Posts from Smoke of the Fatherland

E. P. Carillo Seleccion Oscuro

Format: Torpedo
Wrapper: more Maduro than Oscuro, velvety with dark spots, smells of chocolate and animal notes with a subtle hint of honey. Relatively neutral on the lips – only a slight chocolate sweetness
The cigar looks somewhat crooked externally, but the draw is perfect
From the very beginning, the cigar delivers a rich and strong flavor combined with excellent thick smoke. In the first third, there are leather, light peatiness, slightly salty minerality, and spice (cardamom, cinnamon, red pepper), seasoned with the taste of over-roasted coffee. The smoke is sweeter, full of coffee and bread notes
In the second third, the flavor gains greater balance and softness. Anise, cedar, floral notes blend well into the palette, displacing the rough leathery and mineral tones. You can also detect a sweet cashew nut flavor. The smoke also tends towards heavy but soft nutty and woody aromas. After taking a puff after a sip of sweet brandy with a rich nutty finish, you can fully savor the herbaceous and spicy flavors in the cigar. A little raw grain at the end of the second third.
Towards the last third, the flavor becomes even richer, spicier, and more mature. Oak bark – in moderation, not too dry, leather, Kenyan acidic coffee, cloves, cardamom, tea, fig... Very complex, intense, only the harsh lacquer notes occasionally spoil the pleasure. Sweetness decreases, strength becomes slightly more noticeable, but remains within "above average".* The finale develops the theme: an even more intense flavor of spices, nuts, and a bit of marzipan sweetness.* Excellent. The last fifth of the cigar is its best part, containing the best of what has already been experienced. I smoked it until my fingers burned.

Verdict: an excellent cigar. Rich, balanced, strong... But I will still rate it somewhat lower than *cigarsinternational*. It's too "correct." There are no surprises in it, those sudden bursts of flavor and strength that many, including myself, appreciate so much in cigars – especially large formats. Predictable from start to finish, even stable in strength, it will certainly be remembered as a high-quality and tasty cigar, but it won’t cause the delight that others evoke, either with stunning strength or dynamics, when towards the end of the vitola, the taste changes to something completely opposite. In total – 92 points

Oh yes, the drink. Brandy was a good choice, but here, perhaps, Henessy XO would be more appropriate, or – forgive me for this banality – Dalmore Sigar Malt. Or another aged Highland. Rum isn't very suitable due to excessive sweetness, Speyside doesn't synergize with spice, Islay – no comment.
By the way, the cigar leaves not the worst smell in the room. Non-smokers will still find it unpleasant, but compared to most cigars, it is not so terrible.

La Aurora Embassador Habana Corojo

Format: Robusto
Wrapper: Colorado, large but rare vein. Magnificent aroma of honey, nutmeg, and baked goods. Quite neutral on the lips.
Cold draw: hazelnut and herbaceousness.
The cigar starts with a rather sharp flavor. Anise and caraway, black pepper, hay, and graphite – dry, somewhat even harsh flavors. I can't say the taste is completely bad; it's distinct and rich in nuances, but the dryness and spice make it somewhat harsh. Although the strength is below average, the cigar keeps you on edge, not allowing you to relax. The smoke is more pleasant: on a nutty background, there are sweet and spicy notes.
The second third, as is usually the case, is significantly milder. Turmeric, cinnamon, the sweetness of biscuit and cedar, even fragrant floral aromas, among which herbaceous and anise notes still appear as unwelcome guests, but quickly disappear. At times, the cigar seems frankly sweet, filling the smoker's mouth with the flavors of marzipan, milk chocolate, and cashew. The cigar shimmers with a very extensive palette at this stage, constantly surprising – now with sweetness, now with mineral dryness. I must say that pairing it with a light wine is excellent. The strength is almost imperceptible.
The last third retains the marzipan sweetness. Distinct flavors of white pepper, cloves, and nutty notes are added to it, creating a rich and at the same time soft, balanced profile. The aftertaste is sharp. The beginning of the first third is simply excellent.
Towards the very end, the cigar changes dramatically. A powerful flavor of black coffee appears out of nowhere, accompanied by black pepper, earthiness, and moss. Somewhere, sweetness still peeks through, but it's no longer marzipan, but rather salty licorice and licorice root. It's still not bad, but it's banal – I've seen this before in many different cigars. I do love the brutality and harshness in cigars, but here the presentation is so banal that it doesn't evoke any sympathy. You can finish it, or you can not; you won't miss anything. The strength, by the way, is within the average range, which makes it quite boring.

*Verdict: to begin with, this cigar came to me by chance. It's not really my style, not my format, not my wrapper – in short, I would never have ordered this cigar consciously. That's why I smoked it without ceremony: this is something you should smoke either in summer or in winter, like drinking rum. But let's get back to the cigar: for its price, it's unexpectedly good! Spoiled Americans say that it's an excellent, inexpensive everyday cigar, and I'll say: an unsuccessful start, a magnificent middle, a so-so finish, and low strength – decent, but not extraordinary. Those who like it milder should definitely smoke it; I give it an 86 for its softness and sweetness, unfortunately not supported by the brightness and strength of the flavor.

It's my turn to jump into the thread and start sharing my Rastaman experiences.
Blueberry
https://www.leafly.com/strains/blueberry
You might get banned for posting photos.
Not the most potent, but very good and strong indica. It has a quite noticeable bitter taste, it makes you feel sleepy, your body feels a little numb, and later you get the munchies. You feel like laughing from time to time, but not for very long. Communication with people becomes difficult, and you feel lazy about getting up and going anywhere. It's easy to lose the sequence of actions and the logic of speech and thoughts. I can't say how long it lasts because after a good dose, around the 5th hour, I consistently pass out. I recommend smoking it through a bubbler because the taste, although noticeable, becomes unpleasant and irritates the throat with large doses. It's better to take one hit, cough, and forget about it than to drag it out through a joint or pipe.

The feeling of relaxation is very cool; you become kind and stop thinking about problems. Your senses are enhanced, primarily tactile and taste. If you smoke a cigarette after taking it, your heart might start beating noticeably and frequently, so I don't recommend abusing tobacco after taking it.

Personally, I like hybrids and indicas – they help me relieve stress, relax my body, and calm my mind. After this strain, I had exactly that feeling – a high from being alive. And you have very vivid dreams if you fall asleep during the trip.

I think this is one of the best strains based on my limited experience, and I give it a solid eight.

This post is not an advertisement for drugs but is merely the author's personal memoirs and analysis of their own feelings.

Samuel Gawith Sam's Flake

Blend: Oriental, Virginia
Flavoring: Tonka beans

Nowadays, it is packaged in round tins. The fatty, moist flakes, traditionally cut unevenly, were clumsily stuffed into a round tin that was clearly not suitable for this. Initially, they emitted a distinctly unusual aroma of tonka beans, unlike anything else. After "airing out," the flavoring almost disappeared, and sugar crystallized on the flakes, even though they had only been aged for three years. The flake itself is dark, with rare light specks; it's not too easy to crumble, and there's quite a bit of tobacco debris and overly thick, stiff ribbons left, which makes packing difficult. Overall, this tobacco is very difficult to handle. I was only able to learn how to work with it towards the end of the tin.

Start: almost exclusively a grassy profile. The taste is sweet, very mild, almost rounded, but despite its delicacy, it is quite full-bodied. Against the backdrop of a slightly stale hay flavor, there are subtle notes of anise and cloves, with creamy tones mixed in, and all of this is accompanied by almost imperceptible flavors of oatmeal cookies and sunflower seeds, characteristic of aged Virginias. The flavoring seems too assertive at the beginning of the smoke, but soon fades almost completely, reminding you mainly in the aftertaste, and also in the thick, chocolate-nutty aroma of the smoke. It fits into the overall palette of flavors exceptionally well.
The tobacco is not easy to light, and it doesn't burn very evenly, but it burns coolly, and even if you puff it too hard, the smoker won't be penalized with a hopelessly ruined taste. Combined with the overall richness of the flavor and the pleasant aroma of the smoke, this makes the tobacco an excellent choice for casual smoking "on the go."
*
By the middle, the flavor loses a lot of its clarity. It becomes heavier, more tobacco-like, with rye bread and grassiness at its core, *hints of chocolate emerge, black pepper gains strength, and the tobacco leaves a dry and spicy aftertaste. By the end of the bowl, almost nothing remains in the taste except this peppery note, but it doesn't become tiresome and is perceived more as an interesting dynamic than an intrusive sharpness.
*
A very unusual tobacco. Difficult to prepare and easy to smoke, *spicy without being harsh, rich and yet somehow ambiguous in taste – it is precisely this that, for some reason, turned out to be the tobacco that I am willing to smoke at any time: in hot and cold weather, in the morning and in the evening, outdoors and at home, with wine and tea… Very complex – in terms of understanding, not because of the richness of the aroma bouquet, but it has a bright taste* with an unusual dynamic and a solid, six-out-of-ten rating, which makes it an excellent choice for everyday smoking. In addition, I personally love the herbal-spicy palettes, both in tobacco and in cigars, and even in wine.* Overall, it's a very unusual experience; you won't find another tobacco like it, and therefore it is recommended for everyone to try. In general, I really like Samuel Gawith's products: their tobaccos always have a unique character, strong flavors, and a kind of eternal, carefree negligence, in their uneven cuts and inconsistent quality. There is something unrefined, genuine, and slightly crazy about it – just like in the story of this charismatic, balding man with sideburns, a simple Kendal worker who once married the mayor's daughter, and then was himself elected mayor and turned his father-in-law's modest business into the most recognizable and beloved tobacco brand among Russian pipe smokers. I bought another tin as a backup – it's from the 2015 excise batch, still in a rectangular tin, and I have a good feeling about it.
16/20

Existence is deadly.

That is incorrect, because death is a process, not a completed fact, and there is neither existence nor life – these are merely incorrect names for death.