Wrapper: Nicaraguan Criollo
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Vitola: 5 ½ x 54 Box-pressed
Purchase Link: Viaje Zombie Farmer Bill Hatchet
Zombie Farmer Bill Hatchet Review - California
Summary: Chocolate corn puff cereal. I'm waiting until I burn past the closed foot to comment on the draw. Just barely on the tight side. Black pepper on the retrohale has me hydrating often. I'm also getting a maple sweetness which helps tie together the chocolate and pepper. The ash takes a few taps before falling even though it was a solid inch and a half.
Moving into the second third, the black pepper is transitioning to red and green pepper. Dark chocolate takes the forefront for a second and then gets eclipsed by the pepper. The sweetness has almost completely disappeared, but I'm digging the freshness and zing that the red and green pepper is bringing.
Dark chocolate in the final third. After a sip of water, a wild mesquite appears (Pokemon reference). This cigar has been all right across the board, but coffee begins to seep in, making this third my favorite by far.
If You Like That, You Might Like This: Grating a block of cheese.
Pairing Suggestion: Mojito. Most of this cigar could use the added sweetness, and fresh mint would bring out the green and red pepper I believe.
Purchase Recommendation to a Friend: Single. If the price is right, I could justify picking up a fiver.
Zombie Farmer Bill Hatchet Review - Wisconsin
Summary: We're in for another dark, oily box-press this week. This one comes with a closed foot, though. Visually, this cigar looks well-made and tempting. There's a lot to be said for how a cigar looks, I think, and this one looks beautiful even without a band.
Burning the closed foot gives me a nice combination of spicy and sweet. Then I move on to oak, pepper, leather, nuts, anise, cocoa, and piles and piles of brown sugar. There's also cinnamon and, at one point, a decadent fudge brownie flavor that was all-too-fleeting. At a couple points, it gets harsh. The finish is lots of pepper.
The cigar burns very slowly. The burn and draw give no problems at all.
Overall, a good flavor mix that doesn't change very much throughout. No construction issues. Ample strength.
If You Like That, You Might Like This: Smoke 'em strong and dark? You might have a winner here.
Pairing Suggestion: Rum for a little extra sweetness.
Purchase Recommendation to a Friend: Fiver if you like 'em bold and strong. Single if you don't.
Zombie Farmer Bill Hatchet Review - Oregon
Summary: Perfectly box-pressed cigars always make me feel like I’m smoking a fancy cigar. I don’t really know why because I’ve smoked some box-pressed cigars that turned out to be very mediocre. However, this blind review cigar was perfectly box-pressed AND had a closed foot. I’m definitely feeling fancy about this one. The cigar was also very firmly packed. This left me hoping I wasn’t going to experience draw issues.
The cold draw was rather tight but I hoped the closed foot was to blame. Fresh grass and some unidentifiable herb flavor made up the interesting cold profile. Unfortunately after I lit the cigar, the draw remained tight despite breaching the closed foot. Bummer.
Flavors I experienced in the first portion of the cigar included bran flakes, brownie mix, leather and enough pepper spice in the retrohale to season a truckload of green beans. Later on, the profile shifted to incorporate muted floral notes, some sweet cinnamon and a mild wasabi style heat. Further transitions found more distinct floral notes mixing with toast, cedar and mild tobacco. Any spiciness virtually disappeared entirely. Towards the very end of the cigar, the entire group of flavors became ultra smooth with a ton of cedar, espresso, and cocoa followed up by a nice wash of returning pepper spice. If I were to recap the transitions for you I’d call the start interesting, the middle complex, and the final portion perfect. This was a much more complex cigar by the end than it ever gave hint to at the start.
What truly shined was the construction and performance. I never had to touch up the burn, it never threatened to go out even when I let it sit for a few moments and the burn line was just razor sharp from the word go. This cigar performed flawlessly.
If You Like That, You Might Like This: If you like this you, like symphony music and wine not from a box.
Pairing Suggestion: I’d pair this with a rich Cabernet or maybe a sweet profile porter. Personally I’d opt for the wine so you dont miss any of the terrific transitions.
Purchase Recommendation to a Friend: I’d go fiver on this stick...but I am leaning a bit towards a box.
Participants in this blind review were completely unaware of the cigar they were evaluating until all submissions were received and processed. Each participant was asked to answer a summary paragraph, an if/than statement, a pairing suggestion, and a purchase suggestion. Cigars were provided by Small Batch with only the expectations of candid responses. All pictures, information, and formatting were completed by a Coordinator outside of the reviewing process.
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