[DBall]

Ripplingh2o Cigar #5
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Back to a Corona style 5 1/2 x 42RG medium brown (EMS?) wrapper. Tightly packed, double cap, nice satin finish. Just looks and feels like a quality stick. Precut aroma lends itself to subtle hints of caramel, chocolate, or cocoa (I'm really trying inmates, this is my last chance). Made a nice V-cut & toasted at 9:00 a.m. along with a second cup of coffee.

First 1/3- Right out of the gate, I am confident to say we'll be concluding this 5-cigar blind taste test with the best or second best stick of the lot. Draw is superb with lots of rich, creamy smoke. With the aid of my Cigar Flavor Wheel, my palate is leaning towards toasted almonds or warm buttery toast (as the crowd goes wild). Medium to full bodied richness void of any spice or peppery notes even thru a slow retrohale. Another perfect burn and perfect ash.

Second 1/3 - Continue to taste a nutty nuance but there seems to be a transition forthcoming as a slight tingle remains on the finish from time to time. For sure, my Connecticuts pale in comparison to this fine cigar.
Call me crazy, but I'm getting tastes of spicy peanut butter (but then I've never had spicy peanut butter before either). The spicy note isn't overpowering, yet it's definitely there. Maybe that's what "white pepper" is all about. I hear that a lot.

Final third - This delectable cigar has become my favorite of the lot. Medium to full bodied, creamy rich smoke, superb draw, razor sharp burn, and full of flavor. The nuttiness has been replaced by a smooth molasses note (see, I'm referring to my Flavor Wheel). This is simply a damn good cigar emboldened with richness which, in its entirety, electrified my palate; I hated to see it go out. I await with baited breath to learn the name of this premium stogie.

Smoke time: 55 minutes. In conclusion then, it comes as no surprise that I'll rate this stick a solid 9.5. Naturally, leaving room for that cigar from Heaven's humidor. Kudos and many thanks to Dan for this most memorable experiment. I hope my fellow inmates have enjoyed my reviews; I tried, with my minimal, Newb experience to provide an honest, entertaining interpretation of my taste-testing adventures. Regards and thanks for permitting me to share my humble opinions and thoughts. Now I'm off to shop around for a larger humidor. Seems the "addiction" isn't the smoking...it's possibly the buying or "winning".