Video review HERE.
(Description taken from Cigar-coop.com website)
Over the past four years, Protocol Cigars has released quite a few single-store exclusive and event-only cigars. However, when it came to the Protocol Paddy Wagon, an exclusive cigar to Caravan Cigar Company in Bath, Pennsylvania, this would be a very different project compared to the others. While the other limited cigars were one-and-done releases, the Protocol Paddy Wagon would be the first Protocol release that would be an ongoing single-store exclusive cigar. The Protocol Paddy Wagon keeps to the company’s theme of law enforcement. Paddy Wagon is a term used to describe a large police vehicle or van used to transport prisoners.
When the Protocol Paddy Wagon was initially announced, company co-founder Juan Cancel gave some background on the connection of Paddy Wagon to Caravan Cigar Company: “When we do projects with shops we try our best to personalize that project to that specific shop. We do this to totally immerse the shop and its spirit into the project. Here the Shop is called Caravan Cigar Company because the company started doing mobile cigar events at fairs out of the back of the family Caravan. We looked at the concept of a Caravan and tried to see how we could relate it to the law enforcement world. That’s how The Paddy Wagon was born.”
Blend and Origin
The Protocol Paddy Wagon consists of a Mexican San Andres Maduro wrapper over Nicaraguan binder and filler. As with all Protocol Cigars, production is handled at the La Zona and blended by Hector Alfonso Sr.
Wrapper: Mexican San Andres Maduro
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Factory: La Zona SA
Vitolas Offered
The Protocol Paddy Wagon is offered in one size – a 6 x 52 Box Pressed Toro Rabito. The Rabito features a signature small tail on the header of the cigar. The Protocol Paddy Wagon is packaged in ten-count bundles.
The cigar is a rather sharp box press with the rabito cap. The cigar ha an average reel in the hand.
The test draw after cutting the cap was good. The initial flavors at light up were tangy crabapple, roasted walnuts, nutmeg, and toffee. There was black pepper rated at 7 1/2 to 8. Very unusual flavor notes. Nice start, but different.
At the first third (39 minutes) the cigar is burning pretty evenly. The flavor notes are about the same. But the crabapple has a little influence of cedar now. There are still toffee notes, roasted walnuts, and nutmeg. The finish is crabapple and roasted walnuts with pretty good lingering black pepper. The cigar is medium bodied. The flavors are a little unusual but nice. I rated the first third 92.
Moving through the second third (1 hour 19 minutes) I started to get significant black coffee notes. I now had crabapple and a tangy cedar, brown sugar, nutmeg, roasted walnuts, and black coffee. The black pepper is still good. The finish is nutmeg, crabapple, and very good lingering black pepper. The cigar is medium to full bodied. The cigar is interesting and quite good. I held the score of 92 for the second third.
The cigar lasted 1 hour 45 minutes. A very good burn time. There were no significant changes from the second third through the end. There is plenty of black coffee in the cigar now. For a maduro cigar it didn't have the usual flavor notes. But, they were interesting. The finish is unchanged. The cigar is medium to full bodied. The cigar is good but quite different from a typical Protocol cigar. I held the score of 92 for the final third. To purchase these cigars contact Caravan Cigar Company.
No comments:
Post a Comment