6 x 50? Toro?
This stogie blew my mind last Summer at the Don Pepin Garcia party at the Outlaw. Does it still perform or was my brain foggy from good company, great stogies, free beer, and free bbq pork?
It's a perfect night...like February woke up and thought it was April...warm, no wind...truly a rare and delightful night for Southwest Kansas in Winter. Above is a photo of the stogie before I lit it up.
This stogie was created by Don Pepin Garcia for The Outlaw, a cigar store in Kansas City. As such, it's a limited edition and no longer made. Additinally, I believe it is a maduro and DPG doesn't make that many maduros so it's a minor novelty in that respect.
The prelight was...muted. Dull, in fact. The appearance was nice, though-dark and oily with what seemed like a thick wrapper. I paired the stick with a big bottle of Samuel Smith Nut Brown Ale (one of the few brown ales I can tolerate) and lit that sucker up!
Here's a photo of the band. Nothing really that exciting.
Here's the stick after it's been lit for awhile, beside my beverage.
Here I am looking cooler than Hell, rocking this stick with my poncho.The stogie doesn't have the pepper blast that I associate with DPG sticks but does have a nice maduro flavor and a very pronounced "twang" that is present in most DPG sticks. In this respect, I think it is pretty unique-it has more of that flavor than most of the other blends he has and I enjoy it. The construction was top notch and the odor is delightful-aromatic and full. The wrapper is "chewy"-thick and pliant. I found myself kind of chewing it a bit, which I rarely do-the tactile sensations were very pleasant.
Sadly, this stick is not as good as I remember it last Summer. That's doubly sad because I bought a box while I was there since I liked it so much! Each stick retails at around $9 and I doubt you can get them anywhere besides the Outlaw. On the other hand, it's a very good stick...so rating it is kind of a challenge.
RTR's Firing From the Hip Rating: 8.7.
If you like the DPG JJ (White Label) Maduro or the 601 Maduros (but prefer something with a little less kick), these cigars will suit you just fine.
Here's a pic of Michelle and I and Thane in KC a few weeks ago. We dined at an Italian place on the Plaza with Eric, Kellie, and Anne-Marie. Good times!
5 comments:
That's disappointing, dude! Maybe aging them caused them to lose their gusto a little bit, muting them some? Anyway, still sounds like a decent stogie. And maybe it was just an inconsistency issue.
You know, it's a little disappointing but it is still a very good cigar-the aroma in particular is really heavy and enjoyable.
I need to judge the stogie on its own merits and not my memory.
I've had two since this...and I'm smoking one now and they've all been exceptional. I think I might have had an "off" stick when I reviewed this. I'd rate this stick a solid 3 (on the RTR 4 point scale).
It's possible it had a tad too high moisture content. I've found his corojos lose much of their delicate spice(many refer to as pepper) if they are even a bit too moist. Pepin says MAX 65% storage but I find less is optimal for smoking.
Heya! Thanks for the advice. It is quite possible that it could have been stored closer to 70...in the Spring and Summer my humidity seems to creep up there.
However, I think I smoked this dude in the Winter...when my humidity is around 60.
I had one more recently and it was really good again...will keep an eye on things and see if it was a fluke or a humidity problem.
Thanks for the advice and the post-you're the first poster who isn't one of my family members or college buddies!
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