Smoked: All Saints St. Francis

Smoked at: West Chester, Ohio

All Saints St. Francis (dark secondary band) is box-pressed with Nicaraguan filler and binder and is cloaked in a dark brown Ecuador Oscuro wrapper.

The first puffs are heavy on the wood, earth, leather and hay. You also pick up doughy bread, ginger spice, mineral and vegetal notes along with pecans & walnuts and a backdrop of semi-sweet chocolate and a faint caramel/vanilla taste. The pepper emerges during the transition to the second third. The flavors get more peppery and toasty with occasional clove and citrus notes during the final third. The cigars gets a bit harsh toward the end. I’d rate the body medium-full and the strength at medium. The retrohale is very earthy with leather and a burnt, charred wood aroma, maybe mixed with burnt vegetation and/or vegetable oil.

The draw is a little tight, but acceptable. The grey ash is flaky falling off several times. Burn line is imperfect – wavy, jagged requiring several touchups and never straightening out. I have to dock some points for the overall construction.

This was a decent cigar – all things considered. But my take is the All Saints St. Francis Colorado is the best of the line followed by the Dedicacion.