Diesel Unholy Cocktail Guest Cigar Review
From my cigar buddy TriMarkC comes this great review of the Diesel Unholy Cocktail.
Diesel Unholy Cocktail, made by A.J. Fernandez
Size: 5×56, Belicoso torpedo
Wrapper: USA/Pennsylvania Broadleaf
Filler: Nicaraguan Long Fillers from Jalapa, Condega and Esteli region
Binder: Nicaraguan
Strength: Medium-to-Full Body
Price: Box of 30, $100 ($3.33/stick) or about $6 each in local B&Ms
The Diesel Unholy Cocktail is a cigar made by AJ Fernandez which was released mid-to-late in 2009. Since I had heard that these were full-bodied (read: full strength) cigars, and I tend to like mild-to-medium strengthened cigars, I’ve been a little hesitant to smoke one for fear of getting blown out of the sky. So I’ve had one sitting in my humidor for most of a year, until, as my friend “IronMikeCW” from @CigarWorldcom who gifted it to me, “my cigar palate grows some chest hairs”. Well, its time!
For this review, I smoked two Diesel Unholy Cocktails in one weekend, which only come in one size – a big, beefy belicoso torpedo that’s 5” by 56 ring gauge. The first had been resting for nearly a year, and the second was purchased about a month ago. I paired my first cigar with a great cup of good strong coffee, and the second cigar was matched to a Samuel Adams Harvest Pumpkin Ale beer. I’m a big fan of pairing cigars with whatever you feel like drinking … I’m not a snob about the pairing, since I find it much more enjoyable when your palate tells you what you’re in the mood for.
Pre-light:
Let me say right off the bat that I love the look of the Diesel Unholy Cocktail’s band! It has a single band, at the foot, that has an antique look to it, with a medium brown old English-style text spelling out “Diesel” against a light tan background and some gold script crosses. With that band drawing your initial attention, and getting your mind thinking “old world,” I felt that the cigar itself looked rustic but elegant. It has a very dark wrapper, dark brown like dark chocolate, with a few veins visible but still smooth to the touch. Holding the cigar while inspecting it, it has heft. Its already a big cigar, but it feels densely packed – there were no soft spots at all, not even at the foot. There were no tears, holes or other irregularities to mar its appearance, even when I slid the band off the end. The cap is well wrapped, with no pinching or unusual overlapping.
As for the aroma, it was spicy and earthy, with a touch of cocoa. The foot had more of those, but also with green fields, and a strong caramel smell that wasn’t sweet. I also picked up a slight fruity aroma that I couldn’t place.
For torpedoes I tend to snip the end twice using my favorite double-guillotine cutter, since it has a backstop to prevent over-cutting. The pre-light had a perfect draw, with a spice and caramel flavor present, too.
First Third:
After lighting the Diesel Unholy Cocktail, I was immediately hit hard and fast with spice!! I mean everywhere – my lips, my tongue, the back of my throat and on the retrohale into my sinuses! Its not unpleasant at all, but you know its there, let me tell you! That spiciness calms down a bit, or perhaps I got used to it somewhat, after about 5 minutes. Then, the smoke fills your mouth with that caramel flavor – again, its not sweet, its just a nice pleasant flavor. I also picked up some coffee flavors.
As I continued on through the first third, that spiciness continued in the background, mellowed and not so in your face. That unusual fruity flavor is gone, but now I swear I was picking up a “beefy” flavor – just barely teasing me as it came and went. Still got the flavor of coffee too, sometimes sweet coffee, sometimes black coffee – very interesting! I could feel the strength of this cigar building as I worked into it; I’d say it starts out as a medium-bodied cigar and builds from there. The burn was a little wavy on both cigars but nothing that ever required a relight, and the ash was solid with black and white bands. In fact, the ash stayed on very solid, a testament to the construction of this cigar!
Second Third:
The Diesel Unholy Cocktail’s second third changed things up, and not always in a good way for me. There was still the spiciness that varied up and down as I progressed, and was most noticeable on the back of my throat. The caramel flavor picked up, adding in just a touch of some sweetness now. And the coffee flavor occasionally, too. But there was this off-putting flavor in one cigar that I haven’t been able to place, kinda like the smell of rubber cement, which startled me enough that I checked to see if perhaps I had laid the burning foot on something unexpected somehow. It would go away, and then shock me again. I eventually knocked the lit cherry off and touched up the light, which worked to eliminate that problem. But, on the other cigar, not only didn’t I have that strange problem, but my ash stayed on well past the half-way point (see picture)! The strength of still building, and it is now medium-to-full, but is still not a killer, even for me (remember, I tend to smoke mild-to-medium bodied cigars).
Final Third:
In the final third, the Diesel Unholy Cocktail’s strength is still increasing, and I can really feel it in my sinuses. Not enough for me to feel dizzy, but I know its there. Strangely, unlike any other cigar I’ve ever had, the draw got a little tighter in this last third; normally, I’ve experienced cigars’ draw opening up at the end. The burn has remained slightly wavy throughout this entire cigar, but has not caused any problems. The spiciness has been replaced with the cocoa I picked up in the very beginning, with some vanilla, and the caramel flavor that has been throughout. As I nubbed this cigar down to its last, it was that caramel flavor that I most enjoyed and remember.
Overall:
Overall, I not only liked this cigar – a lot – but I also felt that it wasn’t as strong as I had expected it to be. Perhaps I had listened too much to the hype, or perhaps my palate has matured since its release. Either way, I found that I really enjoyed the flavor changeups that Mr.Fernandez has created in his Diesel Unholy Cocktail. Like the Joya de Nicaragua Celebraciòn, another Nicaraguan puro, this cigar was spicy and full-bodied. BUT, knowing that, even a newer cigar smoke can still enjoy these stronger cigars by slowing down! I found that when I’m worried about the strength of a cigar, I slow down, which allows me to really pay attention to and enjoy the flavors more, too!
In summary, I will be looking to add more of these cigars to my humidors and to my rotation. With its great flavors and complexity, a solid feel and heft that makes you feel like you’re smoking a real cigar, and a fantastic box price (come on! 30 cigars for under $100!!), this cigar is worth buying a box or two.
91 points
Top 10 Cigars 2009
Alright, I know, we’re two weeks into the new year, a new decade even, and the time for Top 10s has passed. Well, you’re going to have to make room for one more because I have done one as well.
What follows is my Top 10 most memorable, enjoyable, amazing cigars that I smoked last year. I decided to make my Top 10 all about the highest scoring cigars that I smoked but, rather, the cigars that scored well and were special to me for some reason or another. Price is a small consideration in this list but quality is what is most important.
And now I humbly submit to you my Top 10 Cigars of 2009.
This cigar is awesome. I only gave it 89 points but, once you consider the price point, it’s a steal. For less than $4.00 (if you buy a box of 30) you will get a little bomb of flavor.
9. Perdomo Reserve 10th Anniversary Maduro
The Perdomo Reserve 10th Anniversary Maduro Robusto is a fine cigar. Medium bodied with chocolate and earthy flavors. Maybe not enough complexity but a joy to smoke nonetheless.
I was walking through a local cigar shop, saw this cigar at what turned out to be a hefty markup (thanks to the California taxes, I’m sure) and decided to pick it up. After all, it was the top cigar at Cigar Aficionado in 2008. And it is good but not mind blowingly good. The Casa Magna Colorado Belicoso has spice, wood and nuts as the main flavors. Definitely worth it considering the price.
A torpedo, the CAO L’Anniversaire Maduro Belicoso, was a wonderful blend of earth and chocolate. Loads of flavor and enough complexity with this cigar to make it very enjoyable. I have been meaning to pick up some of these again and now that it’s officially in my Top 10 I don’t see why I shouldn’t.
6. Arturo Fuente Chateau Fuente
I started out smoking the Gran Reserva line of Fuentes and because of that they will always hold a special place in my heart. Even though I don’t consider the normal Fuente line to be anything special anymore this one was a home run for me. I loved everything about it.
When I smoked the Man O’ War Ruination Robusto No. 1 I wasn’t expecting a whole lot. The original Man O’ War line was a fine cigar and I was thinking I was going to get something along those lines, maybe a little better. Boy was I wrong. Yeah, it was full bodied but it had a lot of flavor and depth to it as well; something I thought was lacking from the original line.
The Tatuaje Miami Reserva J21 is simply a great cigar. Tons of complex flavors from beginning to end with this one. Need I say more?
3. Padron Anniversary Series (Natural)
The Padron Anniversary Series Monarca is a special cigar. Tons of full bodied flavor oozes from this cigar. If only the second half had been as good as the first half I bet this cigar would have been my favorite cigar of the year. And, ironically, it was the first cigar I smoked in 2009. Nothing like starting off with a bang!
This cigar, the Fuente Fuente Opus X Belicoso XXX, received my highest score this year with 96 points and the only reason why it’s not going to be number one is because of the price. $26.00 is a lot to pay for a cigar that is less than five inches long but you have to give the Devil its due with this one. It really is a special cigar and its flavor profile matches up with what I like extraordinarily well.
Smoking the Camacho Triple Maduro 50/4.5 was Heavenly for me. This is the one cigar that I go back to as often as I can and, even though I gave a higher mark to the Opus X, that is why it’s my top cigar for 2009.
Diesel Cigar Review
This near-jet black beauty of a cigar is made by A.J. Fernandez who has made cigars for Rocky Patel, Padilla and the Man O’ War lines as well. I must be honest, this is one of the better looking cigars I have seen. In addition to the jet black wrapper it is a rather smallish torpedo that absolutely glistens with oils. There are no seriously raised veins either.
It is rough to the touch, though. And the cigar is tightly packed. Based off of my previous experiences with this cigar neither of those things should hurt the flavor at all.
Cigar Stats
Torpedo
Length: 5″
Ring Gauge: 56
Wrapper: USA/Pennsylvania
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua (Jalapa, Condega, Esteli)
Price: $6.00/Single | $100/Box (30 cigars)
Funny Flame!
As expected, the draw is very good. Not too tight, not too loose. Also, as expected, the Diesel has a ton of flavor that runs smack dab through the “dark” flavor profile. Lots of espresso/coffee beans, earthiness/grassy and some charcoal. There is a little bit of spice but not a whole heck of a lot to speak of. Oh, and chocolate – milk chocolate to be precise – is a fairly prominent flavor with the Diesel.
The flavors coat the mouth and just won’t leave, which is a pretty good thing here. It’s a very good cigar throughout the first half and shows no signs of slowing down.
Medium-full bodied with a good draw and burn. One of the previous Diesels I smoked had the flavors drop off around the halfway point but, with this one, the flavors are sticking through – so far.
For the most part the flavors are staying strong even as the burn line crosses the three-quarters mark. There is some complexity with this cigar and, overall, I am liking it a lot. This isn’t to say that this cigar is special but it is above average for sure.
Leather starts to come through during the second half along with some spice. Further on, within a half inch of the nub, the flavors take a bad turn but, as long as you don’t smoke it way too far down, it’s a very good cigar. The bad flavors revolve around salt, which isn’t a horrible flavor but does diminish my enjoyment to a degree.
What amazes me about this cigar is that if you buy it by the box it is less than $3.50 per cigar. That’s amazing for a cigar that tastes this good. While the flavors are not mind blowingly great they are well above average for the majority of the stogie. If you can buy a box I would strongly suggest you do so; after all, Christmas is just around the corner.
89 points
