Archive for the ‘shade’ Category

Xikar HC Series Connecticut Shade

Saturday, September 12th, 2009

This is the final installment of my Xikar HC Series reviews. As you saw before in the reviews of the Criollo and Habano Colorado, I really enjoyed them. This line is touted as the milder of the 3 blends, although Xikar says it is slightly stronger then your typical Connecticut wrapped cigar. For more info, make sure to visit their website. Although I tend to gravitate to fuller bodied cigars, I still often enjoy a good mild cigar. I looked forward to trying the Connecticut shade. With my usual glass of water, I got to smoking.

Once again, I’d like to thank Xikar for sending me these cigars to review. I’m glad they were confident and took a chance. Let’s see what I thought of the Xikar HC Series Connecticut Shade.

HC Logo  

Wrapper: Connecticut shade – Ecuador

Binder: Sumatra

Filler: Costa Rica, Mexico, Nicaragua

Size: Robusto 5 x 50

Price: $8.50

 

Pre-smoke & Construction:

Giving the cigar the ol once over, I found it visually appealing. The tan wrapper had a few medium veins running throughout, but most were small. The wrapper and foot had almost no odor. I could only pick up a slight woodiness. The pre-light draw had a little resistance, and had very mild natural tobacco and earthy notes. Inspecting the cigar further, I found it was somewhat tightly packed with no soft or hard spots. This probably accounts for the resistance in the draw. Keep in mind, the draw wasn’t bad, just a little tight.

The burn required no corrections at all, and the ash held for well over an inch. After lighting up, I found that the draw was fine despite being a tad bit tight.

1HCConn 

Flavor:

The first third began with easy earthy notes. I detected a nice peppery spice when passing through the sinus. The pepper was very smooth and on the milder side, but it did have a small punch to it. As I dug further in, the smoke feel became a little creamy with a toasty finish.

2HCConn

The second third kept those earthy undertones I spoke of before. Layered on top of that was a creamy smoke feel with buttery notes. That peppery punch remained but really calmed down to a much smoother sensation. I noticed a toasty finish at the end of the exhale. The smoke itself seemed to coat my mouth but wasn’t lip smacking.

3HCConn

The last third didn’t offer too much change. The earthy undertones remained with smooth, mild peppery spice. The creamy smoke feel became a little thicker and coated the mouth. A slight sweetness entered the flavor profile to round things out. The dry toasty finish remained and had me craving water. This didn’t detract from the overall experience.

4HCConn

Conclusion:

This was a good mild to medium cigar. It packs enough punch to satisfy a seasoned smoker, but is simple and mild enough for perhaps a beginner to try. All in all, I really enjoyed this cigar. I think this would go great with morning coffee, and even makes a good after lunch smoke. Although some aspects were typical, this isn’t your average Connecticut wrapped cigar. I say give it a try.

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