Graycliff G2

Partnered with:  Black Porter Beer

47 degrees

Brand: Graycliff
Line: G2
Cigar: Robusto 5x50
Origin: Bahamas
Wrapper: Ecuadorian
Binder: Costa Rican
Filler: Costa Rican, Nicaraguan and Filipino tobaccos 
Body: Medium
Strength: Medium
Box Price: $130  (Box of 25) @ Cigars International but you can do a little better on auction sites or just poking around Google.

“Comprised of an exquisitely aged blend of long-fillers from Costa Rica, Nicaragua and the Philippines, this Ecuadorian wrapped beauty offers a perfectly balanced, medium-bodied smoking experience.”  CI blurb

The company features Cohiba vet Avelino Lara
as its go-to cigar blender, has a budget (read: $3-5 online) offering, the G2.

Prelight draw- easy draw and cut perfectly with my Xicar sisscors

Fired up:  8:15 pm

Cigar is a bit soft and springy but not mushy.

Slightly veiny but feels fairly smooth to the touch.

Easy draw once lit and produces a full mouth of smoke.  Starts off mild.

Very smooth, easy to pass through sinuses.  Hints of leather and cream, producing a lot of white and still pretty mild.

2^/3’s 

Burn line was a bit wavy but corrected itself by the second-third.

Building up to a medium bodied smoke and still producing a lot of thick white smoke.  Ash is a little dark on this example and a bit flakey.  No ash-a-thons tonight.  Still, it’s keeping about an inch of ash on it and keep the burn very smooth and cool.

Toward the end of the second third the spice is picking up with the undertones of leather remaining. 

The almost black beer I'm drinking is playing really nicely off the spice and not overpowering the G2 as I was concerned it would.

Rolling into the last third it remains smooth and the spice backed off a bit.  It’s not so much a peppery taste but more of a spice I can’t identify that lingers on my Palate.  Taking a few deep breaths of fresh air through my nose really lets me enjoy the finish and encourages me to smoke more.  Smoooth and creamy is the name of the game right now.

Last third just got hot by probably due to operator error.  I tried to sneak in more than one draw per 1 or 2 minutes and I paid with a less than pleasant draw and harsh smoke.

After a quick purge with the lighter I was back in biz.  Totally recovered and back to smooth and creamy.

I should take time right now to say if some millionaire out there wants to send me for a dream vacation at the Graycliff Hotel- that’s just fine by me.  If said millionaire would be kind enough to supply babysitting money for the time I’m gone, that’d be just swell with me.

Nub required a touch up but probably because I was reading up on my fantasy vacation to Graycliff in the Bahamas.

Nubbed at 9:45 pm.    I usually smoke these faster but really wanted to concentrate on this smoke for the review as it’s one of my favorites.