Grimalkin Robusto by Emilio Cigars

This cigar was reviewed on dangumm.com all most three years ago to the day. For some reason it didn't get published here. So today I am fixing that. Why? Well Cigar Federation announced today they found some Grimalkins from Emilio Cigars stashed away and this was one of the most memorable cigars I've ever smoked. Had the first cigar smoke for the review  not had a tight draw, this cigar would have earned a 96 or 97 rating. It's that good...

****

For this review I strayed away from the norm of smoking only one cigar and then writing the review based on that experience. The first stick had the same complex flavor profile, which you will learn about below, but the draw was so tight it took nearly all my might just to get a puff through it. So in the name of fairness I smoked the other cigar I was saving for a special occasion.

Construction: As I examined this cigar the construction is striking; the wrapper that has a nice oily sheen is nearly perfect with only one fine vein and seams that are almost invisible. The cigar is firm, but not to hard and the band is truly unique: actually seeing a picture of this cigar's band is what lead me on the quest to try this brand.

Pre-light: There is not much of a cold aroma from the wrapper, but the foot is a different story. The aroma from the foot has mixed notes of fresh cut flowers and sweet fruit. The cold draw on this cigar was perfect with a cold flavor mixture of spicy cedar and fruit. When I tasted the wrapper I'm rewarded with a nice sweet cream and almond flavor mix.

First third: To remain true I used a match to toast the foot and light this cigar. The first few puffs were a mild mix of earth and spicy cedar, there's no pepper, bite or bitterness at all and the aroma from the fair amount of white smoke carries a hint of vanilla that is almost like a mild pipe tobacco scent. At about the one inch mark the earthiness fades and is replaced by a nice mix of coffee and toasted nuts. I elected to knock the light/dark grey striped ash at the one and a half inch mark, but it was firm and would have held on longer.

Middle: Nearing the mid point the burn is still razor sharp and the draw on this cigar is perfect. The flavor mix held sold for a bit but now is shifting to more of a sweet, nutty, tobacco mixture of flavors and the body has now moved up into the medium range.

End: As this cigar burned down to the end, the flavors were shifting with nearly every puff; fruit, nuts, coffee, earth, leather, toast and cedar all entered into the mix at one time or another and the wrapper developed more sweetness as time went by.

Overall: This is the type of cigar I want at the end of a rough day when I sit down with a brandy to decompress. With no bitterness and no bite present anywhere in this cigar you would be hard pressed to find a smoother smoking stick. I will be adding a few more of these to my humidor for those days when you want nothing but to relax.

Rated 94