Some of the inmates here recommended that I pick up an Illusione cg:4, so I grabbed a box at Georgetown Tobacco this afternoon.
The cg:4 is a smooth, pretty stick with with some small veins that don't detract from the look or feel. It has a nice prelight draw with a pleasant fig flavor.
Right off the bat, the cg:4 had an amazing sweetness with the perfect amount of spice. In fact, it had one of the most balanced and pleasant flavors that I have ever tasted. The ash, however, doesn't hold too well, and as you can see from the pictures below, it routinely fell off after only a ¼ of an inch.
I got up to get some coffee, and when I came back, the sweetness was gone! In its place was a very full leather flavor that reminded me of a gurkha (in a good way). The smoke got a lot thicker and creamier, too.
The burn was even for the entire 90 minutes that it took me to nub this one.
Overall, the cg:4 is an amazing smoke, and for $6 a stick, it's a good bang for your buck. The flavor profile is complex, and I love how the sweetness in the first half of the stick pairs with the leathery second half.
I probably never would have discovered this one without the BOTLs here at CA, so thanks guys.