I am Agent 86. As an agent of The Cigar Spy Agency, I promise to uphold the A.S.H.E.S code.  This is my mission debriefing.

Target Name:

El Baton

Wrapper: Nicaraguan

Binder: Nicaraguan

Filler: Nicaraguan

Vitola: Torpedo

Year:2008

Background:

A J.C. Newman brand not made by Arturo Fuente.

Mission Notes:

Dark clouds have moved in and I’m taking quite the risk, using my laptop on the deck with a potential rainstorm about to strike. Fortunately I had the foresight to put up a couple umbrellas, with any luck the rain will be stopped by them.  I go through my travel humi looking for a cigar suitable to this possible stormy evening, my eyes lock on to a dark smooth wrapper with a striking blue and silver band. Perfect. This cigar was one of the new ones that recently appeared in one of my local cigar shops under mysterious circumstances.  I say mysterious, because the very same shop had just told me two weeks before they weren’t getting any new stock this year. Strange.

I hold the cigar in my hand and look it over. A very dark wrapper, tightly wrapped and without blemishes. The smell is dark and earthy. This really has potential. I clip the end and proceed to light. The cigar lights quickly and begins to burn evenly. The smells coming off the lit end are peppery and with just a bit of woodsmoke.

First draw fails to impress. A bit of pepper, a bit of earth, some sweetness. The reason it doesn’t impress is that the flavors all seem separate, there really doesn’t seem to be any cohesion.  An inch or two down the cigar, the ash is still fairly firm if a bit flaky, the flavors still haven’t come together, and I’m starting to get a bitter, ashy taste in the back of my throat.  This situation continues from this point all the way to the nub.  At no point does this become a bad cigar, but it also never develops into a really good cigar.

Final Statement:

This is a medium cigar, possible on the low end bordering mild. There never really is any strength to it, and the flavors never seem to quite work out what they are trying for. Maybe with aging this could become a really good cigar, but only if the flavors finally mesh. And the aftertaste, it just sits there and remains ashy and bitter. I found myself quickly lighting up another cigar to rid myself of the taste. There is potential in this cigar, the construction is amazing and completely without flaw, it’s just the rest of the cigar never seems to match the quality of its design. I will however, try again, I would love to age some of these a couple years and see what happens.

86, out.