The first time I have had one of these. A good, proper size at 7 x 47.

The appearance was great, nice richly coloured wrapper and nice oils in it too. The aroma cold was of tea and a little linseed oil…a classy yet mellow aroma.

My initial thoughts: great draw and even burn, lots of cool smoke, it started at light to medium bodied with a woody, tanned tobacco and a touch of vanilla cream (not sweet Vanilla cream). As an aside, I had wondered what a glass of Palo Cortado (E. Lustau) sherry would be like with the cigar..it was awful, not a good combo…anyway I discarded the sherry and cracked on with the smoke.

The first third; stayed at a mellow, medium level with a little hint of spice and a subtle note of nutmeg there was an element of tea loaf there too, not fruit cake but tea loaf, it was hitting its stride.

The second third was to my mind the very best as a nutty note arrived, roasted almonds and (now really going for it) a touch of macadamia.

The final third had a bit for spice and continued well. The post smoke aftertaste was of dates which was un expected. If I had to rate it I would go a mellow but solid 90. The only reason why it is not higher is that I expected a bit more richness.