601 Serie black
Sunday, November 22nd, 2009Those of you who follow this site probably read my reviews of other 601 cigars. So far I’ve enjoyed them. They are blended by Don Pepin Garcia for United Tobacco. For me, a typical Pepin blend punches you in the face to start, and then calms to what the cigar will become. As always, I smoked a couple of these with water and wrote my thoughts on the 601 black label.
Wrapper: Ecuador Connecticut
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Size: Robusto 5 x 50
Price: Around $6.00
Pre-smoke & Construction:
The wrapper didn’t quite look like a typical Connecticut, and had a strange hue to the color. It was a little bumpy with medium veins. I picked up woody, earthy, and spicy notes when sniffing the wrapper. The cigar was consistently packed, and a little on the soft side. The draw was perfect, and had an interesting taste of spice, wood, and possibly leather or earth. It was a dark and dense flavor if that makes sense.
I didn’t do any burn corrections, and the ash held on for just over an inch.
Flavor:
The first third… Just as I suspected, I was greeted with a nice blast of pepper. It wasn’t a harsh or intense pepper, just a smooth and somewhat strong. Enough to grab your attention. Next in line was a woody flavor that was undeniable.
As I got into the second third, that full peppery sensation turned into more of a sweet spice. The smoke feel became thick and creamy. This led to a slight earthy and cedary aftertaste. The combination of these basic flavors were somehow unique and interesting.
The last third didn’t offer too much change. Most notably was an interesting earthy flavor that bordered on leather. The sweet spice remained along with the thick, creamy smoke feel. The woody component remained as well. Like I said, not a lot of change, but still enjoyable.
Conclusion:
This was a good medium to full bodied cigar. I could see some people being turned off if they were expecting a mild cigar which is common to most Connecticut wrapped cigars. For me that wasn’t the case, and I really enjoyed the experience. Pick some up!
