Alec Bradley - Prensado

The Prensado - The latest addition to the Alec Bradley line in the Maduro-wrapped Prensado. A beauty of a box-press, this Honduran-wrapped stick premiered at the end of 2009. Already, the cigar has drawn rave reviews, with many predicting it to be the new flagship of the Alec Bradley line. They make a few sizes - Churchill, Torpedo among others. But I grab a Robusto. Comparitively sized to the CAO - Brazilia Box Press (one of my favorites), I wanted to see how the sticks compared.

Prelight- The looks of this cigar are on point. I'm not saying I wanted to make love to it, but it has to be admired. The smooth, oily, medium-dark brown box press, shows no sign of structural flaw. The cigar feels solid and well-constructed in your hand. I trim a bit off the cap and find the prelight draw to be aromatic with hints of raisin. All signs point to a great smoke. I'm a fan of the Alec Bradley brand and this cigar seems like a great addition.

Sparking it- With a torch to the front, I take a few shallow puffs and away we go. The pre-light aromas are more pronounced and the smoke is ample on a smooth draw. Alot can be said about the construction - I bite down on the end of this slight, but solid box press and it end holds firm, feels great and doesn't alter my draw. I take a big wiff though my nose from the burning end, and the bluish smoke has a smell of coffee. I'm excited to see where this cigar takes me over the next hour.

Smoking it- I must say, this cigar is built like a brick house. Solid up and down. Smooth draw, even burn. All that said the flavors and aromas stay the same throughout. Never really evolve into anything more or less. Straight up a consistent tasty smoke. I'm not knocking it. But at $10-$12 a stick, I tend to look for complexity to go with flavor. This cigar is impressive, but I've got some other faves in this price range. Not that you can compare the two, but I like the Alec Bradley Tempus a little more.

Overall- C+