The KC/DW Review Series

[King Catfish]

This evening’s cigar was a Gispert Robusto Maduro, courtesy of DW (thank you!). Its shape is a sharply box-pressed robusto, on the short side, packed and weighty. The color was an even medium-dark brown with a slight sheen. The cigar was a bit hard to the touch, and I was anticipating a difficult draw, but the draw was acceptable at first and then improving, so my fears were not realized.

I enjoyed it this evening with the usual Tullamore Dew and a Schubert String Quartet. The initial aroma was that of unsweetened chocolate and forest loam. The band is red and silver and yellow; the lettering old-style script. I lucked into a perfect cut; the pleasant initial draws reminded me of the smell of an old cedar chest that has had some woolen sweaters in it for a long time. Smoke volume was moderate at first, and a very nice coffee aftertaste was to be had from the very beginning. Intensity of flavor and body were light at the very first, increasing to medium and diminishing slightly in the last third. Smoke volume increased throughout.

The ash was light gray and a bit on the soft side, but cohesive (not flaky). I was less than impressed with the ash length when it departed the end of the cigar bound for ashtrayville (the first one actually ended up in my lap). In the midst of a harmonious presentation there was a hint of saltiness, and no bitterness, except a little at the nub. Aftertaste was on the brief side, redolent of coffee; coffee becoming more dominant as it progressed.

After the first third had gotten comfortably underway, nutty flavors started to appear to go with the coffee. The cigar was steady through the middle third, with nutty flavor slowly challenging the coffee. In the last third it was a photo finish, with neither nuts nor coffee claiming undisputed victory.

Score: 16.4 (x5) = 82