Friday, April 30, 2010

Nat Sherman TDG-91 ('02) - Friday, Apr. 30th

Ok, I'm totally not dead. I'm just realllly busy. Sorry about the D-Day fiasco. In a similar vein to Afroman, I was gonna do reviews...

But then I got drunk. Da da da.

Really. We did well in the case race (technically we won because the team that finished before us had an extra person) so that was cool. I then hung out with a friend for a bit and drank a few more beers, then cider. Next thing I know I fall asleep at 8pm and wake up at 2am hungry and hungover. I ate some canned fish (yeah, I love canned fish) and then went back to sleep. So no reviews. However, due to recent opening in my schedule I was able to fit in some quality study time. By study time, I mean I smoked a cigar and read a beer magazine on this fantastic day. The smoke today was a Nat Sherman TDG-91. You won't find this on Cigars International or even at Uptown Cigar, no. It's actually short production rolls available only at the Nat Sherman store in NYC. When I stopped in to see Lindsay (The Cigar Chick) I couldn't resist the allure of hard to obtain smokes from finely aged tobaccos. Who can? Here's the cigar, a beauty:

Om nom nom.

Notes!

Prelight was nothing special. Mostly just tobacco with a hint of a stout-like flavor.

First quarter was very nice. Heavy on the nuts (pecan or brazil nuts) and some delicious spice, mainly cinnamon. Since it was a perfecto and it's a slightly windy day I was worried about the burn post-light but it burned smooth and clean. Towards the middle of the cigar it kinda looked like a pencil. A delicious pencil.

Halfway the cinnamon and nuts fled to reveal a simpler, less complex cigar. It was all leather, tea, and clean tobacco. Nothing more, nothing less. Burn was still razor sharp at this point, even with the wind. No touch-ups required.

About 3/4th it started getting bitter and rough. It was a pretty chaotic flavor profile but none of them were that great. It just started getting harsh and the wrapper started splitting which I found odd considering it was doing so well up until that point. We then hit the Spolverino's Conundrum.

Spolverino's Conundrum has to do with lighters. I love fire but I'm forgetful. I tend to lose things easily, especially lighters over $2. If it's worth about $2.01 then I lose it as soon as I fill it for the first time. Ask Pat. The first trip to Habana Premium in Albany, I left a Ronson Jetlite that I had taken out of the package and filled in his car. I'm terrible at this. Unfortunately, all the lighters appropriate for the average windspeeds of Rochester (which is about 10 miles an hour) cost more than that because they need to be the equivalent o a cigar smoking blowtorch (most actually are). So, as soon as I get a lighter I need up here, I lose it and I get stuck using a Bic in these hellish winds. And the same problem happened today but I don't mind because it proves not just my dedication to reviewing but my tenacity as a smoker. While touching up the Nat shortly after it went south the wind decided to pull a "screw you" and shift direction suddenly, blowing Bic flame onto my exposed thumb. My thumb promptly said "OH SHIT" and blistered. That's right. I got a second degree burn and kept smoking. It hurt like a son of a bitch but I owed it to the Nat Sherman brand to keep on going. So I did, even though it wasn't that great past that point.

My opinion on this one is it's "meh". It's mild-medium to me and it lacks depth/complexity. It's not a terrible smoke but it's not one I'd reach for time and time again. I think it wasn't too expensive in NY terms (about $8-$9 so probably $6ish most other places) so it's not too big of a gamble to try one if you're ever down in the city. Tell Lindsay I sent you though! Maybe I can get some sort of referral cigar plan going or something.

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