Diplomaticos No. 2 - RAT FEB 20 (PDLRW)

[saltbox]

Rested just under 5 months at 62RH, 11 months box age. This box was a 24:24 clearance box from early September last year.

My fiancee happens to be out of town dealing with some family stuff, so I'll have to settle for the ritual I love with cigars: decompressing at the end of the night, enjoying the view of San Francisco I have. I listen to a lot of podcasts, some of which require focused attention and some of which are great to have in the background. Tonight's Conan O'Brian podcast w/ Dave Grohl falls in the latter bucket. That, coupled with some decent noise cancelling headphones (I use a pair of AirPods Pro) have become my go to ritual for relaxing with a cigar.

First third: Opens with cream and a mix of black pepper and red bell pepper. That red bell pepper paprika note is accompanied by a melange of other savory spices. The cigar begins to canoe significantly but some careful puffing and light touch ups fix the burn issues by the end of the third.

Middle third: Cream and red bell pepper. There's a touch of ammonia noticeable on the retrohale. Nearing the end of the third, some creamy cocoa appears and increases in intensity alongside the savory spices.

Last third: The cocoa becomes more of a dark coffee with a touch of milk, as the paprika and spices continue to become more prominent. In the last inch, the cigar starts to get hot.

Overall: As my first experience with a Diplomaticos, the 24:24 tasting notes were dead on: Montecristo creaminess with Partagas red bell pepper. The first half was definitely very Partagas-like but with less twang, with some appearances of Montecristo cocoa notes towards the latter half. Great cigar, just needs some more rest to age out those bits of ammonia and harshness towards the end. 90/100

[djrey]

Sounds great! Just got a PSP box a few days ago. Excited for these 

[Silverstix]

Great view!  My very limited experience with Dip 2 has left me wondering what all the fuss is about.  Only smoked 3 of them, but I haven't gotten much of anything from this blend.  I do have a 1/4 box of the same code and month as you, and they look amazing, so I'm hopeful that I'll have a good experience with one of those! 

[Tstew75]

I'm not a huge fan of the blend of these, but I might be in the minority.

That said, the LGR/RAT run of late 19-early 20 were some seriously pretty cigars.

[saltbox]

Yeah, while I did enjoy the cigar and am excited to see how these age, it does feel like there's some hype around these because they just don't come around as regularly as other regular production. Based on a sample size of one cigar, I feel like I wouldn't be missing out on much if I couldn't buy these anymore given the ease of access to Montecristo and Partagas.