Alec Bradley Connecticut

Alec Bradley Connecticut

• Ecuadorian Connecticut shade wrapper
• Honduran and Nicaraguan long-fillers
• Even color wrapper
• Minimal veins
• No spots, no blemishes
• Very firm, no soft spots
• Tight initial draw
• Mild, sweet flavors in dry draw

First Third: It all began with a fairly sweet and mild cold draw. The cigar began a little tight but really loosened up to the perfect draw. Once I lit  this cigar and began to puff on it, the first flavor hints I noticed were that of sweet grass, nuts, earth and toast. Moreover the smoke that billowed from the cigar had a cedar scent to it. The only problem was that I really had to pay attention in order to catch the flavor notes. Thus far the cigar was very mild, mild-medium at best. As the third progressed the tastes of nuts, earth and wood became more predominant. The burn throughout this third was even and the ash was ok, however, not seeming very dense or strong.

Second Third: This third was more of the same as the first. I did however pick up on a hazelnut note. It was short lived but did add a nice touch to the smoking experience. The overall smoke is still remaining semi-sweet and very mild. I would still describe the main flavors as earthy-sweet toast with a splash of woody flavors complimenting it. So mild though, almost to mild for my liking. I feel like i am studying in my attempt to identify all the flavors that the cigar is producing. During this third the ash fell off , however, the burn still remained even. A plus is that the smoke remained pleasantly aromatic.

Final Third: Nothing new flavour wise. The cigar remains unchanged almost from beginning to end. No surprises and predictable. Moreover, I felt the strength of flavors have lost even more punch during this third. I have almost lost my interest. My mind begins to wonder and I am just smoking for the enjoyment and relaxation factor. The ash maintained after the initial fall off and the burn remained steady until the very end. The construction of the cigar was strong throughout the entire smoke and at no point did it ever get hot on my fingers. Moreover, at no point did I ever have to re-light or even consider doing so.

Final Thoughts:  I came into this smoke with high expectations. I am a real fan of Alec Bradley's work and many times hold other cigars I smoke to its standard. After this smoke, I can not really say I am disappointed, but I'm not blown away either. Dont get me wrong the cigar was good. In its own way it had complex flavors at time and the flavors it did have complimented each other well. Furthermore, they were pleasant on my taste buds. However, the problem was that it was like a TV with the volume to low. The flavors needed to un-mute and up the volume. I found that the amount of concentration I was putting into the smoke was taking away from my overall enjoyment. Had I been engaged in conversation during this smoke, I would not have been able to tell you what the hell the flavors were and would have thought it bland. In the end I feel this cigar was somewhere between average and above average. Maybe a 5.9. It had the flavors and the classic good Alec Bradley build and quality, however, it was muted.