Pryme by Alec Bradley 200X
rdnstn
Everyone, Registered Users Posts: 991
Well tonight I had my first stick by Alec Bradley and I must say that if his others are anything like this, Gurkha has a real competitor in my book. Let me start by saying that we were actually able to schedule "Cigar Night" for the first time in a few weeks. I've had some cigars during that time, but this was when all the guys could sit around, shoot the bull and just enjoy some cigars. In anticipation of this, I looked through my humi and narrowed down my choices to either a La Gloria Cubana Series R or the Pryme. After reviewing the write ups on CCOM, I chose the Pryme because it just sounded interesting.
So anyway, fast forward to smoking time. I opened the humi and pulled out the stick (man I love that smell). Looking at the dressing on this stick alone is just impressive. It had a colorful gold trimmed band and then a cedar wrap with a gold ribbon. Removing the cedar wrap reveals a nicely constructed cigar with a uniform, golden brown appearance. The wrapper had some minute veining that was almost unnoticable. The wrapper was also slightly dry but probably due to my location and storage rather than construction. Because of the dryness, the Ecuadorian wrapper started to peel ever so slightly but not enough to detracvt from the smoke.
The flavor is where this smoke really won me over. It was very complex and even with my untrained pallet I detected no less than 4 distinct flavors. I couldn't necessarily identify them but I could tell the difference between them and I must say it was very flavorful.
Smoking characteristics were excellent. The burn was even throughout except for one small spot that required a slight retouch to get it even again but then it burned even the rest of the way down. The first ash didnt fall until almost an inch and a half into it. The draw was excellent, not hard at all but just enough resistance. The smoke was cool all the way down to the last couple inches where it started to warm some. The smoke was thick but not so much as to be overwhelming and as before, full of flavor. The flavor built for about the first two inches and then it came alive as I hit the sweet spot and never stopped. It just kept building from there and then the finish was amazing. It's like the flavor kept building and then about two and a half inches from the end, it plateaued and stayed there until the end about an hour and 20 minutes after I began.
My overall impression was that this was a fantastic smoke and a definite finger burner for me. I will certainly be buying more of these and recommend them for anyone, newbie and afficionado alike. In my opinion, a must have in anyone's humidor
Appearance and Construction 12/15
Flavor 24/25
Smoking Characteristics 23/25
Overall Impression 32/35
Total 91/100
I'm curious what anybody else thinks of these and for the more experienced out there, are there any recommendations for similar smokes. Let me know, I'm anxious to hear.
So anyway, fast forward to smoking time. I opened the humi and pulled out the stick (man I love that smell). Looking at the dressing on this stick alone is just impressive. It had a colorful gold trimmed band and then a cedar wrap with a gold ribbon. Removing the cedar wrap reveals a nicely constructed cigar with a uniform, golden brown appearance. The wrapper had some minute veining that was almost unnoticable. The wrapper was also slightly dry but probably due to my location and storage rather than construction. Because of the dryness, the Ecuadorian wrapper started to peel ever so slightly but not enough to detracvt from the smoke.
The flavor is where this smoke really won me over. It was very complex and even with my untrained pallet I detected no less than 4 distinct flavors. I couldn't necessarily identify them but I could tell the difference between them and I must say it was very flavorful.
Smoking characteristics were excellent. The burn was even throughout except for one small spot that required a slight retouch to get it even again but then it burned even the rest of the way down. The first ash didnt fall until almost an inch and a half into it. The draw was excellent, not hard at all but just enough resistance. The smoke was cool all the way down to the last couple inches where it started to warm some. The smoke was thick but not so much as to be overwhelming and as before, full of flavor. The flavor built for about the first two inches and then it came alive as I hit the sweet spot and never stopped. It just kept building from there and then the finish was amazing. It's like the flavor kept building and then about two and a half inches from the end, it plateaued and stayed there until the end about an hour and 20 minutes after I began.
My overall impression was that this was a fantastic smoke and a definite finger burner for me. I will certainly be buying more of these and recommend them for anyone, newbie and afficionado alike. In my opinion, a must have in anyone's humidor
Appearance and Construction 12/15
Flavor 24/25
Smoking Characteristics 23/25
Overall Impression 32/35
Total 91/100
I'm curious what anybody else thinks of these and for the more experienced out there, are there any recommendations for similar smokes. Let me know, I'm anxious to hear.
Comments
I don't think there's another cigar I'd compare it to although there others I like as much. I'm buying a sampler of each size and then purchasing a box (or two) of the one I like best.