Another weekend away from the boat, taking care of some much-needed things on the home front. I have several choices with the weather, and where I can smoke during the summer months, but today, in an effort to tame or overpower the paint fumes from some trim I'm hoping to install Saturday or Sunday, I decided to smoke in the workshop. Yes, I'm able to smoke indoors at home. I've got a decent fan setup, feeding directly outdoors, but I've just gotta move some junk around to make a spot to stick my chair at the moment, as my house is in definite disarray LOL Still, it works for me, and I have some friends who are envious of my setup and situation in the winter months, although it's been more than a while since I've been able to host a get-together for our group.
Today's smoke is courtesty of
@CigarJeff68, a Rocky Patel Prohibition Broadleaf. I'm a bit mad at the results of any of my cutters lately, and I'm not sure if it's just a weird time for the humidity in my area, or if I should be using a punch cutter, or just letting my smokes sit, unhumidified, for a day or two prior to smoking them. In no way was the condition I received them a problem, as this has happened to my own smokes. I've been lucky that I've been able to smoke every split cigar, so it's definitely humidity related, as they haven't unraveled any further beyond the initial cut of the cap. I'm gonna switch to a V-cut and see if that helps out, as I know a punch cut is perfectly fine, so if the V-cut stops the splits, I'll at least have another option.
This was a stellar smoke. Reminds me of a Rocky Patel The Edge, only with some different flavors and smoking characteristics. It's hard to beat any version of The Edge, but the Prohibition Broadleaf would be a dynamite change of pace. For those of you old enough, you'll remember making chocolate milk and the creation of a syrup wasn't an option, unless you were allowed the treat of punching open a can (yes, a CAN!) of Hershey's chocolate syrup. There were 2 types, Nestle Quick, and Hershey's Chocolate (powder). My family wasn't brand loyal to either, but if I was ever asked, I was a Hershey's fan. The "darker" flavor was just so much more rich, to me, and to this day, my palate leans towards the deeper, darker flavors that I tend to look for in a smoke as well.
Throughout this cigar, I was reminded of the flavor of the Hershey's powder, as a kid, I'd sneak a taste of the powder straight from the can. To some, this may sound like dry garbage, but to those old enough to have had the experience, you'll know the nostalgic feeling and may be able to recall the taste to this day. There was a hint of pepper throughout the smoke as well, but just the faintest hint, and nothing to shy away from. I'm not a fan of pepper AT ALL, on food, or in my cigars, so whenever it shows up in a smoke, I cross my fingers and hope it doesn't turn into a spice-fest. This cigar delivered on that front - perfect for the amount that it had, and it never detracted from the experience. Other than a need to relight twice in the waning half, it burned absolutely perfectly. A ragged ash at all times, likely from the tobacco as well as the construction, it still never went sideways on me, which seems to happen periodically when I encounter a stick that burns like this.
All in all, this was an absolute treat, not overpowering, a steady medium strength throughout. No nicotine powerhouse, just a pleasantly agreeable cigar, and I can't thank
@CigarJeff68 enough for gifting me this one. I look forward to going through the rest of the smokes he sent me, and I'll do my absolute best to relay the experiences of each. I only wish they still made these, as I could see keeping a 5-pack on hand to enjoy with friends.
Here's a shot of the "home setup", as you can see, there's some construction going on, and I wasn't going to make much more of an effort to clean up once I cleared a space to sit down and light up. The other pic is the split that happened right after I cut the cap. This has happened at the lake house to several of my smokes lately, and I just chalked it up to being close enough to the lake, and the wide changes in daytime/nighttime weather, but in looking at my hygrometer, it's fairly humid here too. I have NO idea how you guys in the southern states are able to keep cigars smokeable, but maybe your area is more stable, even with the more humid environment.
