The Dirty Rat - A Very Pleasant Surprise

I have an opinion on non Cuban cigars of a certain stripe that puts me greatly at odds with a tremendous amount of cigar smokers.  Nothing personal really, just that I am no fan of the cigars they seem to love.  The biggest disclaimer is that I just don't SMOKE THEM.  Tatuaje, My Father, all these flavor of the decade cigars, I just haven't HAD THEM.  I have no money to spend on them and I have no time to SMOKE them.  I am fully stocked with cigars and if it weren't for this blog, I would likely be a ten cigars a year smoker.  I enjoy it, but I do not have an outside hanging spot that I like enough to DRAW me outdoors for a cigar, and I am kind of a homebody, I don't get out to bars often and when I do they are little bi+ches that don't allow me to smoke indoors.  One day a reader got so agitated with me and my not smoking THOSE cigars, or not giving proper respect to the cigars he liked, that he sent me a bulging handful of  Liga Privada and other Drew Estate products.  He sent me a Flying Pig that I smoked in Blowing Rock last year and it was ehhh.  Strong, sure, but no real flavor outside of this dark, black, strong tobacco taste.  I smoked a long L.P. cigar, kind of a fat Lonsdale size, ehhh, better but not something I would buy.  

And so it came to pass that I decided it was high time I pulled out another one of these smokes to try, as I had just received a shipment of beer for my trip to the Smokies.  I really wanted to taste this Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout.  I figured I'd smoke a strong dark cigar with a strong dark beer.  I was bummed out as usual, there was a crack in the wrapper at the head, and as also usual, that could and DID lead to a bad draw.  Undaunted, I took my stuff out to the porch and lit up the cigar and it was as expected, strong and 'loud'.  


But as they say on How the Grinch Stole Christmas, 'but then something happened that I did not expect'. The cigar was freaking fantastic.  I can't do my job here and say I tasted this and that and the other.  What I did taste was some kind of melange of outrageous sweet and rich and dark and exotic flavors.  I NEVER could pin down anything, I needed a pen and paper.  But as bad as it sounds, I rely on my memory for these reviews, with my rationale  being if it wasn't memorable, then I likely don't have to mention it here.  A cigar I smoked was either good or bad.  If it was good, I remember why, usually.  But WOW, and I never say that about NCs, even the quality ones by the old names.  WOW.  Vanilla, sweet chocolatey pepper, orange and figs, creamy sweetness, and not just a flavor expression, but a complete balance of flavor, mouthfeel, moisture, dryness, sweetness, sour tang.  Nothing was out of place and everything was pleasurable...except the draw which was completely the fault of the cracked head which is likely my fault entirely.  I don't specifically remember dropping it, but I'd bet it was dropped.  Or crushed in an ice chest as it sat in a baggie.

The ending photo is not very complimentary, too much flash, but it was dark.  And despite the bugs, the heat, the draw and the oncoming night, I didn't want to let this cigar go.  I should say right now, this will likely be the last one I ever hold in my hand.  While it is kind of sad considering my newfound regard for this smoke, I will not be buying them.  I long ago gave up the desire to own a box of everything.  That is a terrible idea, spurred on by the idea of "my collection".  For some people it's a great thing, they have money, space and appetite.  For me, I was lucky to escape from 'collecting' with cigars and money.  But I know people who have had to sell their cigars to support a wife, a new car, a transmission, a new baby, etc.  My new advice to smokers is to buy a little what you know you like and enjoy it.  As people give you this cigar or that and you find you like those, too, buy some.  Never go out and buy a box of cigars another smoker told you were awesome.  Try one.  If a cigar is so rare that you are scared that by the time you get your box they will all be gone, there's a good chance that you are trying to buy hype and are better off without them.  Kind of like me and Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout.  I never should have drunk the first one.  Try and find it TODAY.  Good Luck.  And if you really, REALLY like it, I feel sorry for you.  I see my boss buying car after car and I want to slap him and say "look, you aren't going to live forever, and you are pretty OLD as it is."  

Where was I?  Oh, yeah, I doubt I will buy these for myself, but I can wholeheartedly recommend that a cigar lover find himself a fiver or a box or more.  WHAT a cigar!  SURE, they might not all be this good, it happens all the time.  A person buys a box of cigars after having one great one and never recaptures the magic.  Or a reviewer tastes one cigar and declares it the best NC he ever smoked, lol.  But as usual, I am very late getting around to most of the cigars everyone else already knows about, in this case the Dirty Rat, and I am sure most of you who CARE know that they are every bit as good as I say they are.  But if you haven't had one, I suggest you try one as soon as possible.  And I hope for the best in that smoking experience.

(and I know I went against my own advice and 'told you' they were good and that you should get some, hahaha.  The reader should also know that this cigar was in my hands for over two years, and I have no idea how old it was before I was given it, so it might simply be the age and rough storage that aged this one into a symphony.)

((Oh, and the BEER.  NOT as good as I had hoped, I was looking for a sweet, chocolatey taste that I now understand doesn't ACTUALLY exist in a "chocolate" stout.  HINTS of chocolate, but mostly beer....Also a little thin, but make no mistake, what this beer lacked in chocolate it more than made up for in buzz factor, a hefty 10% alcohol by volume and EXTREMELY well hidden at that.))

Thanks, NEENS, again, for the great cigars.....

A joy at 93 points.