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Review Notes:
This slender and elegant stick with box code OSU 7/01 is clothed in a Colorado wrapper with minimal veins and very fine tooth. The traditional triple cap is present. A pigtail waves hi. Solid construction without soft spots. Easy light. Very firm draw, but not officially plugged. Even burn with the need for one relight (I got a phone call and it self-extinguished), but careful attention had to be paid through the entirety of the stick to prevent it from going out – almost like a dying, sputtering motor crying out for a push on the accelerator every few minutes or so. Gray ash. Started with mild tobacco and nuts. The first third was almost so subtle I couldn’t detect anything! I have not encountered that problem before, and got a little worried. I finally found hints and whispers of paper, grass, and warm leather, along with a slight menthol taste. These all really appeared towards the end of the first third. Up to that point, however, it was bland. The middle third saw an increase in flavor, but still nothing prominent, per se. It started with a very mild woodsy and herbal flavor, which intensified somewhat as it was smoked, but was only there in the shadows. A mild tanginess and nutty flavor also seemed to dance in and out. The last third saw a continuation of the herbal and woodsiness, with an increase in the menthol-like flavor. A slight tannic quality also came to the forefront – unusual in that I normally detect this in the first third, when it is noticed. All in all, this extremely mild-bodied, one-hour smoke was disappointing. I tried to use a slower, more deliberate smoking technique, given its ring gauge and size to prevent over burning, but as mentioned above, this was a very labor-intensive stick to keep lit without constantly having to relight. The flavors were extremely subtle all the way around. I kept waiting for it to open up but alas it never did, which left me unsatisfied – like being hungry and smelling a great dinner being cooked, sitting down at the table, and being served a piece of plain toast.
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