Released in the USA in June and not yet widely available Crux are a new boutique blend and the Ninfamaniacs is one of their first releases. The cheeky nymph on the band is a bit of an eye catcher and makes me wonder if they're targeting a female clientele, it certainly worked on my wife. This cigar is 7" x33 and sealed at both ends. It is very firm and beautifully wrapped, the wrapper is very dark but not a maduro, there is a maduro version available as well. They come packaged in paper packs of five.
This also turned out to be the first cigar my wife has completely smoked so I was able to try cutting the sealed end and burning it.
The wrapper had a faintly Cuban scent to it and the cut stick had a very loose draw that was earthy but had no distinct flavour.
The initial flavour on lighting the cut stick was very rich and strong but it soon settled down. The flavour of the stick I lit uncut was completely different but I couldn't put my finger on it and it didn't last long enough to identify sadly.
The burn was perfect on both cigars and the ash dropped regularly, neither required a relight.
Throughout the length of the cigar the smoke had a very clean mouth feel to it, almost refreshing in fact.
And so to the flavour. About an inch into it and my wife exclaimed that she could taste marzipan. I was gutted, I've been looking for this flavour for ever and never really found it. I was getting a blend of tea and roasted nuts, more like hazelnut than almond. The smoke was very smooth and there was no pepper at all. About an inch further on and I hit it, marzipan but without that hit of sugar the real thing has. It wasn't a permanent flavour but drifted in and out as the main flavour developed into more of a roasted almond.
My wife gave up with 2" to go because she felt it was getting a little bitter despite purging but I took mine down to the final inch where I only stopped because it was getting unpleasantly warm.
Crux have a winner on their hands here if only we can get our hands on them!
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This also turned out to be the first cigar my wife has completely smoked so I was able to try cutting the sealed end and burning it.
The wrapper had a faintly Cuban scent to it and the cut stick had a very loose draw that was earthy but had no distinct flavour.
The initial flavour on lighting the cut stick was very rich and strong but it soon settled down. The flavour of the stick I lit uncut was completely different but I couldn't put my finger on it and it didn't last long enough to identify sadly.
The burn was perfect on both cigars and the ash dropped regularly, neither required a relight.
Throughout the length of the cigar the smoke had a very clean mouth feel to it, almost refreshing in fact.
And so to the flavour. About an inch into it and my wife exclaimed that she could taste marzipan. I was gutted, I've been looking for this flavour for ever and never really found it. I was getting a blend of tea and roasted nuts, more like hazelnut than almond. The smoke was very smooth and there was no pepper at all. About an inch further on and I hit it, marzipan but without that hit of sugar the real thing has. It wasn't a permanent flavour but drifted in and out as the main flavour developed into more of a roasted almond.
My wife gave up with 2" to go because she felt it was getting a little bitter despite purging but I took mine down to the final inch where I only stopped because it was getting unpleasantly warm.
Crux have a winner on their hands here if only we can get our hands on them!
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