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Okie dokie, using the same format as ever (that of CA)...
I got this little stick in a bomb from daverave999.
I had planned to enjoy a stick out in the garden today as I had the place to myself and the day off work. Then the heavens opened at lunch time...
So, I watched the baseball from last night. When it had finished the sun was trying to force its way out, so I decided to give something a go. Something that should be fairly quick was in order (wouldn't want to be caught out by the rain again... 
). So, with all that in mind, I grabbed the La Flor de Cano Preferidos gifted by Dave and headed onto the patio (with a glass of whisky dry - made with the flattest Canada Dry you've ever drunk)...
Appearance /15
(Size: 5" x 37)
Well, unfortunately, it wasn't a great start for the Preferido... It came in a cellophane sleeve (we can forgive it this...
), however, the wrapper leaf was not particularly good looking. You could distinctly see the line of the leaf as it wound itself around. The leaf itself was slightly wrinkled (for want of a better descriptive term). I liked the semi-belicoso shape though, with a slightly tapered head. Not the most attractive package overall, but the proof is in the pudding (sorry, smoking)... 
9
Smoking Characteristics /25
I shall start this little section with a comment on the pre-light smells. I could have sat there all day sniffing this cigar. The lovely, rich, dark chocolate aromas were lovely, off-set by just a hint of grassy and herbaceous aromas. The Preferidos lit first time with no issues whatsoever, one match and it was done - the advantages of a narrow ring gauge... The cigar's burn was generally consistent and even, however, there was a small amount of coning (below). The ash wasn't fantastic, I never built up the nerve to go for a long one as it always looked to be on the verge of falling off!
The draw wasn't great: it started quite loose, producing little smoke; however, as the cigar wore on it tightened slightly and the smoke became more volumous (though still nothing special). Together with the coning issue, this indicated to me that it this cigar didn't the greatest construction ever... The aroma of the smoke was quite pleasant. All together, nothing drastically wrong with this stick. 
21
Flavour /25
This example of an LFdC Preferidos was a light-to-medium strength cigar with a medium range of flavours. Immediately upon lighting (below) I got the rich, dark chocolate flavours that I had smelt before lighting. There seemed, almost, to be something leathery about the early tastes too. These flavours developed quite nicely into the second third. The bitterness of the dark chocolate heightened, leading to an espresso type of note at the rear of the mouth. This espresso was, slightly unexpectedly, married with a slightly grassy or herbaceous taste around the fringes. These flavours, as indeed those at the beginning, worked really quite nicely with the slightly sharp sweetness of the whisky dry that was accompanying them. Unfortunately, as we entered the final third, the flavours kind of fell away. I like to think that a good cigar develops through three stages, this one seems to have managed two and a bit stages... There seemed to be a return to the leatheriness of earlier, but this was joined simply by a non-descript bitterness. All in all, this is a cigar that delivered more on the flavour front than I expected, nice flavour combinations worked through until the final third, when it just seemed to die a death... 21
Overall Impression /35
Overall, this was a decidedly enjoyable cigar. The first impressions were quite poor, I have to admit. However, as I said, the proof would be in the smoking, and this cigar seemed to punch slightly above its weight. It wasn't a classic, and could have been better, but there were an unexpected set of flavours which melded to give an unexpected complexity to this smoke. 31
Grand total... 82/100
I got this little stick in a bomb from daverave999.
I had planned to enjoy a stick out in the garden today as I had the place to myself and the day off work. Then the heavens opened at lunch time...
So, I watched the baseball from last night. When it had finished the sun was trying to force its way out, so I decided to give something a go. Something that should be fairly quick was in order (wouldn't want to be caught out by the rain again... ). So, with all that in mind, I grabbed the La Flor de Cano Preferidos gifted by Dave and headed onto the patio (with a glass of whisky dry - made with the flattest Canada Dry you've ever drunk)...Appearance /15
(Size: 5" x 37)
Well, unfortunately, it wasn't a great start for the Preferido... It came in a cellophane sleeve (we can forgive it this...
), however, the wrapper leaf was not particularly good looking. You could distinctly see the line of the leaf as it wound itself around. The leaf itself was slightly wrinkled (for want of a better descriptive term). I liked the semi-belicoso shape though, with a slightly tapered head. Not the most attractive package overall, but the proof is in the pudding (sorry, smoking)... 9Smoking Characteristics /25
I shall start this little section with a comment on the pre-light smells. I could have sat there all day sniffing this cigar. The lovely, rich, dark chocolate aromas were lovely, off-set by just a hint of grassy and herbaceous aromas. The Preferidos lit first time with no issues whatsoever, one match and it was done - the advantages of a narrow ring gauge... The cigar's burn was generally consistent and even, however, there was a small amount of coning (below). The ash wasn't fantastic, I never built up the nerve to go for a long one as it always looked to be on the verge of falling off!
The draw wasn't great: it started quite loose, producing little smoke; however, as the cigar wore on it tightened slightly and the smoke became more volumous (though still nothing special). Together with the coning issue, this indicated to me that it this cigar didn't the greatest construction ever... The aroma of the smoke was quite pleasant. All together, nothing drastically wrong with this stick. 21Flavour /25
This example of an LFdC Preferidos was a light-to-medium strength cigar with a medium range of flavours. Immediately upon lighting (below) I got the rich, dark chocolate flavours that I had smelt before lighting. There seemed, almost, to be something leathery about the early tastes too. These flavours developed quite nicely into the second third. The bitterness of the dark chocolate heightened, leading to an espresso type of note at the rear of the mouth. This espresso was, slightly unexpectedly, married with a slightly grassy or herbaceous taste around the fringes. These flavours, as indeed those at the beginning, worked really quite nicely with the slightly sharp sweetness of the whisky dry that was accompanying them. Unfortunately, as we entered the final third, the flavours kind of fell away. I like to think that a good cigar develops through three stages, this one seems to have managed two and a bit stages... There seemed to be a return to the leatheriness of earlier, but this was joined simply by a non-descript bitterness. All in all, this is a cigar that delivered more on the flavour front than I expected, nice flavour combinations worked through until the final third, when it just seemed to die a death...
21Overall Impression /35
Overall, this was a decidedly enjoyable cigar. The first impressions were quite poor, I have to admit. However, as I said, the proof would be in the smoking, and this cigar seemed to punch slightly above its weight. It wasn't a classic, and could have been better, but there were an unexpected set of flavours which melded to give an unexpected complexity to this smoke. 31
Grand total... 82/100
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