Alec Bradley American Classic Blend

ALEC BRADLEY AMERICAN CLASSIC BLEND
5x50 Robusto

Not actually using any American grown tobacco, the American Classic Blend seems to be an attempt to create an old school, American "style" blend, in this case, probably considered as such due to the use of a Connecticut seed wrapper (albeit, a dark Connecticut, grown in Honduras), around Nicaraguan fillers from Esteli and Condega, and a Nicaraguan binder. Conceived also as a bit of a budget cigar, like many others in this price range, it is made at the Plascencia factory, in Esteli, where most of Alec Bradley's cigars are made at Raices Cubanas in Honduras. A complex, and interesting combination of tobaccos, hopefully it will deliver. The only thing that turns me off about this cigar is the band, and artwork in general. I am not generally a fan of overly stylized bands, and especially those with catch phrases on them... Anything more than the name of the cigar, the name of the brand, and maybe at most the name of the factory location... fine... but the American Classic blend has such tacky phrasing as: "LIBERTAS" "AEQUITAS" and "LIVE TRUE" emblazoned around it, along with an American pastoral scene, and a mountainous Southwestern image.

The cigar itself is an attractive medium brown, with a smooth velvet feel, like lighter shade grown Connecticut, a moderate vein structure, and a good looking, even double cap. The packing of the foot looks alright, but the cut appears a little uneven. The smell from the foot is a simple wood character primarily, along with just the slightest nuttiness. The cold draw is just a touch firm, not tight, just a little snug, and offers a rustic, earthy core, with a peanut butter element that, actually, I associate with Honduran tobacco more than anything else. Underneath that, there is just a little bit of a sour funk, like rotten fruit. Hopefully that will not come through once lit.

Lit at 8:57pm

There is considerably less MMph! behind this blend than I expected, given the Nicaraguan guts, and Honduran wrapper, and heavy, earthy prelight flavors. In fact, once lit it goes straight into... mild. Core flavors are a delicate cedar, a toasty tobacco, and just the slightest black pepper through the finish. Mostly, a straight forward, medium, toasty tobacco dominates. There is a very little bit of earthy character, but nothing near what I expected. Burn, draw, and smoke production are all satisfactory here at the beginning, so to be honest... I have no complaints. Just straight forward as can be...

Ash holds well, through most of the first third. The flavor profile remains much the same except that as the burn progresses, the peppery spice gradually builds a bit more, leaving some heat in the back of the throat through the finish, likely a symptom of the Nicaraguan fillers in this blend. The mouthfeel is a touch oily, maybe a little harsh at times as well. The balance of flavor though, from a soft cedar, gradually getting heavier to the spice on the finish is a nice progression with each draw.

A little beyond the halfway point a leathery character, as well as what I can only describe as the musty old lady's handbag (maybe a touch of mothball) jumps in here and there. The leathery note is good, and fits perfectly with the generally earth and wood profile... but the mothball is not cool. Not cool at all. The burn and draw however continue to be great. The construction seems just fantastic on this stick, which is awesome for such a budget priced cigar.

Not much happens through the end of the cigar. I know this is a pretty short review, but this just isn't an overly complex cigar. It has a straight forward, earthy, woody flavor profile, that aside from a few additions and subtractions of notes here and there, is pretty consistent from start to finish. Ended at 10:26, so the robusto lasted me an hour and a half, which is about normal for me and a well built 5x50. I will be smoking more of these in the future, and look forward to seeing if the slight harshness dissipates with time. I definitely think this is a great, wonderfully priced cigar for guys looking to get that earthy flavor, in a mild/medium bodied smoke that they can enjoy while doing something else. Definitely not a yard 'gar, or maybe the best yard 'gar... Box worthy? Maybe. For me there are a few other similarly priced cigars I would buy a box of first, but these are definitely worth trying.

Alec Bradley Prensado

ALEC BRADLEY PRENSADO
5x50 Robusto

The Prensado is a new, all box pressed line from the makers of the enormously successful Tempus, Alan Rubin and his company, Alec Bradley. What first catches my eye is the very attractive band. Alec Bradley sticks can definitely be easily identified by their gorgeous graphic work on the bands, often very ornate, and refined looking. I am a big fan of their visual appeal, and the Prensado is no exception. The cigar itself seems to be beautifull constructed. A little firmer than many, but that seems likely a result of the box pressing process. The wrapper is a nice dark caramel brown, with a slightly reddish, ruddy hue to it, which is very nice. It is slightly oily, and is silky smooth. I actually even have a hard time finding any veins at all, much less large or ugly veins. The cap reminds me of the slightly wrinkly, ugly wrappers that the less expensive Padrons have (not a bad thing, purely an aesthetic observation) and it seems well applied. The seams are difficult to even see they are so tight and even. There is a spicy cedar and very... Nicaraguan aroma off the foot. My understanding is that the wrapper is Honduran Corojo seed, but the filler is mostly Nicaraguan, which makes sense, and sounds delicious. The pre-light draw is smooth and woody, with a slight pepper bite to it.

Lit at 12:00am

Initially present are flavors of chocolate, roasted coffee beans, and a little wood, followed by a medium pepper on the finish. The finish at this point is not particularly long or bold. Flavors are good though.

Burning a little fast here in the first third. Ash is a dark, almost black color, very cool looking. Flavors have simplified a little to a roasted mocha type flavor, with a pretty big, long, tingling pepper finish. Very delicious. Just before getting into the second third a small tear has developed in the wrapper, from the burn line towards the head, about 1/4 of an inch long. Hopefully not an issue. We'll see.

Shortly into the second third the mocha has diminished a little, replaced by an earthy wood flavor, not a sweet airy cedar, but a heavy oaky flavor. The peppery finish remains, and continues as before. The second third remains entirely consistent the whole way. The burn is great. The small tear burned through just fine. The flavor has been impressively bold.

Getting into the final third, a small split has developed rear the shoulder line. The wrapper is the only thing torn, not the binder though. No big deal. There is a heavy, oily quality to the smoke now, it has gotten just really deep and thick. A few draws later a great sweet chocolate flavor comes back, really rich and creamy.

Ended at 1:25am, for a total burn time of one hour 25 minutes exactly. I am impressed that I didn't have any real burn issues, which I ten to get fairly often with box pressed sticks, including the box pressed Tempus. This one, however, burned flawlessly to the end. Very good. Rich flavors of cocoa and earth dominate throughout. The strength has come to a medium-full by the end. Not unpleasant, but present. Overall I think this is a really solid smoke. If it were priced better than the Tempus, I would consider it a brilliant alternative, however, as it is priced about the same, I would say it equally good as a smoke of similar profile, in the same price range.