Spada Gorda First Tasting (rested 42 days)

[TacoSauce]

This was my review from the first stick I smoked from my bundle and will be cross-posted to my NC smoking diary in the near future. I will post a review of my second tasting shortly.

MOFOH Spada Gorda (-): I've had these resting for 6 weeks and this is my first tasting. The stick looks great with a little pigtail cap. The cold draw gives an interesting flavor that reminds me of the old McClelland aged Virginia pipe tobaccos. McClelland's aged Virginia pipe tobaccos were the gold standard until the company folded in 2018. I've never noticed anything similar in a cigar. Very nice.

Upon lighting the body is immediately just over medium. This is a stronger start than I was expecting. Flavors are light cacao and croissant. These flavors are overshadowed by a sour taste. Not a bitter taste, but sour like lemon juice. While I've not encountered this in a cigar before, I know that straight Virginia pipe tobacco also has a strong sour flavor -- one of the reasons why that style of tobacco was never my favorite. These flavor characteristics build over the first third and into the second. Near the half-way point, the body has ramped up to medium-full and the sourness is overwhelming. This was too much for me and I tossed the stick at this point. This stick compares to other cigars the same way that sour patch kids compare to gummy bears. Construction and burn was very good throughout so I can't attribute the sourness to draw issues. A very different blend than the Nudies as evidenced by the fact that after tossing the MOFOH, I went back to the humidor for a Nudie petite corona which was great. I have more of the Spada Gorda resting so I will revisit after some months to see if the sourness has faded. If this sourness in intrinsic, then cigar would be a great fit for those who miss the discontinued McClelland blends.