Kentucky Fire Cured cigars in general are very well known and loved. I mean the name alone is cool enough to make you have to try one of you have not yet. This is a brand under the Drew Estate flag so for me it is a no brainier to try it. There are some very interesting qualities about this cigar that you will read about below.
STATS:
Profile: Medium
Wrapper: Candela (Lower portion)
Fire Cured (Upper portion)
Shape: Corona Gorda
Length: 6 inches
Gauge: 46
Country: Nicaragua
Filler: Undisclosed
Binder: Undisclosed
Pricing: (Box of 10) - $49.18
(per stick) - $4.90
First Impression:
The initial thing that I loved is the two tone wrapper. Before even seeing what this cigar was about the wrapper alone was enough to catch my interest. The one thing that also was very appealing was the properties of the two tone wrapper. The top quarter of the Swamp Rat has been fire cured while the bottom three quarters are candela. Is there any more information you would need to want to try this?
Pre-Smoke Ritual:
The aroma I pulled from this on initial smell was great. The fire cured wrapper really adds that campfire smoke. I made my cut and took a long deep cold draw. This may be the ultimate outdoors associated cigar. Another long smell and toast to follow.
Lighting, Draw, and Burn:
Lighting was simple with no extra fire needed. The draw was nice. A little on the firmer side of the optimal scale. It was comfortable without struggle. The burn path was straight as well as the burn line. I was curious as to what would happen when switching between wrappers, but it was uneventful. Everything remained straight and on course.
Flavor:
Overall this was what I expected and a surprise all rolled into one. The first third seemed almost obvious and welcomed. The leading flavors int he first third arrived form the first draw. Smokey campfire and a grassy flavor were front and center. There was a strong note of pepper which really added to the previous mentioned flavors. As the second third started I got a BBQ type flavor that added to the already existing smokey campfire taste. The pepper remained as a note but became tangy. The grassy flavor also stayed in its front line position moving ahead of the campfire taste. There was also some background notes of sweetness coming through. The final third finished out as a surprise. The grassy flavor had nearly disappeared. The pepper kicked up a notch and the smokey flavor of campfire was hanging around. This is the ultimate campfire BBQ in a cigar experience.
My Preference:
This cigar got a solid rest. It was in the humidor just short of 6 weeks. The cutter of choice was the Colibri 1928 v-cutter. I really wanted to light this cigar from a campfire for effect, but it was not available. I went with the brass classic Zippo with a duel flame butane insert.
Final Thoughts:
I was very skeptical but hopeful with this one. I am glad that I tried it because it was amazing. If you are a fan of the outdoor campfire flavors then this may be your go to cigar. Perfect fro a cold day with warming flavors. It is also perfect for beside a campfire as it will enhance the experience. No doubt in my mind that I will not be grabbing a few 5 packs in the near future.
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