PCA Magazine Summer 2022

PREMIUMCIGARS.ORG VOLUME 3 2022 | PCA The Magazine 29 T H E B L E N D the Olmec as a medium- bodied, perfumy smoke with a rich sweetness that bespeaks well-fermented leaf. At 20 minutes the white- granite ash—slightly crooked, but holding on tight—sits on a slightly wavy but well-behaved burn line. Now I am starting to taste dark chocolate and black coffee, which are conventional but welcomed flavors. The smoke is beginning to caramelize and sweeten. Also, the retrohale has lost its pepper and now bathes the sinuses with cocoa and vanilla notes. Thirty minutes in, the inch-and-a-half ash is still determinedly holding on—sign of excellent construction—but at this point I plop it off into my little bowl, not wanting it to drop into my lap. As ever, the burn line is slightly wavy, but so far has required no maintenance of any kind. I draw a couple of hard, deep puffs, trying to provoke the cigar into some sort of unpleasantness, but nothing doing; I just get a blast of tasty coffee and leather. Marvelous cigar. At fifty minutes I am struck by the lingering aftertaste. If there were such a thing as a “coffee flower,” this is it. Entirely pleasant and soothing and even a little minty. I have as yet no demerits to report. Nick Melillo knew what he was doing when he crafted this blend. The nic hit, to my senses, is present but not prominent, which is fine. After an hour, any transition worth mentioning would just be that the cigar is smoking progressively sweeter and richer, and at the same time milder. At an hour and 10 minutes I plop the ash off for only the second time. The inch-and-a-half nub is growing warm between the fingers, but it is still delivering gobs of delicious, rich smoke. At an hour and 20 minutes what’s left is getting a tad warm for comfort, so with a contented sigh I set it down. The Foundation Olmec Robusto Claro is a most agreeable smoke, and after dinner I would be delighted to see a box of these passed around. It might be a little oily and flavorful for the rank beginner, but for most of us it is a satisfying premium cigar, more than worth the $13.50 price of admission.