Sunday, June 10, 2012

Drew Estate Undercrown Belicoso - Sunday, June 10th

It is officially the opening of cigar season here at In With Bacchus HQ. Do you need some proof? Here's some proof:


Look at that. Beautiful. Sun shining, fair humidity, mild temperatures, and nice breezes. The rain comes in spurts but when it's nice out...it's NIIIIICE out. Today was a touch humid but I needed a cigar. Let me explain.

The past month and a half of surgical recovery have been...arduous. Trying. Okay...shitty. I was planning on doing a whole bunch of cigar reviews while I was down but I was miserable for the entire time. I was constantly in pain and it was pretty hard to enjoy anything. Sparking up a cigar would have been a waste. The best analogy I can come up with would be eating your favorite pizza...smeared in dog crap. I mean, it's your favorite pizza...and you COULD do it...but it would be a waste of pizza and it would just be horrible. So I refrained. And I'm glad I did.

Today I sparked up the much lauded Drew Estate Undercrown, in the Belicoso size. Normally, a belicoso really isn't my cup of tea. Weighing in at 6 inches by 52 RG...it's a little out of my comfort zone. My speed is more of a corona size. But when I went to Habana Premium in Albany...it was either the Belicoso, the Gran Toro...or the Gordito. So...the least of three evils, I guess. Like I said, not my favorite size...but it was an admirable smoke. Here she is in all of her glory:








Mmmmmm, delicious lookin. But enough chit chat, let's get down to the nitty gritty here.

Prelight draw: Cedar, barnyard, and clean, sweet tobaccy. Beautiful, really.

First quarter:


This is the ONLY cigar that has the flavor of its aroma. You can pick up a cigar and smell it. It's sweet, delicious tobacco but generally...that's not what it tastes like when you smoke it. For the Undercrown...it did. It had that mature, sweet tobacco taste come through in the first quarter. Couple this with a hefty dose of mole: chocolate, cinnamon, and pepper. Layered with rich leather like a new car interior. Gods above...what a smoke. The tobacco sweetness, the chocolate and spice rack...delicious.

Half way: 


Half way point sees it taming down. Leather is still there, along with some of the chocolate. A barnyard-y, earthiness comes in as well. The sweet tobacco taste is gone, however; gently fading out as the cigar ticked downward. A shame...but it lingers on the palate pretty well so it may be gone but it's not forgotten. The complexity has ramped down quite a bit but it's still quite pleasant.

Third quarter:


Bit of palate fatigue at this point so my notes are a bit skewed. Still rocking the bodacious leather. Some of that tobacco sweetness comes back but it's more of a fermented, cured tobacco sweetness. I dunno, it's hard to describe the difference between the aroma of tobacco and the taste of tobacco. Sorry.Complexity has left but it's still a solid smoke. Started getting a bit bitter but I was chugging away on it towards the end because...well...

I was relaxed.

For the first time in a month and a half, despite lashings of painkillers and anti-anxiety meds...I relaxed. I had planned to do some reading while I smoked this (not unusual when I do cigar reviews; catching up on booze news while burning one down is a treat) but...I read a few pages and put the magazine down. I just sat there, either staring at the cigar or watching the wildlife. At peace.

I paid $11.90 for this cigar. And I regret NOTHING. It was worth sending my hard earned money to NY in the form of it's ridiculous tax just for this cigar. And I bought two. Regret. Nothing. It's a fine cigar. Not in my usual bracket of intensity (I'd put it at a solid medium body) but honestly...I think I like this better than the Liga line. Don't get me wrong...I love the Liga line. It's a haymaker of a blend but, much like a well-landed haymaker...it's a one and done kind of thing. If I could afford to buy these at $11.90...I could easily do a few of these a day, much like, I'm sure, the rollers that created the blend do (lucky bastards). So yes, worth the money, worth the smoke...and almost worth the month and a half long wait.

ALMOST.

C'mon...it was a shitty month and a half. Gimme a break.