Old Powder Keg – A Good Stick

It shouldn’t be surprising when a cigar company is from Connecticut.  After all it is one of the biggest cigar tobacco growing states in the country.  And Connecticut shade has wrapped millions of cigars throughout history.  Yet, we really don’t seem to think of it as a place for cigar makers.  Battleground Cigars, which produces the Old Powder Keg line has been in the area for years and making cigars for a while.  Their cigars are named for and inspired by the Civil War period.  In fact, the town where the cigar company is located provided over 40% of all of the gunpowder for the war.

When I first looked at my cigar I liked what I saw.  It had a smooth finish with a medium brown color.  And, it was large. I punched the stick without problem and it lit easily.  There was plenty of smoke.

The ash on this cigar was a beauty.  It was long and firm, definitely a contest winner.  The cigar burned evenly and held a crisp edge.  While I had to relight, that was mostly due to my inattention at some point because of the size of the stick and many outside distractions.  This of course leads me to opine that one should never let the real world interfere with your smoke.  Unfortunately, we all have lives and at times our cigars are interrupted.  Regardless, I think of this as a very well built cigar.

This cigar had interesting flavors.  It started with a creamy chocolate taste.  In the second third I sensed a lot of mocha flavors.  In the last third there was some cinnamon with the chocolate and also a bit of nuttiness.  While I characterize this a ‘lunch’ cigar, it is very mild with a short pleasant after taste.  The only complaint that I had with the taste was the lack of complexity.

The cigar smoked for almost an hour and a half.  At less than $7 that makes it a great value.  Anyone who enjoys a mild to medium smoke will want to have some of these in their humidor for thsoe times when you want a nice long relaxing smoke.