Alec Bradley Select Cabinet Reserve

For tonight's review I decided to pull out a cigar that I picked up during a recent shopping binge at John B. Hayes in Fair Oaks Mall. Now to preface this, I have smoked almost every Alec Bradley cigar in the Maxx lineup from the Ego to the Culture, the Curve, and the Freak. This is my first venture outside of the Maxx line in Alec Bradley cigars. Ladies and gentlemen, I present the Alec Bradley Select Cabinet Reserve (SCR) Torpedo.

The Tale of the Tape

Wrapper: Trojes (Honduras)
Binder: Trojes (Honduras), Indonesia Embetunada
Filler: Honduras & Nicaragua

Price: $7-$8 range

Drink: Heineken (BeerTender on tap baby!)
Music: XM Backspin (I was in an Ol’ Skool Hip-Hop mood)
Appearance: Oily and toothy wrapper
Pre-light: The draw has hint of coffee flavor.

Here's the play-by-play:

1st Third – As I light the cigar and take the first couple of puffs I receive loads of spice and an ample amount of smoke; however the cigar surprisingly put off only a light resting smoke. I am beginning to get a slight bitterness on the tip of my tongue as I progress further into the cigar. I’m hoping that this subsides as the cigar rounds out. So far, the burn line is beautiful with a dark grey ash. As I puff away, I feel myself starting to wax poetic about my first Alec Bradley Maxx “The Ego”. As an aside, The Ego is one of the first cigars I began enjoying when I got back into cigars full time and it is a wonderful medium-bodied cigar for the price, but it takes FOREVER to smoke. I can’t finish that thing in less than two hours even if I switch over to “constant herf” mode. Back to the SCR, I am beginning to feel like I'm shaking my spice rack on my tongue & palate with each puff. I am getting several different flavors, so much so that it’s too difficult to narrow it down to just a couple. It seems woody yet slightly floral. The finish is lasting a couple of minutes on the palate. Progressing further into the 1st third, the bitterness is gone but that allspice kinda apple pie spice flavor is lingering with a toasted woodiness. Smoke is smooth & creamy like a mix of silk & butter (by the way why do fat guys like butter? It must be a Southern thing.)

2nd Third – Now I’m into the middle of the cigar and the burn is beginning to get raggedy and a hint of bitterness is back with some leather. The body is still in the mild to medium range. Just when I am beginning to get used to the flavors in the cigar, this stick change directions. This thing is moving like Barry Sanders on a 4 yard run. Now I am getting a slight touch of sweetness that lasts for a minute. Here we go again, either I'm hungry or this cigar just gave me a hint of roasted meat. The ash is managing to hold for about 2 inches before falling to the tray. Still cruising along in the mild to medium-bodied range.

Final Third – Into the home stretch, I find myself fighting with keeping the cigar burning but keeping it cool enough to enjoy the smoke. I’m still getting spice and now some leather but still the body is still holding in that mild to medium range. Not much strength from this particular cigar, but pretty good flavor. Amazingly I can still taste my beer (Heineken is a very light beer in flavor compared to most cigars) so this stick is not overpowering my palate. The burn line is starting to go south on me and this is trying to go out which is a shame because I like the complexity of flavors. After relighting, the spice potpourri is still delivering with wood and leather and the texture is still very smooth. I should've bought at least two of these because I think I'll have a different impression in a matter of a couple of months. As I near the final puffs the cigar yields a new flavor - hickory sort of smoked wood flavor which is proving to be very delightful.

Overall, I have enjoyed this experience minus the burn issues and the lack of strength, but I am trying to learn that every cigar does have to “hit you in the gut” or “sit you on your ass”. I would definitely add this to my repertoire as a late morning/midday smoke.