Wrapper: Pennsylvania Broadleaf Natural
Binder: Mexican
Filler: Dominican Corojo, Dominican Criollo ‘98, Dominican Ligero Seco, Pennsylvania Broadleaf
Size: 6 x 52 Toro
Strength: Medium/Full
Price: $13.00
BACKGROUND:
Released Feb. 2021
Production: 450 boxes of 20
Available on the Hiram & Solomon website.
From the Hiram & Solomon website:
“Crafted exclusively for the MW Robert V. Monacelli Grand Master of the Ancient and Honorable Society of Free and Accepted Freemasons for the state of New Jersey. In the Dominican Republic at the PDR factories by Abe Flores, a member of the Elite Pro Cigar (Association of Dominican Cigar Manufacturers).”
APPEARANCE:
The stick is a bit rough shod looking. I picked the best of 4 I had for my photos. Seams are visible. Lots of veinage but luckily the PA Broadleaf is very dark and cleans up the aesthetics. The triple cap is flawless. The wrapper varies a bit from stick to stick…but is a dark, almost maduro, color in room light. The oiliness permeates the skin in special lighting and glistens like a new 1957 Chevy painted candy orange. The leaf is smooth to the touch. Clearly, I’m old as I need my reader glasses and a magnifying glass to read the verbiage on the cigar band. The band is not the usual style for most H&S sticks.
SMELL THE GLOVE:
An even flow of floral, dark chocolate, caramel, and café au lait, and fresh berries. Right behind this parade are sub-aromas of sourdough, a scoche of charred meat, some vegetal notes, and a hint of black licorice and malt.
The cold draw presents flavors of out-front green bell pepper. In queue, are notes of espresso, dark chocolate, caramel, malt, fresh mint, licorice, a variety of vegetal notes your parents made you eat as a kid, and caraway seeds. That caraway makes it all Jewish rye bread. I love this.
I just realized I detected no spiciness. No pepper at all. I believe I just jinxed it.
The draw is money. I carefully put away my PerfecDraw draw adjustment tool.
FIRST THIRD:
First puffs are delicious.
The caraway seed component is strong and delectable. Then I get the white pepper. Mild with just a touch of kick in the arse spiciness.
Then the parade begins: Malt, chocolate, espresso, licorice, fresh berries with clotted cream, vegetal notes, seared steak, a hint of caramel, cedar, with a very savory finish.
The 27 different leaves are working as a team. Yo-Heave-Ho. They’re pulling the heavy anchor up in military unison. A beautiful balance begins very early in the cigar experience.
I get a serious hint of the complexity on the horizon. Transitions begin with a slow-moving pace that allows my palate to enjoy each one as they pass. The finish is white pepper, creaminess, veggies, and berries.
Strength is solid medium.
Nice cigar.
The burn gets a bit wonky and needs a minimal touch up.
I’d give anything for a couple pieces of rye toast slathered in unsalted butter right now. I miss carbs.
The over all approach is mild at this point. But the flavors do not hesitate to make their presence known. Nice, easy going character.
Have Pandora on. Eddie Vedder doing The Beatles’ “You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away.” Can’t touch John Lennon’s version. Sorry, Ed.
And then Led Zep kicks in. A sign from the Cosmic Muffin that the cigar has been given the OK to spread its wings.
So far, this is a lovely morning cigar. I realize that it will get stronger in the second half and I may have to eat my words.
All of the aforementioned flavors are in play. I can’t believe that they maintain that perfect balance. Nothing supersedes the other. Again, this was a highly planned blend…no throwing in leaves just because they were available.
Nuances begin to pelt my palate. Small notes of steak sauce, graham cracker, cinnamon, and an onion bialy.
The burn takes its time. This love sausage is filled perfectly and contains not a single hard nor soft spot. Very calming. Much like when my wife of 76 years hits me in the head with a fry pan. I see stars but then fall into a concussive twilight. I tell the doc I don’t know how to use the steel vice in my garage workshop. He buys into it.
SECOND THIRD:
The Curamus makes its move.
It takes off like a mortar round. Strength gets close to medium/full. The white pepper becomes a red-hot cinnamon spice. The creaminess moves on up and brings in a new flavor of sweet orange. I now have a 50/50 Popsicle from my youth in the 1840’s. The rye bread influence is gone but replaced by a real NYC bagel. Chewy and redolent with yeast.
The espresso and chocolate meld into mocha java. I begin to salivate. I put on my grandson’s bib.
I piss and moan and bitch about the pricing of cigars all the time. Once again, H&S has put their money where their mouth is. Yeah, I’d pay $13 for this stick. And they aren’t even a sponsor! I always give my sponsors an unfair advantage due to the pound of nickels they deposit in my katman account.
Speaking of a pound of nickels, is your dog getting enough cheese?
The Curamus has become a dead nuts delicious stick. ‘Dead nuts’ is a structural commercial construction term. Do not use these words if you are untrained at tightening high strength bolts.
Vanilla ice cream appears. I taste it covered in pineapple sauce. This is a first for me. Disregard if you think I’m nuts. And yes, I can taste subtle bits of almond and hazelnut.
First sip of water and my boxers begin to do the Macarena.
As my vision begins to fade, I realize that a bit of nicotine is in the mix now.
With all the niceties in motion, what I love the most is the spot-on balance. Oars are in the boat, and we are relaxed and floating downstream. Tomorrow never knows.
I hit the halfway point at just over an hour. It spun by like a yo-yo in a trance.
Caraway returns. The bagel disappears. Chocolate rears its head and goes native. Dark, bittersweet intensity. The espresso jumps on its back and down the flume they go.
The Curamus has gone from tame to lion tamer. I hear the cracking of the whip as the cigar forces my palate into submission. I meow a couple times, but it makes no difference. We now have bold and the beautiful. Or is it days of our lives?
Know what the longest running TV soap opera is? No idea. Never watched one in my life.
I do know that The Munsters only ran for two seasons.
The blend is a runner. Starts off delicate and pleasing…and then uses its superpowers to take off like a road runner. Meep Meep. (Although Warner Bros insists it’s Beep Beep).
My Acme made palate is flooded by a peaceful coalition of flavors attacking with axes and longbows. OK. Not so peaceful.
My palate screams, “Sanctuary, Sanctuary.”
The spiciness becomes black pepper. But it lies in the back of my throat and doesn’t intimidate the nuances.
The cigar has kicked into 5th gear. Big stupid smile on my puss. The cigar made the transition from cute puppy to grizzly bear in just a few minutes time. Nothing linear in this blend.
The Curamus takes its time. No hurry. It languishes in delectability. Every note of the varied flavor profile is in lock step.
Once again, you may taste slightly different things than me but I’m positive your experience will be similar. A good cigar will not be ignored. While the whole of its parts dominates the character of this blend, the tidbits of wonderment never retreat.
Strength is now a solid medium/full.
No new flavors. Doesn’t need any. Its plate is full.
Naturally, a new flavor is exposed as soon as I finish the last sentence. Fried plantains surprise me. Buttery and sweet. Like me.
LAST THIRD:
The nicotine is held at bay. My vision returns. I don’t like what I see so I close my eyes.
This will be a 2-hour plus smoke.
I lied about being a greeter for a big grocery chain. The truth is I’m the greeter at the Milwaukee County House of Correction. I stand in front of the entrance and spew dirty jokes to the new inmates as they disembark the prison bus. Hey, it’s a job. Old, retired guys don’t get a lot of options. I turned down being a fluffer.
Almond butter makes its debut. The berries return. Can I get some rye bread?
The mocha java screams for attention. The veggie notes hover in the background. The orange citrus is sweet and tart. Like me. Cinnamon graham crackers force their entry. Fresh mint and dark chocolate have a gorgeous influence. Black licorice returns with a solid punch. Almond and hazelnut provide the finish with some meatiness.
Salted caramel is another background component that rounds out the concise flavor profile.
The medium/full strength has found its leveling off point. Nicotine seems to have disappeared. Uh-oh.
Every sip of water causes my palate to gush.
Really. Such a nice cigar blend. This is exactly how I like my cigars…naked and plentiful. Like me.
If I become any more relaxed, I will morph into a puddle on the floor.
The long-awaited release of the book, “Curved Air. The 1970’s” will be released next month. As I wasn’t consulted or interviewed, I can’t wait to see how I’m treated. I will share when it comes out. I have 4 lawyers on standby.
The flavor profile is fat. A giant bio-dome keeps the flavors intact.
As the Curamus nears the end, not a hint of harshness or bitterness. The wonderful impact does not lessen.
As this is a limited release, and this cigar interests you, waste no time visiting the Hiram & Solomon website to snag some.
Great cigar.
RATING: 95