A Brief Cigar Review - Asylum Straight Jacket
The Straight Jacket by the Asylum Cigar Company is marketed as a powerhouse blend requiring some heavy-duty restraints. While browsing my cigars the other day, I found one resting in my humidor. I have not puffed one yet, but the band struck me as amusing and somewhat cool looking. It is a Nicaraguan puro, not surprising, Nicaragua can produce some strong tobacco leaf.
Wrapper: Nicaraguan
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Size: 5 x 50 Robusto
The Asylum Straight Jacket has a lovely chocolate brown wrapper that is silky smooth with minimal veins.
I notice a pre-light scent of hay, pungent prune, and mild pepper. The prune, and/or raisin seems to be present in about 25% of the cigars I have smoked, although I have yet to find a connection. A cold draw produces much the same.
Right off the bat I sense a lot of toasty flavors. The Straight Jacket is giving me a nuance I don't recall ever tasting in a cigar, walnut. Nuttiness is a common cigar nuance, but I have never noticed the dark, greasy, very distinct walnut note, I think it is fantastic. Along with the all new walnut, I pick up anise, a little cocoa, and black pepper.
The Straight Jacket as a whole is somewhat dry tasting on the finish, perhaps a touch of sweetness is lacking. I love the smoke produced by the cigar is on the cloudy end of the spectrum.
A good amount of smoke output allows for some smoke ring practice! ;-P
The Asylum Straight Jacket gets interesting not long after getting settled. Around thirty minutes in there is a sudden transition, a flavor note of maraschino cherry pops in. The cherry takes the place of anise, that is fine with me... I do not think they would work well together in the flavor profile.
The burn line is far from razor sharp, however I restrain my OCD with the Straight Jacket. It resolves itself rather quickly.
A quick tip for you smokers.., if your cigar is burning uneven, hold it in a manner so the slower burning side is always parallel to the floor. This goes for puffing and sitting in the ashtray. The lower end will burn more quickly.
Overall I really enjoyed the Asylum Straight Jacket. The flavor profile was great, I loved the walnut and cherries. The smoke output is thick and cloudy, however it was at times dry tasting. The total smoking time was around an hour and 15 minutes, however I could have nubbed it further and smoked another 15 minutes.
The would be full strength of the Straight Jacket escapes me. It was touted as insanely strong, but I found it much more restrained. ;-P
I score it 8.25/10
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Feel free to comment.., I dig interacting with fellow cigar smokers, or any who find interest in it.
-Greg
Not really a smoker, but enjoy learning about them and appreciate the art. When I tried one with my sons a few months ago, it just didn't sit right with me. Not sure why, whether it wasn't a good one or I just lost my taste for them over the years. But I do like catching wisps of the smell of them.
Thanks for sharing your insights. I try to catch them when I can.
Hi anotherJoe... I agree about the wisps of a cigar smoke scent, always nice, pipes as well.
Do you remember what cigar it was? Didn't sit right as in it was nasty? or made you feel a bit ill? Sometimes just not feeling well will cause any cigar to be a bad one...
Thanks for the comment!
I don't recall what kind it was. My son loves them, so brought a couple for us to share. It didn't make me sick. I just didn't care for the flavor. I don't smoke anything, so it might just be me. I used to enjoy them when I was younger, but that usually involved a fair bit of alcohol too. Maybe that's a factor. ;)
Yeah, pipes smell really sweet to me. Grandpa smoked one. I always loved the smell, but never tried one.
I have a few pipes, tried to get into it, but I had a hard time keeping it lit. Seems I would go through a couple boxes of matches, lol. I should give them a try again..., the tobacco is really mild.
I think pipes top cigars in the wafting scent, but not in flavor. Pipes can also get bitter very quickly, and that dreaded tongue bite. Plus they are so needy, constant relights and stuff...it's hard to relax and enjoy them. Why am I now thinking of women?
Maybe it was a really dark strong cigar..., when it has been a long time, it is probably best to re-start with mild-medium. There are so many great ones. Alcohol pairs well, but so does coffee, soda, and many other drinks... however I find if it is a full cigar, alcohol is best.
@gregm great work as always.
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