Thursday, November 1, 2012

Movember Cigar Raffle


Hey brothers and sisters of the leaf,

Chad Nottingham here.
I'm here to announce that Leaf and Flame, one of my favourite cigar forums on the web, is hosting a MASSIVE raffle to support men's health and cancer research.

Seriously, $2000 of cigars and accessories are being raffled off, with all proceeds going to charities such as LIVESTRONG!

Donations can be made for the following amounts, and each donation is worth a certain amount of entries:
A donation of $3 = 1 entry
A donation of $5 = 2 entries
A donation of $10 = 5 entries
A donation of $20 = 12 entries
A donation of $50 = 35 entries
A donation of $100 = 80 entries


http://redd.it/12f5hf More information can be found at that link right over there <----


Keep calm and smoke on,
CSN

Illusione-888 Candela


Brand: Illusione
Blend: 888 Candela
Vitola: Churchill (6.75x48)
Paired with: water
TV/Movie/Other: Reddit

I got this cigar in a trade with a fellow Redditor, but one thing I have to clarify is that this 888 is about an inch shorter than it should be. It was damaged prior to my trade and he had to cut about an inch off. That being said, the cigar is a light green colour with a single band with Illusione on it. I cut it with my V cutter and lit this thing with my single torch lighter. Very definitive wood flavours met my palate right off the bat. The burn is even, and it produces a good amount of smoke.

In the second inch of this smoke, I'm starting to get some spice elements. Unfortunately, I'm also having problems with the wrapper. A crack formed about a half inch below the burn, as well as a bit of unraveling around the head of the cigar. The flavours I'm getting now are reminiscent of a grassy sweetness. The burn is still fairly even, and the smoke volume has decreased a touch. About 2 inches in, there is a very pronounced bourbon style spice, which is quite nice.

After this, the grassy tastes have all but gone away. The smoke and burn are the same, but the cigar has gotten quite strong and spicy. I did not expect this. The spiciness continues through the last inch of the cigar, along with a strong wood flavour like the beginning of the cigar.

Final verdict: weird looking cigar with lots of wood, spice, and sweet grass flavours. Delicate wrapper, a few burn issues, and a full body. Overall, tasty smoke, but not for every day. 85/100

I did take pictures, but unfortunately, my phone bricked itself. I did, however, smoke this cigar down to the very nub.