smoke. If you haven’t had one, grab some—just give them some time to rest. I honestly think maybe one more month rest time and it will be an absolutely fantastic smoke.

Until next time BOTL and SOTL. Long ashes my friends.

Last edited by Sp33d3rific; 08-05-2018 at 08:33 PM. Reason: Added photo from phone
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