Ashton ESG 22 years salute

[Don Fernando]

This is another cigar in the series of cigars that I am reviewing for The Longfiller Company, the importer for this cigar in The Netherlands. The Ashton ESG series are created by Carlos Fuente Jr with a wrapper grown on the Chateau de la Fuente farm that has never been used on a cigar before. The cigars are created to commemorate the number of years that Ashton excists and every year a cigar will be released with this blend, but in another vitola.



The cigar, wrapped in cellophane, looks great and the band is a piece of art. This 22 year salute is a 6x52 torpedo. The oily wrapper has a nice chocolate color with only a minor vein on it. The construction feels good and so is the predraw. The cigar has a nice dark barnyard aroma.



The flavors that hit my palate are herbal, mild spicy and just a subtle hint of earthy flavors. After half an inch I also taste a mild chocolate flavor. After about an inch and a half the wrapper got torn. The flavors don't change in the first third of the cigar.



Halfway the chocolate grows in strength. The herbal flavors grow in strength too and become the dominant flavor with the chocolate as aftertaste. After the ⅔ point the chocolate disappears.



I got a great draw en plenty of smoke, although a bit thin, during the hour and 45 minutes that this cigar lasted. The ash is quite firm and light colored, almost white. The burn is a bit crooked, but that's because the thin wrapper cracked somewhere in the middle of the cigar. This cigar is full flavored and full bodied, it gave me a bit of a nicotine rush.



Would I buy this cigar again? I liked this cigar a lot, but the €20.50 fixed price tag here in The Netherlands is quite steep.

Appearance: 8 / 10
Construction: 7 / 10
Draw: 7 / 10
Burn: 7 / 10
Smoke & ash: 7 / 10
Aroma first part: 7 / 10
Aroma second part: 8 / 10
Aroma third part: 8 / 10