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Hi all,
I'm all settled in at Uni now and after a few nights out I wanted to have a bit of me-time so I took a wander back down to the Uni and brought this neat little cigar along. Let me know if you have any experiences of this brand yourself.
Aging Room are a relatively rare brand in the UK, so far I have far only 3 tobacconists that stock some of their range. I've heard these are made in small batches every year and use good quality tobacco, I think they're going for the quality rather than quantity aspect which is something I like to see. Apparently named after the day on which the blend was created (the 356th day of the year), the Aging Room M356 Presto is a great looking robusto; a nice tightly packed foot, a dark colorado wrapper and a substantial band leave me with good first impressions. Onto cutting a lighting...
I took two snips with my trust Xikar and found that the second cut gave me a perfect draw, sorry, THE perfect draw. Not too tight and not too loose, just a little resistance. This is something I very rarely experience with NC brands but this baby was spot-on. It lit well with a torch lighter and I was away!
First third flavours were unmissable; straight away on the draw was a real nice strong spiciness, not much of a pepper flavour to it but it was spicy for sure! I don't normally like spice in a cigar but this was amazing, like a smooth spice that really woke up my tastebuds. Underlying the spice on the finish was a soft milk chocolate, not too sweet or too bitter, just somewhere in the middle. Really great start, something different from your normal NC.
The second third flavours built on the first third but a smooth earth taste moved in with the chocolate and the spice moved from the draw to the finish, almost like when you try a hot chilli pepper and think "hmm this is quite mild actua... oh wait no, hang on... anyone got any milk?!" that sort of spice. The finish builds the spice but the next draw takes that away and the process starts again.
The final third really amps up and the cigar is full-bodied by now. Damp earth and a subtle woodiness are more prevalent whilst the background chocolate just about clings on in there. At times the spice/earth combo just got too much for me and it had the potential to get harsh. I have to leave it a few minutes until I was ready to try again, giving the stick time to just cool slightly helped I think.
Just past the band point the wrapper leaf fell off on it's own accord due to the cap trying to unravel (probably due to my two cuts earlier) but apart from that I must say that the construction was excellent. The ashes all fell off in solid 1 inch chunks and the burn line was very straight. This cigar just felt solid, you could tell it was well built, it felt firm and the draw stayed perfect throughout.
I was very impressed with this little stick and have to give it a 8.9 out 10. It just lacked any really complex changes and the earth did get quite strong at times, which isn't particularly my bag. However if you're a lover of Partagas or cigars with an earth/semi-sweet core then I'm sure this one is for you; and at approximately 10 quid per stick then it's certainly worth a try.
Hope you enjoyed my review, feel free to leave any comments below.
Thanks for reading and happy smoking everyone!
Matt
I'm all settled in at Uni now and after a few nights out I wanted to have a bit of me-time so I took a wander back down to the Uni and brought this neat little cigar along. Let me know if you have any experiences of this brand yourself.
Aging Room are a relatively rare brand in the UK, so far I have far only 3 tobacconists that stock some of their range. I've heard these are made in small batches every year and use good quality tobacco, I think they're going for the quality rather than quantity aspect which is something I like to see. Apparently named after the day on which the blend was created (the 356th day of the year), the Aging Room M356 Presto is a great looking robusto; a nice tightly packed foot, a dark colorado wrapper and a substantial band leave me with good first impressions. Onto cutting a lighting...
I took two snips with my trust Xikar and found that the second cut gave me a perfect draw, sorry, THE perfect draw. Not too tight and not too loose, just a little resistance. This is something I very rarely experience with NC brands but this baby was spot-on. It lit well with a torch lighter and I was away!
First third flavours were unmissable; straight away on the draw was a real nice strong spiciness, not much of a pepper flavour to it but it was spicy for sure! I don't normally like spice in a cigar but this was amazing, like a smooth spice that really woke up my tastebuds. Underlying the spice on the finish was a soft milk chocolate, not too sweet or too bitter, just somewhere in the middle. Really great start, something different from your normal NC.
The second third flavours built on the first third but a smooth earth taste moved in with the chocolate and the spice moved from the draw to the finish, almost like when you try a hot chilli pepper and think "hmm this is quite mild actua... oh wait no, hang on... anyone got any milk?!" that sort of spice. The finish builds the spice but the next draw takes that away and the process starts again.
The final third really amps up and the cigar is full-bodied by now. Damp earth and a subtle woodiness are more prevalent whilst the background chocolate just about clings on in there. At times the spice/earth combo just got too much for me and it had the potential to get harsh. I have to leave it a few minutes until I was ready to try again, giving the stick time to just cool slightly helped I think.
Just past the band point the wrapper leaf fell off on it's own accord due to the cap trying to unravel (probably due to my two cuts earlier) but apart from that I must say that the construction was excellent. The ashes all fell off in solid 1 inch chunks and the burn line was very straight. This cigar just felt solid, you could tell it was well built, it felt firm and the draw stayed perfect throughout.
I was very impressed with this little stick and have to give it a 8.9 out 10. It just lacked any really complex changes and the earth did get quite strong at times, which isn't particularly my bag. However if you're a lover of Partagas or cigars with an earth/semi-sweet core then I'm sure this one is for you; and at approximately 10 quid per stick then it's certainly worth a try.
Hope you enjoyed my review, feel free to leave any comments below.
Thanks for reading and happy smoking everyone!
Matt
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