When complexity, balance and unique flavors emerge, you get perfection.
Construction
The feeling I got from the white band that wrapped around the cigar was powerful. A feeling the cigar was made for the most special occasions in life. A moment to celebrate and enjoy and remember.
The 20th Anniversary cigar features tobacco that has been aged between 7-10 years to give it its unique flavor profile. You could say you are looking back in time when you are holding the cigar in your hands.
The cigar felt incredibly firm. What was interesting was that although the seams are not usually felt in cigars, they are visible, on the El Septimo 20th anniversary fan there was not a single visible seam. Perfection from start to finish.
Wrapper: Undisclosed – Binder: Dominican – Filler: Dominican, Nicaragua, Honduras and Costa Rica
Scent and cold draw
The wrapper had a smell of chocolate and fruitiness while the filler smelled of hay and fruitiness. The cold draft gave me flavors of fruitiness and maltiness.
1/3 Lets light upp the El Septimo 20th anniversary
When I lit the cigar, my expectations were extremely high and I expected something grand. What I was presented with was a bit unexpected, my expectations were met and the experience was better than I had even expected earlier.
The texture was incredibly smooth and creamy and the flavors presented were fruitiness, hay in combination with leather and citrus that reminded me of lemon, the citrus flavor was a flavor that took up a lot of space on the palette. In the background there was a sweetness that was extremely difficult to explain, the sweetness reminded me of vanilla sugar in combination with honey, nuttiness that reminded me of cashew nuts and nougat chocolate. The retrohalation was extremely smooth and gave a faint shade of white pepper and strangely enough fruitiness. I have probably never felt the fruitiness in the retrohalation.
2/3 Lets enjoy the cigars complexity
The citrus flavor from earlier was still the dominant flavor followed by leather that increaseed in flavor a little, nougat chocolate and general sweetness. In the background I felt flavors of espresso, citrus peel, vanilla bean, general nuttiness, woodiness, saltiness and strangely enough a fruitiness that reminded me of orange. The retrohalation was smooth and strangely still fruity.
3/3 The cigar keeps impressing.
The texture was reminiscent of the second third, although a little creamier. The fruitiness increased a lot and, strange as it may sound, a lighter shade that reminded me of peach peel, in addition to the fruitiness there were flavors of florality, salted roasted nuts, a combination of nougat chocolate and dark chocolate, the espresso with syrup-like sweetness, woodiness and hay. In the background there were shades of vanilla bean, citrus and a taste that I can’t describe in words, it reminded me strangely of parma ham. The retrohalation was smooth and gave shades of woodiness and nuttiness.
The nub
I thought the cigar would be finished after the third third but it gave a surprise. A final jolt of new flavors emerged. The texture was as before creamy but the flavors I felt were Woodiness, chocolate, leather and espresso. In the background there were nuances of fruitiness, citrus, florality, saltiness and white pepper. The retrohalation was smooth and gave a shade of dark woodiness
After taste
Chocolate and walenut
Body
Medium bordering on full
Smoke time
90 minutes
Conclusion
El Septimos 20th anniversary is a smooth cigar with incredible complexity. Amidst all the flavors there are citrus nuances that stand out in a unique way. Although the body is on the verge of full, it suits the cigar smoker who is not used to full body but is curious. If I compare price vs taste vs quality, I think it is where it should be.
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