Front 9 – Not to be missed

This is perhaps a brand that you haven’t heard of.  They don’t have a big marketing budget or a lot of fanfare.  But they are certainly getting lots of fans.  Just about everyone who smokes their sticks becomes a fan.  And, what’s not to like.  With an education in cigar making from the ground up, these young cigar makers have taken on a family tradition started by their grandmother over 100 years ago.  And, it’s not to be missed.

When you first look at this golden brown beauty you see a great color beautiful looking cigar.  My stick had a little wear from handling, but that didn’t take away form the overall experience.  The stick was well filled and I was worried about the draw.  But, that proved to be no problem at all.  The cigar cut and lit without problem and provided nice clean smoke.

As mentioned, the draw was open and the edge was tight.  The even burn created a nice long dark grey ash that held well.  The front 9 is a well built stick.

The flavors of this cigar are mild and interesting.  The first third of the smoke had lots of coffee and creamy taste.  As I continued to smoke there was an abundance of chocolate, pleasing, but not too sweet.  This chocolate merged with the coffee to give a nice creamy mocha with a hint of vanilla.  Many milder cigars lack a complexity of flavor.  This stick has a nice nuanced flavor throughout.  As I moved to the final third of the stick, there was little bit of cinnamon and nutmeg.  Usually this mild spice moves my rating to a medium bodied cigar but this is still mild.  A wonderful ‘breakfast’ cigar.

At $8 this is at the top range of an everyday cigar for me, but I liked it a lot.  By the box, the price should be less.  And, because this can be both a nice occasional smoke for a more experience cigar guy, or a wonderful introduction to cigars for a newer smoker, I would definitely keep a box of these on hand.