1. 21st November 2020
Arrived today and I couldn't resist trying one straight from the box, without the discipline of letting them rest in the humidor. I was not disappointed.
Gordo 6 X 60
Made in Nicaragua with Nicaraguan wrapper and filler and a double binder: Nicaragua and Honduras.
"The Alec Bradley Black Market Estelí has the pizazz that the original did not have. Complexity arrives shortly after lighting up and I find that the blend travels into the land of all things balanced and smooth. There are no sharp edges to this cigar blend. Shaved cleanly and effortlessly into an appealing appropriation of stone cold “I could put this into my rotation easily.”"
Eloquently put: I agree entirely, 'balanced and smooth' but with delicious complexity.
"While the blend is nearly a Nica puro, I believe the Honduran accent broadens the usual suspects of flavor components giving the blend a nice texture that allows for a variation on a theme. I believe without the Honduran influence, this blend may have been nothing special."
"Black Market Esteli just keeps getting better. The intensity of the licorice as this cigar closes is remarkable. The nub is firm and cool, even after a couple clips to keep the draw going. Strength is still perfectly balanced (medium), while flavor and body are both intensely strong. The finish on this thing lasts for EVER."
I found the opposite: flavour and body were a good medium while strength built nicely.
Appearance: I nice deep brown wrapper. The 6 X 60 is an impressive stogie, large in the hand but not dense. The extensive paper wrapper is a bit silly. But I guess it would add a little protection if you take these travelling.
Draw: A bit of resistance. Not the easiest draw. But smoke output was not an issue.
Aroma: Very fine, complex, intense.
Flavour: A delicious, complex Esteli flavour, very smooth and chocolatey; nothing harsh. No pepper. A bit of spice at the end. But otherwise, smooth.
Burn: A minor touch up. No relights.
Complexity: Rich and complex.
Body and finish: Medium, medium finish.
Body and finish: Medium, medium finish.
Strength: Some nice wafts of strength to slow the tempo, as I sat waiting for my head to stop floating.
Time: 105 minutes.
Conclusion: Very satisfying.
Conclusion: Very satisfying.
2. December 28th, 2020
After five weeks, I tried a second sample from the box. The cigar was nicely supple to the touch - not too dry, not too moist. Good. The dry aroma was somewhat vinegary - white wine vinegar. Not appealing. I lit up. Draw was a bit tight. Flavour was understated, nothing overwhelming; woody, leathery. Everything was medium: strength, body, finish; quite pleasant without much complexity. At around the half way mark, after forty five minutes, intensity and complexity picked up substantially. Draw was still tight. But finish lengthened and the pace slowed as I savoured each puff. The cigar still showed a little vegetal rawness, suggesting that a few months of incubation could improve the profile. Despite that tinge of bitterness, the second half was quite, rich, complex and satisfying, down to the nub.
I planned to listen to a lecture by eminent neuroendocrinologisty, Robert Sapolsky. But I wasn't quite in the mood. I had been listening to Benjamin Britten's second string quartet all day, off and on, and I couldn't resist another dose. I listened and watched, attentively, to the Castalian Quartet, playing in Wigmore Hall, where the quartet had premiered, seventy four years ago.
This is a marvelous work with a hauntingly beautiful introduction and a hauntingly profound finale, the final few bars of which are stuck in my head.
I spent the next hour watching Sapolsky, the profundity of the Britten pairing effectively with that of the great scientist. Sapolsky has a virtuosic manner of presentation: clear, precise, structured and ultimately, profound.
3.February 10th: Complexity develops after six weeks of incubation. The 'vegetal rawness' of the previous selection, has diminished. We have a definite improvement in complexity and flavour. There were still a few reminders of the deficiency of the previous cigar, but they were minimal. Draw was still a bit tight; resistance was more than I would prefer, but the upside is a very solid stogie, with richness attended by a well-filled cigar. Body alternated between medium and full, strength also slid up and down the scale with a few moments whereby I had to put the cigar down and recover my comfort, but nothing causing sweat or discomfort. At its best, this was a very fine cigar with oils coming to the surface in the final third. Verdict: rich and satisfying with promise of improvement in a few months. 105 minutes.
Podcast: I listened to a very intelligent conversation with Megan Kelly interviewing first Laurence Tribe and, after that, Allan Dershowitz on the legal merits of the second Trump impeachment. The controversy turned on whether or not Trump was guilty of incitement; Tribe arguing for and Dershowitz against. But the most interesting discussion was that by Dershowitz defending First Amendment speech and, more importantly, the right of lawyers to make the argument based on the First Amendment. The arguments were balanced and well reasoned. It was a pleasure to listen.
4. May 5th, 2021: Slightly vegetal and bitter in the first third, smoothed out by the halfway mark to a more balanced and mellow flavour. I was expecting more improvement after a few months, but this didn't occur; there was really not much change from the February cigar. (Similar to the Rocky Patel Grand Reserve.) Medium to full body in the second half. Pepper and strength build towards the end. Draw: a bit of resistance, but not too much. Aroma: pleasant and occasionally rich but not quite there. Overall, quite satisfying. 100 minutes to the nub.
Podcast: Peter Attia talking with Paul Offit about the safety and efficacy of the four types of covid vaccines. This was an intense podcast full of detailed information. In particular, that the RNA vaccines don't enter the cell nucleus and there cannot alter the cell's DNA; the protein triggered by the vaccines is made in the cytoplasm outside the nucleus. The prospect of long term side effects of the vaccine is remote given the rapid decay of RNA in the cell and the observation that all vaccine history indicates that side effects occur within the first few days or weeks. Offit suggests that the mutability of covid is somewhere between flu - highly mutable and measles - not very mutable. So we should be able to determine within a year or two how durable the current vaccines are and whether boosters would be required. Definitely worth listening.
5. 12th June, 2021. Excellent flavour, body, balance but too strong at the end. Flavour was milky chocolate. There was nothing vegetal or bitter, except a bit towards the end. Body was full from the outset; finish was long. The overall balance was pleasing.
The cigar was quite moist and spongy but this didn't inhibit draw, nor did it detract from the flavour. Resistance was a little more than desirable, requiring two or three puffs to get the flow of smoke moving, but I had found this quality in all of the samples from the box.
Aroma good and complex.
Overall, this cigar was indeed an improvement over the previous sample with the exception of a little too much strength towards the end. I left it at 85 minutes. Very satisfying.
Podcast: I listened to Brett Weinstein and Pierre Kory on the virtues of Ivermectin in treating and preventing Covid. The discussion of how Big Tech have maintained an authoritarian stance on science and stifled debate was interesting, given how overwhelming the evidence is for the efficacy of Ivermectin. The same observation appliies to the debate over whether or not Covid emerged from the wild or a lab: despite the fact that there is no concrete evidence for either, the lab leak hypothesis was pilloried for about a year. Then it wasn't. What does this tell us about the authoritarian nature of Big Tech science?
As to Ivermectin, my own experience as a goat farmer contradicts the enthusiasm with which Brett and Pierre hold for the drug as a pandemic ender. The very safety of the drug was its own worst enemy in the case of goat farming. Ivermectin, according to the text on goat medicine, can be dosed at 20 times the recommended dosage without causing toxicity. It has therefore been given willy nilly by rustic goat farmers, without much concern for dosage. The result is that the most pernicious goat worm, haemonchus contortus, otherwise know as Barber Pole worm, is resistant to the drug. My concern is that, if ivermectin were given universally around the world, to 8 billion people, the virus would soon become resistant to it. I don't see Ivermectin as a long term solution to a virus that will likely remain with us forever.
November 10th, 2021: Delicious, mellow, refined, balanced, medium roast flavour which continued with a medium body for the first half of the cigar. There was nothing vegetal. After a year, the cigar had mellowed out nicely - at least for the first half. Aroma was light and rich. Finish/aftertaste was complex and long lasting, making for satisfying moments of contemplation and savouring the aroma.
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| The cigar is a beauty. |
If the cigar had continued like that to the nub, it would have been a marvellous cigar. But shortly after the beginning of the final third, at around 70 minutes, strength ramped up dramatically. I could feel a lightheadedness, took another puff or two and it was a kick in the stomach. I broke into a sweat. The strength of the puff I had taken ten minutes ago began to hit me. There was nothing I could do but sit and wait for the nausea and dizziness to pass, which did within a few minutes. I took a few more puffs but strength was still there. I decided to abandon the cigar with two inches to go. Wise decision. Nonetheless, the cigar lasted a good 80 minutes.
Construction suffered a defect. After smoking a while I noticed that the wrapper was cracked. Quite likely this had occurred while removing the gimmicky large paper band as the cigar was not too dry. As a result the wrapper produced a large fissure which increased in size with time. Surprisingly, this defect did not inhibit draw. It was just unsightly. I could have continued to the nub. But strength began to overwhelm and I wisely abandoned the strength bomb at the two inch mark, drank a large glass of water to replenish the sweat and slept well that night.
Overall, it was a delicious cigar. I could taste its sweetness lingering in my mouth the next day and it was not a dirty taste. After a year, I guess that the strength was particular to this particular sample. I doubt that others in the box would be so overpowering. Let's see. I'll be tempted to revisit this brand soon.
Conclusion: quite satisfying.
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| This crack in the wrapper was not the major defect. The sudden explosion of strength at the commencement of the final third was a greater inhibition. I wisely abandoned the cigar not long after taking this picture. |
November 4th, 2023. I returned to this cigar after two years. It was pretty good. Flavour was deep, rich and full bodied throughout. There was no overwhelming strength. After about the first inch flavour started to go bitter. Oh dear. But not for long. After a few minutes, the bitterness subsided and the rest of the cigar was a very fine, mellow but rich and complex flavour. Draw was a bit resistant, but not too bad. I puffed on the cigar for two hours. Very satisfying.
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