Arganese CL3 robusto 4 of 20

Appearance - the skin looks like a cheetah design with so many darker spots.  The wrapper is ugly on this one, many veins decorate the wrapper, with a faded brown, almost Connecticut shade with one green patch, definitely the result of improper curing.

Construction - the draw is incredibly tight on this one, almost near to the point of being plugged. The cigar feels a bit heavier, although since I didn't use a scale to weigh it.  The cigar doesn't have the same elasticity as the previous ancestors in the series, and along with the draw embedded in my mind that I will have a tough time on this one.  Hopefully the heat from the cherry will help to expand the bunch and allow for a smoother pull, and I remove the wrapper prior to lighting it as a precautionary measure.  Another attempt at a prelight draw doesn't show any positive results.

Pre-light taste - the tangy sweetness of licorice is very dominant, and uncharacteristically the spicy cinnamon takes a backseat, although still present.

Initial lighting - tangy licorice, very small tones of spicy cinnamon start off, although thanks to the lack of the usually dominant flavour, I can pick up more of the earthy coffee and vanilla notes.  An interesting change to what might have been a boring smoke.

Aromas - not much change in the aromas from the cherry, as the vanilla does permeate the surrounding environment again.  Pleasant, I hope the trail smoke is not the best thing about the cigar as I start to really work on it.

Flavours of the smoke - Although a tight draw, I can still pick up the complex flavours of tangy licorice and earthy vanilla and coffee.  The spicy cinnamon never picked up, and rather just rolled over and died on me.  I was having a real uncomfortable time trying to enjoy this cigar thanks to the extremely tight draw, and my lungs are getting tired.  The lack of cinnamon towards the end of my struggle turned this usually exciting cigar into an average smoke, the complexity of the flavours was disappointing to say the least, and I never nubbed this one, tossing it with roughly two inches left.  During the three inches of what I did smoke, the cigar did go out, and I had to relight it once, second time around it went out was at the three inch mark, and rather than try to make the reluctant cigar work, I felt my time was better spent smoking something else. 

Summary - Disappointing if I had to sum it up in one word.  Were I a person who didn't know anything about this cigar prior and bought it at a store, I would have terribly dissuaded to purchase another one for a long time, if at all.  From the experience, I can infer a few things to take note of.  The cigar was obviously overfilled given the lack of elasticity and tight draw, and with it comes the lack of the spicy cinnamon flavours which now I do believe comes from the wrapper alone.  The third in the series didn't have as tight of a draw, nor such an ugly wrapper, and did taste pleasing unlike this fourth one.