Tweet
Yesterday afternoon I decided to fire up one of the new wide churchills. I have been eagerly waiting to try these cigars since I heard about their release. Yesterday was lovely weather so I thought I would spare a few hours in the afternoon to sit back and relax with my new purchase. I drove my car up to a nice quiet peaceful spot, opened the windows, reclined the seat and of course fired up the cigar!
Appearance
This cigar had a lovely mid brown wrapper colour. There was a nice sheen to the wrapper and the cigar had a firm texture to it. I love the size of the new wide churchills, they are a real manly looking cigar! I rate the apperance of this cigar very highly, 38/40
Pre light
I cut off the cap with a nice sharp cutter, the cut was perfect. I would like to note that the aroma of this cigar out of the box is quite strong and a lovely deep aromatic smell! The pre light draw was woody with nuances of sweetness. The draw had just the right amount of resistance. 37/40
First Third
Due to its wide girth this cigar is harder to light than a more slimmer profiled gar, i held my torch lighter to the tip for quite a while but managed to get a perfect light. Immediately upon lighting i noticed a strong intoxicating aroma and a large amount of smoke. The smell was woody, earthy and thick. The first third had a full flavoured sweetness to it.
The wide churchill was a little harsh at first (could be due to its age) but it did have a nice intense flavour to it. It should be noted that the strength is considerably stronger than the short churchill.
Throughout the first third there was a dark sweetness to the cigar, i tasted nuances of cinnamon, nutmeg and woody undertones. The strength is similar to Partagas brand. The ash was dark grey with a slightly uneven burn in the first third. 35/40
Second Third
The strength continued throughout the second third with more sweetness coming through. I tasted notes of cedar, milk choc and a creaminess. Halfway through the second third the sweetness changed to a sweet coffee taste with an earthiness.
There is quite a high content of nicotine to this cigar, I felt myself feeling very relaxed and overpowered by this, again it could be due to its very fresh age (March 2010) and may settle down a bit when aged. 36/40
Final Third
The flavour continued from the second third but the sweetness was beginning to be replaced by a more woody flavour, still that earthiness to the cigar, i noted nuances of tree bark. The strength as expected started to get stronger in this third and was now definitely what I would call full strength. 35/40
Conclusions
It is obvious this cigar is very fresh and has no age to it. This can be noted by its strong flavour, slight harshness at the beginning and a dark sweetness to it.
The cigar should not be confused with just being a bigger version of a short churchill. This cigar does have a different flavour profile. There is that typical RyJ flavour to it but with differences such as a stronger flavour, less sweetness and a woody flavour profile.
I would recommend this cigar as it is a nice size and has a good flavour to it. It is not an everyday cigar, if you wand that then go for the short churchill. It is not really a beginners cigar either due to its size and strength. This is a cigar to be aged for special occasions or times that you just want a while out to relax and think over things, i found this to be a great thinking cigar. I believe this to be a great smoke after a big meaty dinner, not too spicey though!
All in all I was very pleased with this cigar and its potential. I am happy that it is not exactly the same as the short churchill and does offer differences. I will age the rest of these cigars for a while and probably get another box to age further. I am exited to see what they will be like in the future.
I recommend others to try out this cigar, maybe when it hits these shores to just try out one or two before you indulge in a full box.
All this makes me want to reach for another wide churchill! I must resist temptation though as I believe the potential for improvements are vast!
(sorry for the lack of pics but i was too busy enjoying the smoke!
Appearance
This cigar had a lovely mid brown wrapper colour. There was a nice sheen to the wrapper and the cigar had a firm texture to it. I love the size of the new wide churchills, they are a real manly looking cigar! I rate the apperance of this cigar very highly, 38/40
Pre light
I cut off the cap with a nice sharp cutter, the cut was perfect. I would like to note that the aroma of this cigar out of the box is quite strong and a lovely deep aromatic smell! The pre light draw was woody with nuances of sweetness. The draw had just the right amount of resistance. 37/40
First Third
Due to its wide girth this cigar is harder to light than a more slimmer profiled gar, i held my torch lighter to the tip for quite a while but managed to get a perfect light. Immediately upon lighting i noticed a strong intoxicating aroma and a large amount of smoke. The smell was woody, earthy and thick. The first third had a full flavoured sweetness to it.
The wide churchill was a little harsh at first (could be due to its age) but it did have a nice intense flavour to it. It should be noted that the strength is considerably stronger than the short churchill.
Throughout the first third there was a dark sweetness to the cigar, i tasted nuances of cinnamon, nutmeg and woody undertones. The strength is similar to Partagas brand. The ash was dark grey with a slightly uneven burn in the first third. 35/40
Second Third
The strength continued throughout the second third with more sweetness coming through. I tasted notes of cedar, milk choc and a creaminess. Halfway through the second third the sweetness changed to a sweet coffee taste with an earthiness.
There is quite a high content of nicotine to this cigar, I felt myself feeling very relaxed and overpowered by this, again it could be due to its very fresh age (March 2010) and may settle down a bit when aged. 36/40
Final Third
The flavour continued from the second third but the sweetness was beginning to be replaced by a more woody flavour, still that earthiness to the cigar, i noted nuances of tree bark. The strength as expected started to get stronger in this third and was now definitely what I would call full strength. 35/40
Conclusions
It is obvious this cigar is very fresh and has no age to it. This can be noted by its strong flavour, slight harshness at the beginning and a dark sweetness to it.
The cigar should not be confused with just being a bigger version of a short churchill. This cigar does have a different flavour profile. There is that typical RyJ flavour to it but with differences such as a stronger flavour, less sweetness and a woody flavour profile.
I would recommend this cigar as it is a nice size and has a good flavour to it. It is not an everyday cigar, if you wand that then go for the short churchill. It is not really a beginners cigar either due to its size and strength. This is a cigar to be aged for special occasions or times that you just want a while out to relax and think over things, i found this to be a great thinking cigar. I believe this to be a great smoke after a big meaty dinner, not too spicey though!
All in all I was very pleased with this cigar and its potential. I am happy that it is not exactly the same as the short churchill and does offer differences. I will age the rest of these cigars for a while and probably get another box to age further. I am exited to see what they will be like in the future.
I recommend others to try out this cigar, maybe when it hits these shores to just try out one or two before you indulge in a full box.
All this makes me want to reach for another wide churchill! I must resist temptation though as I believe the potential for improvements are vast!
(sorry for the lack of pics but i was too busy enjoying the smoke!
Comment