G.A.R. by George A. Rico Robusto Grande

[lenguamor]

Just smoked one of these and I have to say that I'm impressed.

The dark wrapper is inviting, but the fragrance more so; pre-light, the impressions are of sweet spices and honey.

Upon lighting, the sweetness and the warm spices are right up front. I kept trying to place where I'd experienced this taste before and the answer came around the one-inch mark: it's like a winter ale. All the malty sweetness and the spices; nutmeg, cinnamon, orange peel, some pepper in the background; others that I can't make out but I can taste them. Through the nose, that same impression of a strong beer; malt, yeast, a touch of a hoppy burn.

The burn is erratic but it's not all the cigar's fault; there's a front moving through and it is windy tonight. It doesn't help the mood that every cat in the area chose the moment I was out on the patio to come and ALL try to eat out of the same bowl, so the atmosphere was a little tense. I live just south of the airport, too, and it sounded as busy and loud as I've ever heard it.

The ash is very flaky and doesn't help the cigar's cause...nor mine. Just past the halfway point, after several re-lights and enough burn problems to annoy me, I gave up.

Before all that I enjoyed the flavor, but my general impression is that this is a blend that would benefit from sitting for a couple of years; I'd bet that it would age well and round off some of the rough edges.