MC Afrique, third time around Review

[Eichen]

Well it happened a little sooner than three months. The warm weather recently had me looking for something I could savor on a very pleasant early spring afternoon. I've had a number of good cigars this week; all very different. This happened to be the ideal cigar to enjoy an unusually warm and humid late-March day.

Size: 7x46(ish -- looks a tad bigger to me but eh...)
Wrapper: Cameroon
Binder: Ecuador
Filler: Tanzania, Nicaragua, Peru

Appearance: Much like the others I've reviewed before. The amount of tooth is still surprising to me though.

Construction: Construction seems to vary more than I would like with these. Some look rather tightly packed at the foot; others not. The bunch on this particular sample appeared a little lopsided at the foot (one side more dense than the other). As with previous samples the ample double cap cut very easily and dropped a few stray bits of tobacco. The bunch at the cap looked considerably more dense and evenly packed. There were no apparent soft spots or knots. The draw had just the right amount of resistance. I folded the cedar sheet that wraps the cigar and used it for a spill. It took to light well. The ash was surprisingly solid (for its apparently loose fill at the foot) and nearly white with a slight tendancy to flake. It had a finely defined shoulder (I think this is the term for "pre-ash") and burned fairly evenly throughout with no need for relights or corrections. It drew consistently from foot to nub.

Pre-light: The draw seemed like it might be a bit tight but as you can see above there were no problems. Pre-light taste seemed have a cedary topnote with a dry vegital character and a smooth, earthy base.

Taste: Unlike previous samples I did not detect much spice in the opening draws. The flavor initially settled on a vegital/woody character. The entire cigar smoked smoothly, without a hint of harshness or bitterness.

The first third performed much like the previous review. It is characterised by woody/underbrush, grassy, earthy and salty flavors. Unlike the previous sample it did not come off as chalky or dry. The texture of this smoke was much smoother. The coffee I had with it tended to de-emphasise the vegital flavors and seemed to highlight the smooth earthy flavors with hints of caramel.

The second third retained the cigar's characteristic vegital-underbrush and earthy flavors. The toasty, woody, and slightly sweet caramel flavors, brought out especially when drawing at a very leasurely pace, broadened along with herbal spiciness. The aroma seemed to shift from light and woody to considerably more dense and pleasant.

The final third was marked with the odd combination of creamy smoothness and grassyness. The characteristic flavor remained along with the subtle sweetness. At the nub the dense, toasty, slightly sweet cedar notes mingled with earth and a fair amount of spice. Very nice.

Verdict: After three samples over a five month period, I'd say this is a very good cigar. Its strength is on the light side of medium and has plenty of flavor if it's not rushed. I think it would make a nice step up for those used to lighter cigars on the way to more full-bodied smokes. I wouldn't buy box after box of these but I'm definitely glad to have a few on hand. Go and try one if you haven't.