Today I went back into the humidor and pulled a Mag 46 (MEL DIC 15) for the stopwatch review. This came into my possession from FOH via a box split with another great Florida BOTL.
Conditions today were a little better than yesterday in terms of humidity, albeit still very humid near 80%, with brief periods of rain. This Mag 46 is not the most handsome specimen, the wrapper is a bit rough near the cap, but it has a nice milk chocolate brown wrapper. Draw was just the way I like it with minor resistance. I was looking forward to a good cigar today following the rough ride I had yesterday with the humidity seriously spoiling the aged Punch RS11 I had.
For pairing I chose a Guinness Rye Pale Ale from a sampler case, which I found at my local Costco. I am quite impressed with this sampler case and have enjoyed about 4 cases in the past 3 or 4 of months. The Rye Pale Ale is not quite as hoppy or bold as a typical India Pale Ale, but it has a solid slightly bitter and flowery hop profile. Very pleasant ale.
Burn started out great and it burned pretty much straight throughout the cigar, with a minor touch-up about halfway. I didn't spend much time taking notes for this review as I was doing some reading, however I was quite pleased with the aroma and flavor profile of the Mag 46. I got some twang and some roasted chestnut aroma, and the flavor started out somewhat mild and built slightly to a mild/medium. I must say, this was a very good smoking session, this cigar is not a powerhouse by any stretch, nor very complex, but it very easy and pleasing on the palate. Very enjoyable.
As the last third of the cigar commenced, I was expecting the burn to go awry due to the humidity, but to my welcome surprise it continued to burn evenly and produce luscious voluminous smoke. As the end approached, I was a bit surprised it had ended so soon and with no fuss or any issues.
Unfortunately, I was a bit absorbed in my reading material and I forgot to stop the stopwatch right away. I believe the accurate time was about 20 minutes before I stopped it, so call it 1 hour and 45 or 46 minutes. That's about a half hour faster than the RS11 I smoked yesterday, yet I didn't feel like I was smoking fast at all.