“Shy one, shy one,
shy one of my heart,
She moves in the firelight
Pensively apart.”
- Yeats, TO AN ISLE IN THE WATER
Read full Review HERE
“Those who say they understand Chess, understand nothing”
-Robert Hubner
A chess game, like a cigar, is divided into three parts: The opening, the middle game, and the endgame. Each section has its own set of goals and concepts, it’s own feel. The smoking of this fine cigar sparked a new tradition, Josh, Josh, and I sat down for the second time outside of the local coffee spot and shared a fine cigar over some nice conversation. This cigar’s pre-light and during the light smell was very chocolaty with a hint of hazelnut. There’s a particular smell that I have gotten from several cigras pre-light, it’s like a burlap canvas laid out on dry dirt in the sun, the canvas is covered with cocoa beans left out to dry, and a small sprinkling of hazelnuts kinda like this:
The opening of a chess game should be used to get your pieces into a useful position, this should take up the first 10 to 25 moves. Similarly, a cigar should open up for the first third, you should be introduced to it, but it shouldn’t share all it’s secretes with you yet. It’ should almost tease you with what’s to come. This cigar did a great job of that. For me, this cigar’s opening was full of different woods, like a pile of wood sat atop some damp hay. I was specifically getting an image of the distinguishing line between a knot in the wood and the softer more white grain of a cut log.
The second third of a chess game is called the middle game and this is where the game loses any formality and really shows its true colors. A cigar should follow a good chess game’s example, and really let out with some of it’s more defined flavors during the second third of the smoke. This cigar had a really smooth, well done transition, we got a little pepper and than this cigar began to slowly take shape. This is when the edge between that dark knotted wood and the softer whiter wood took more form and I started to get the olfactory image of a nice, old wooden chess set. I could feel the difference between the dark and light squares, the raised edges, the opposing pieces all set up, and even the warm air between the chess pieces. It was an old beloved chess set that had seen many games and little sun light. This was definitely the most distinct and complete sensation I got from this particular cigar and made for a real nice mid-game.
Finally a game of chess has the endgame, where the play winds down towards its conclusion. At this point in the game most of the pieces are gone, and you’ll see more action from the king than in any other part of the game. Similarly, a cigar, during it’s final third, should slowly narrow itself down into a single slow moving taste or feel. This smoke had a really interesting transition into its conclusion. I started to get, for the first time, an almost citrus taste, which changed into a definite kiwi taste right behind my left jaw. This note surprised and amazed me, I had never had or expected a citrus note off a cigar, until I saw where it was heading. For this cigar’s endgame the complex image of a chess set with different woods that had been given personalities from the oils in the hands of a hundred players and a thousand games slowly boiled down into a single wooden barrel. This barrel still had a history though, it was the kind of oak barrel that was once used to store a warm scotch, and I think that’s where the kiwi citrus note came from. I’ve heard, from credible sources, that a nice scotch often will have a pear or kiwi scent to it.
I look forward to sitting outside of the local coffee spot again with Josh and josh sharing a fine cigar and some interesting discussion, I also look forward to trying another Punch Gran Puro, perhaps over a chess game or two next time.
