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Cigar Review – Balmoral Anejo XO

Today I smoke the Balmoral Anejo XO with a friend from Rems Place.

Wrapper: Sun-Grown Brazilian Arapiraca
Binder: Dominican Olor
Filler: Dominican Olor, Nicaragua (Estelí) and Exclusive, Stalk-Cut Brazilian Mata Norte
Flavor Profile: Complex notes of cedar, cacao and peppery spices that finish with a smooth, underlying natural sweetness.
Ratings: 92 from Cigar Journal, 94 from Cigar and Spirits, 90 from Cigar Authority

Construction : The cigar is well constructed. No obvious blemishes on the wrapper, the cap stayed intact, the cigar didn’t fray at all, there was no tunneling, mouse holes, very little canoeing with an even burn. The cigar wasn’t packed to tight, and felt springy when pinched.

Initial Light / First Third:Before the light there was a lot of fruit and a bit of cocoa taste on the dry draw. At the initial light we received lots of cocoa on the finish, some spice on the retrohale, and cedar in the room note. The smoke become smooth once we got past the initial light with tastes of leather and earth with hints of cocoa.

Second Third: Lots of leather and earthiness, not a lot of sweetness, but that’s due to the fact that we were smoking to fast. Smoked slowly like one should the sweetness came back.

Final Third: Still getting leather, earthiness, and cocoa light a black coffee, with spice on the retrohale. Still getting cedar in the room note. Very smooth by not a lot of cream.

Recommendation: I would buy this cigar again. It is a medium to medium full. This cigar isn’t one that I would smoke when I’m golfing for putting around the back yard. But it isn’t a special day cigar either. It fits in the middle ground of being a good smoke that you want to sit and enjoy.

Final Grade: I give this cigar a good A. It tastes good and burns well.

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Cigar Review – Balmoral Anejo XO Oscuro

Balmoral Anejo XO Oscuro Cigar Review

About the cigar
This is the second of three Balmoral cigars I bought online to review. I know I always say to support your local tobacconist, but in my defense he tried to order them but wasn’t able to get any. So I bought a sample pack from Small Batch Cigars.

Direct from the Balmoral Cigars website, these cigars are:
Enrobed in a sun-grown, stalk-cut San Andrés wrapper, Balmoral Añejo XO Oscuro offers a luxuriously rich experience with complex notes of dark chocolate, espresso and black pepper that finish with a smooth, underlying natural sweetness.

Wrapper: Sun-Grown, Stalk-Cut Mexican San Andrés
Binder: Dominican Olor
Filler: Dominican Olor, Nicaragua (Jalapa) and Exclusive, Stalk-Cut Brazilian Mata Norte
Profile: Complex notes of dark chocolate, espresso and black pepper that finish with a smooth, underlying natural sweetness.

Initial Lite and First Third

I decided to go with a V cut for this cigar. If you’ve seen my other cigar reviews you  may have noticed this is my go to cut. It helps keep the cigar cap in tact as I smoke, while allowing for good air flow.

After lighting the cigar I was immediately hit a light floral note that mingled well with the natural sweetness of the earth and leather notes. I got a good amount of pepper on the retro-hale.

Second Third

The earth and leather notes were rich, sweet, and creamy with a taste of flowers and butter on the finish. I still had some pepper on the retro-hale but it was smoothed out by the buttery finish.

The burn had the slightest unevenness but no other problems with the construction of the cigar.

Final Third and Final Thoughts

The burn evened out quickly, and the cap stayed in tact throughout the smoke. There was no tunneling, mouse holes, or canoeing.

The flavors stayed similar throughout the cigar. The pepper mellowed in the middle third but came back towards the end. The sweet floral notes mixed extremely well with the earth and leather notes creating a sweet creamy coffee flavor with a buttery finish.

Over all I give this cigar a A. I would buy a box to smoke. These wouldn’t be an every day smoke, but not a special occasion smoke.

Thank you for visiting The Dapper Man we hope you enjoyed this review and have a fantastic day. You can see more of our cigar reviews here.

Greg from The Dapper Man

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Cigar Review – Balmoral Anejo XO Connecticut

Balmoral Cigars

Balmoral Anejo XO Connecticut Cigar Review

About the cigar

I first head of Balmoral Cigars in late August 2018 at the Rocky Mountain Cigar Festival in Denver, Colorado. I got one of these cigars in my loot bag that I received. After smoking the cigar I thought that I needed to do a review of them.

Direct from the Balmoral Cigars website, these cigars are:

Crowned with a shade-grown wrapper from the Connecticut River Valley, Balmoral Añejo XO Connecticut provides a luxuriously creamy experience that embraces your palate with complex notes of vanilla, toasted caramel and white pepper that finish with a smooth, underlying natural sweetness.

Wrapper: Connecticut Shade
Binder: Ecuador Sumatra
Filler: Dominican Olor, Pennsylvania 41, Brazilian Mata Norte

Profile: Complex notes of vanilla, toasted caramel and white pepper that finish with a smooth, underlying natural sweetness.

https://us.balmoralcigars.com/anejo-xo-connecticut/

Initial Lite and First Third

I used a V cutter to cut my cigar. I use the V cut because it allows for good draw while keeping the cap mostly intact so it doesn’t fall apart on you as you smoke it.

After toasting my cigar I didn’t taste any vanilla. I did get white pepper and caramel. There was also the natural sweetness that Balmoral talks about.

I had no problem keeping the cigar lit, and the construction of the cigar was top notch. The burn was even, there were no runners, tunneling, canoeing or mouse holes.

Second Third

The natural sweetness and the caramel merged together and I was getting a light coffee taste. This offset the white pepper well witch started to slowly go away as I made my way through the second third of the cigar. Strangely a butter flavor emerged.

Construction continued to hold up. I didn’t have to touch up the cigar, and the it was more of the same for the burn, and cap.

Final Third and Final Thoughts

The white pepper was mostly gone by this point. But the butter and coffee flavors stayed until the very end. I did have the slightest unevenness to the burn, but it was so slight I just rotated the cigar and it caught right up. The cap stayed in tact the entire smoke.

So would I buy this cigar again? Yes absolutely. It is a great light smoke. I would smoke one of these on a morning walk, or as the first stick of the day. They are priced well, they were averaging about $10 a stick online (please by from your local tobacconist if you can).

Thank you for visiting The Dapper Man we hope you enjoyed this review and have a fantastic day. You can see more of our cigar reviews here.

Greg from The Dapper Man

P.S.
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