Sunday, May 10, 2009

Fuente Anejo #55, and other thoughts

Well, I made it through another busy semester of work projects, class, kids, cub scout meetings, late night lab sessions, and teeth-grinding exams. I was oscillating between D and C for much of the semester, thanks to a couple disastrous exam results. My lab work an homework assignment grades were my upwards lift.

The final exam consisted of circuits and problems that gave people the most grief of previous exams. The final semester grade came back as 3.0, meaning I did pretty good on the Final Exam. So I felt like rewarding myself, and fished out a Fuente Anejo #55 that I bought before New Years.

Mmmmm, smooooooth. Aside from some irregular burning, the Anejo smoked great, and the flavors were a chorus of leather, cedar, coffee, and mild spice. What a cigar.

I've noticed something about the super-premium cigars that I've been fortunate enough to smoke: the flavor profile seems to be a true blend.

To borrow a musical analogy, I'd explain it as the difference between a small singing group and a choir. Gladys Knight & the Pips, Ray Charles and the Raelettes, or the Bee Gees are all great singing groups, but there are some dominant voices, and others that sink way into the background. That's how I see the flavors of many premium cigars, where there's one very obvious flavor at the moment, with a couple others lurking in the background. The foreground flavor may change here and there, but there's always someone in front, and the others back in the background.

The choir analogy for the super-premium cigars speaks to the complexity and character of the blend. There's a harmonic richness, and individual voices are more difficult to single out. The overall experience is one of smooth, rich texture, without having to be 'strong' enough to kick you in the teeth.

The Anejo #55, Padron Anniversary 1964 maduro, and Oliva Master Blends I strike me as choral masterpieces of cigar blending.

Okay, enough blathering for now..

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