Friday, May 14, 2010

Ashton VSG - Belicoso

Ashton VSG - This Cigar is hailed as the best in the Ashton line. Blended from Dominican tobacco aged 4-5 years, and wrapped with an Ecuadorian sun-grown leaf this stick is a beauty. The line carries enough sizes to fill a travel humidor - all of them around $10 to $15. This Cigar is a top pick of a lot smokers out there and has scored above a 90 in tons of publications.

I've reviewed the Torpedo VSG - Torpedo Review - and was impressed with the overall construction and burn.  The flavors were a bit strong and the smoke left me a little dizzy.  Since then I've smoked some of the Belicoso size and thought the flavors and balance made for a much better smoke.
Prelight - The cigar is flawless.  Just like the Torpedo, the construction is top notch.  This is one of the nicest Belicosos I've ever seen.  The dark-chocolate, sun-grown wrapper is veinless and slightly textured.  The cigar has a lot of cocoa and hay aroma, with the prelight tasting of cinnamon.

Sparking it - The VSG starts off with a nice even burns and maintains it throughout the first third of the smoke.  The draw is effortless and produces clouds of smoke.  The ash stays tight and the flavor profile changes early and often.  I get a little sweet spice off the get go, then it evolves to a chocolate taste.  Before to long I taste some cedar flavors.

Smoking it - What a great cigar.  I can't complain about my experience with the Torpedo or any other size in the series, but something about the Belicoso and smaller sizes offers balance to the fullness of flavor.  The cigar burns slow and produces tons of smoke, so a larger size is almost too much. 
The VSG offers a complex flavor profile and keeps you interested throughout.  The cigar isn't cheap, but it is one of those high-end smokes you don't mind spending the money on from time to time.  My experiences with the Belicoso has made this cigar one of my favorites.  My first impressions of the VSG were too much power not enough balance, but this size offers fullness with a creaminess that really lends it self to an enjoyable smoke throughout.
The last third of the cigar mellows out right before spicing up at the end.  If you haven't smoked a VSG.  Go for the Belicoso.  You won't be disappointed.

Overall - A

1 comment:

  1. I can only agree with everything you said. Best cigar I have ever had.No Cuban at twice the price is near as good.

    ReplyDelete

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