This is a very good looking cigar with a smooth dark Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper. Notes of cocoa are detected in the foot and cold draw, which is perfect. Tonight’s beverage is a 50ml pour of Woodford Reserve with a sparkling water back.

The initial flavor is your basic Nicaraguan earthy notes with a touch of sweetness. There is a hint of the cocoa that I smelled in the foot and tasted in the cold draw. The early retrohale is fairly strong with medium black pepper notes. The ash is mostly light grey and solid looking. The burn is very even.

In the first third the flavor profile doesn’t change much, except that the whiskey brings out the pepper notes on the palate. This is a mostly medium to full bodied cigar with very rich smoke. The ash is developing a crack, so it will have to be watched to prevent ash lap. The burn remains even.

During the second third the sweetness that is present seems to be from the whiskey, not the cigar, which has developed a bit to include a cedar note. Despite the crack, the ash remains solid with a small flake, and the burn remains even.

Approaching the final inch the cocoa notes have sublimated, probably due to the appearance of the cedar. The ash, which seems to be staying solid, has developed a few lumps, but not enough to knock it off. It fell into the ashtray by the end of the second third. The burn remains nice and even.

Overall this is an excellent short Robusto. The complexity of the flavor profile is very good with a couple of flavor variations. The pepper on the palate has dropped off and is again only in the retrohale. The burn is excellent overall. The construction is also very good. 9.6/10, Joe Bob says check it out.