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Unlit Impressions

I found myself staring at this cigar for far longer than I care to confess. Everything about it looks suave. Like a speakeasy stogie from a scene in a classic noir film, the classic shape of the perfecto vitola simultaneously looks both old school and timeless. It also feels flawless and seems to be rolled extremely well, with no major seam gaps or mottling to be detected, with the tightly formed pigtail cap finishing things off. 

Scents off the barrel are a bit muted, but perhaps that is because I have opted to age this stick for an additional year. Still extremely oily to the eye and to the touch, the arapiraca wrapper smells faintly of cocoa powder and dried, clay-heavy soil, and finishes with a sweet fruity graininess that makes me think of raisin bread. Like most perfectos, the tapered nipple of a foot prevents much from being detected beyond a sweet rum raisin scent. 

Cold draws are peppery at first, but soon switch over to a light cedary taste that tastes slightly toasted, along with an unexpected blend of bright baking spices. Clove, nutmeg, and a little bit of star anise mix with the sweetness of the unlit tobacco to create a secondary taste that toys with the idea of doubling as a stick of bubblegum. Bet you didn't see that one coming because neither did I.

Oh, and then there is that band, which I am convinced is large enough to double as a label on a mini shooter of bourbon or some form of cognac. Thick paper stock that is matte textured, accented by an oiled bronze and a touch of red, this beauty of a band is one to add to the collector's book if that is your thing.

Just be forewarned that the removal of said beautiful band prior to setting it alight will likely result in someone mistaking your cigar for a dog turd, for it truly looks the part, what with the little swirly on one end and all. However, if you are into playing practical jokes on family members, maybe set one down somewhere unexpected like the kitchen counter or on top of a video game system, and see who in the household discovers your little "gift" first.

Initial Smoke

Cough if you must, but know that those spicy sensations and tastes of white and black pepper aren't going to be around for long. Mellowing the blend out is a milky undefined nuttiness that segues into a zesty Spanish cedar aromatic and cigar flavor profile. The draw is outstanding, with lots of smoke billowing back and forth, and retrohales are easygoing and more cedar and sandalwood than soil. 

1st Half   

Still not very dark or heavy, the first third starts with medium amounts of soil and baking spice, allowing the Brazilian wrapper to slowly shift into gear. It starts with bittersweet cocoa and a nib of toffee and gets balanced out by the tannin woodiness and a lightly roasted coffee bean finish that is medium. Retrohales are fabulous, and for the most part, support these cigar flavor profiles just mentioned save for the addition of a slight mineral note and a little more pepper spice.

A dozen minutes later, retrohales have gone far more cocoa-heavy, with a mixture of milk and dark chocolate being in the mix. Spicier and notably darker, this section of the cigar is where a strong scent of oak wood can be detected. Which after reading the fine print on the cigar band, is something that this blend is known for producing. 

The finish may be a bit on the longer end by now, but the overall body of the cigar still sits at medium, with flavors and strength striving to make it to full status before the day is done. 

2nd Half 

Resinous cedar scraps start the second half off on a strong, slightly sappy note just before a whole barrage of baking spices sign up for second string duty. Although there are some pleasant milky moments to the second half of the cigar, I struggled to detect anything all that significant when it came to setting it apart from the flavors detected in the first half. There was a shovel of soil here and there thrown on top, but it was kind of chalky and clay-heavy. Retrohales definitely got more intense, but they weren't all that different from the first hour of this stick either. 

What was significantly different was the resinous, slightly astringent off-taste that was beginning to form. More than likely the side-effect of several touch-ups that had occurred along the way, which when compared with the fantastic first half makes for a rather unfavorable full-flavored smoking section. 

Parting Puffs

Leave it to the last minute, or in this case, the last ten minutes, for things to get truly full-strength on the senses. From leather and cracked black pepper, shaker sprays of white pepper, and plenty of bitter cacao tastes, this is where the Cellar Reserve Limitada 15-Year Maduro shifts into beast mode. Slightly salty, with an intense dry oak aftertaste, this potent mixture is simultaneously sharp and sensory overloading.

Ash / Burn / Smoke / Draw

Let's see here... was there a touch-up in the first third? Check. Second third as well? Yup. What about the final third? Big one. Parting puffs too? Nope. But by that point all those torch fires had made their mark, so there was no point in continuing any further.

Perfecto cigars may look cool, but dammit if half of them don't always try to burn sideways on you. In this cigar's case, it resulted in a flaky ash and more fretting than smoking at times. At least the draw and smoke levels were good...

Final Thoughts 

The first sample stick of the Gurkha Cellar Reserve Limitada 15-Year Maduro that I smoked was about a year back. But I found it to be a bit too spicy and leathery in the second third onward, so I sat this secondary smoke down to rest in the hopes of a more balanced smoking session. 

What I got in return was a very enjoyable first half, filled with incredibly smooth flavors and intoxicating aromatics, followed by a mediocre start to the second half, and a pretty harsh final section. So the cigar did improve with a bit more age, but not enough to remove all of the sharpness found in the tail end of the stick, and it burned pretty poorly overall. It also was not a sweet smoke, and this dryness caused any harshness to hit the throat and nose even harder. 

Smoke levels and the visual appeal did manage to retrieve a few points overall, as too did the unlit aromas and flavor of the cigar. I also remain quite impressed by how the milky and oaky binder and 15-year filler combo keep that arapiraca wrapper from outperforming everything else. The evolution of the overall smoking session itself and the retrohales provided were also very enjoyable up until a certain point. In hindsight, I feel that if that if there weren't a need for a touch of the torch every thirty minutes or so some of those sharp tastes may not have formed in the first place.

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