Canonazo Amante VI 2023 Tasting thread and smoke along video

[ha_banos]

Ok. I've had a third one now. Or is it fourth? Anyway. Been resting for 4 months now almost to the day. Big difference to the early couple. First one I had ROTT. Didn't get on with it. But got to say it's made a big difference. Smooth once the first quarter inch is burned away. Could then retrohale it throughout. Still for me quite light for the first two thirds. Very nice slight sweet aroma. Pleasant. Easy. Then kicks in again at the last third. Ramps up in strength but still maintains a lighter body. Smoked outside in a summery early evening. Sipped a double Hibiki and a fresh Pravha. Really enjoyed this one. I think I get it now.

[gormag38]

Just smoked my first one over the weekend. Been resting since they were first offered, so I figured they've had enough downtime now. 

First inch or so I was sort of struggling with it. The draw was too tight for me and I wasn't getting nearly enough smoke. (not bad QC habanos tight, just slightly firmer than what I'd like) Early on what smoke I was getting wasn't very interesting to me either. A lot of 'toasted tobacco' notes. After some massaging and a couple pokes it opened up. By the end of the first third the cigar started to come into form. The sweetness and subtlety of some savory flavors started to come out, totally different than how it started. This lasted until about an inch and a half remained, pepper notes took over and it wasn't what I was looking for anymore. I was satisfied with my first venture. 

I think I've heard prez say to smoke 'em slow....I would 100% agree with that. I think if my draw was better and I took a little more time, the enjoyable 2/3rds or so of this cigar would've went a little longer. I will certainly be revisiting this again and look forward to smoking another. 

89/100 (and would've been a couple points higher if not for firmness)

[gormag38]

Smoked another one last night. I must say that after a handful of examples, this stick is really quite nice. I didn't have any sort of draw problems with this one. Went with a punch cut (which for me is a rarity) and I think this only helped the flavors; truly like 'sipping' on a cigar.

The first quarter inch or so was not good (no other way I can put it), but I wasn't too surprised as that is how pretty much all of my previous examples were too. After that the baked bread and sweetness started to come in. Very smooth and completely different than those first few puffs. Very enjoyable with a Russell's store pick. The intensity was just around medium, which is right up my alley. It was getting late so I had to tap out at the start of the last third, but I was happy with how these are coming along. They're definitely on my buy list. 

92/100

[David Couture Sr]

On 6/16/2023 at 10:15 AM, Zaxeiler said:

Here's my ROTT review. TL;DR - WELL DONE, a smooth, balanced, delicious smoke. 
FOH Puro Desnudo/Nudies N6 (Cañonazo Amante VI 6 x 52, 2023, ~90 minutes, ROTT 6/15/23):
Strong aroma of honey, clover/hay, and musty peanut comes off the bundle. Cold draw is plenty open, still hay forward, but adds a little crushed red pepper taste and tingle on the lips.
Opening is remarkably smooth - primarily floral/hay, bread, and maybe a little roasted red pepper in the background. None of the sweetness from the aroma though.
An inch in, it really continues to settle nicely - semi-sweet buttery biscuit, Liga-esque minerality. Almost entirely retrohaleable.
Into the middle third, the honey notes are even brighter and a mild citrus zing shows in the retro.
By the back third it’s a little more cream/mineral forward with honey/bread shifted to the background. Through the end, the core flavors floated in and out in different proportions.
Minimal big transitions, but a truly enjoyable, smooth, flavorful and balanced smoke. As El Prez warned, a fast smoking pace can heat this cigar up transitioning flavors to ash.
Love the shaggy/partially closed foot. Great construction, evenly firm and yet good draw. Beautiful wrapper with very fine tooth. Gorgeous white ash, can be a little flaky. Wavy yet even burn line. Good draw and smoke output. More stems than expected in the filler. Of note - hit a void in the back third that caused the cigar to go out and need relit three times (n=1).

Thank you kindly for this review. Very helpful for me and I'm sure a great many more.

On 6/16/2023 at 4:40 PM, El Presidente said:

Cheers for that. 
Hamlet certainly insists on a firmly packed cigar. that doesn't mean they will be a tight draw. We only have 5 "pairs" which consist of a buncher and one roller whose sole role is applying the wrapper. Consistency should be pretty good. We will get better however. It is all about education and enshrining a culture. 
This project is all about getting better and pushing boundaries. We certainly need all of you as stewards. 
 

Hey The Pres (Rob). As I’m sure I speak for a great many folks. You are appreciated very much.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[AusDyer]

On 5/20/2024 at 1:08 PM, gormag38 said:

The first quarter inch or so was not good (no other way I can put it), but I wasn't too surprised as that is how pretty much all of my previous examples were too. After that the baked bread and sweetness started to come in. 

I've felt the same with the canonazo. While it looks great, I really don't like the shaggy foot either, as it just causes a load of instantly flaking ash that I have to carefully scrape off anyway. I also don't really find it makes a cigar easier to light at all, no worse or anything but I still have to take a little time to light it properly. After trying a few, I actually have started carefully snipping off the first few millimetres. Personally, I prefer lighting a clean foot like this and it also removes the slightly rough opening you mentioned. 

I can't tell if the opening taste to these cigars is affected by the excess wrapper at the foot or if it's some really brief aspect in the blend somehow, but it does seem to start a little rough with a bit of gravel and pepper that I don't really care for. I hate to nitpick tiny faults in these as so much love and care has gone into them, and mostly they're excellent affordable cigars, but I do think the canonazos would benefit from not having that foot.

Has anybody rested the canonazo for 6-12 months? Any reviews on how they might improve over time? I've only recently tried some and they were fairly fresh, but lovely and seem to have some good potential to improve over a couple of years at least.

[gormag38]

18 minutes ago, AusDyer said:

I can't tell if the opening taste to these cigars is affected by the excess wrapper at the foot or if it's some really brief aspect in the blend somehow, but it does seem to start a little rough with a bit of gravel and pepper that I don't really care for.

Good thought on the shaggy foot being the culprit. I guess I didn't think much about it but it could totally be the reason for this 'rough' opening. I always attributed it to me just smoking too many cubans and not enough NWs. Like my pallet just had to adjust or something haha. I'll have to pay attention to the next one I smoke and see if it happens again.