MARCH 25, 2022 - PHIL KURUT, COMEDY - CIGARS - MUSIC
HIGHCLERE CASTLE VICTORIAN TORO (6 x 52)
WRAPPER: ECUADORIAN HABANO
BINDER: BRAZILIAN MATA FINA
FILLER: NICARAGUA
The Victorian brings in oak, sweet earth, and tea by way of a perfect draw, followed up by a dense and plentiful smoke output.
Cherry cola sweetness slides through the retrohale and into the finish. Gentle spice lingers awhile on the palate.
I really don’t judge presentation, but the band is excellent…with the exception of one thing. “Victorian”, which is displayed at the bottom of the band, looks like an afterthought. Up against the eye-catching red and gold and well-appointed black, “Victorian” appears to be written on a piece of gold duct tape and then placed on the band. Seems out of place and breaks up the flow of the main design. Check out my stick figure drawing tutorials on TikTok for more expert artistic knowledge.
The burn wanders a bit without needing correction, and the sheathed ash holds on splendidly.
Toast, earth, and extremely subtle leather converse a bit before fading rather quickly. Spice and sweetness hang around until the next pull. Fruit quietly influences everything from pull to finish.
Creamy dark chocolate hangs back, nearly out of sight. Prune dispels the ambiguity of generic fruit.
Oak, chocolate, and spice find themselves drifting through the room from the Victorian’s foot smoke.
The Victorian requires two burn touch-ups as I get close to the band. Maybe it was trying to caution me against burning the band. I always wonder what notes people get when they smoke through part of the band. Also, why are they smoking through the band?
Joining forces with chocolate and spice, vanilla begins to tiptoe around. Trying to keep the relationship on the DL? Do people still do that?
Coffee and dark chocolate openly join hands on the finish. DL, eat your heart out.
The retrohale begins with milk chocolate, moves to dark chocolate, and ends with smooth leather. I don’t know who’s dating who. Either way, nobody should be telling grandma. Does grandma actually care? Probably not.
The burn threatens needing another touch-up, but the smoke roll ™ saves the day for now.
Rounding the final turn here, oak and leather creep in, while everyone else quietly slinks away.
The burn and ash hold steady. Nice.
Through the nose, chocolate and prune softly wander about, nearly undetected. Coffee grounds rest well on the palate in various weights.
The castle lights dim slowly but fade quickly. Deep.
SMOKE TIME: 1 hr. 35 mins.
RATING: 3 / 4 - Grandma doesn’t care.
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