Ashton Classic Double Magnum
This one’s going to be a real special one for me. Today I finally review the first cigar I ever smoked, the one which got me started in the wonderful world of premium cigar smoking. John Bain once said that, “There are two things a man never forgets—his first love, and his first cigar.” I can vouch for the truth of this, because all these years later, when I can’t even remember what I smoked a week ago, I can still remember the sweet, creamy smoke of that very first stick, a nice, soft Ashton. And since it’s still early in the day here, I think it’s time to review something a bit milder.
Cigar: Ashton Classic Double Magnum
Vitola: Toro (6” x 50)
Price: $11.00
Origin: Dominican Republic
Wrapper: Connecticut
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Dominican Republic
Body: Mild
Rating (out of 10): 9.6
Appearance:
The design here is minimal and simple — a classic Ashton band, and a cedar wrap with a foot band to match the Ashton band. The wrapper shows some light veins, and just a hint of oil.
Construction:
The cigar is mostly firm, with the perfect amount of give between the fingers, and perfectly balanced.
Aroma:
The barrel smells sweet, like honeyed graham cracker. I get the faintest hint of chocolate at the foot.
First Third:
The cold draw is sweet, like chocolate and honey.
Upon lighting, I get some pretty creamy hits of coffee. There’s definitely some graham cracker crispiness in there, too.
The burn is nice and even, leaving an ash column nearly as white as the band on this stick. It’s a loose ash, though, and drops off pretty easily.
Very nice start-of-the-day kind of smoke. It’s nice and mild, which I normally don’t prefer, but I really like this one. Maybe it’s the blend, maybe it’s the nostalgia, or maybe it’s just that it’s still so early in the day and I’m not quite ready for a fuller smoke. Whatever the reason, this one is doing it for me.
Second Third:
The honey notes become a bit sweeter in the second third, more like molasses now.
The smoke itself is still light and creamy. Still burning perfectly evenly. It’s wonderful.
I’m getting occasional “pops” of black pepper around the half.
There goes that ash again, just dropping right off onto my leg (the ash stack was less than an inch long). As fantastic as this cigar is, it definitely takes a hit on how loose the ash is.
Final Third:
The flavor is consistent throughout, still a nice honeyed graham cracker here in the last third, wit that same undertone of coffee.
The cigar finishes just as smoothly as it started, soft and satisfying the whole way through.
Closing Thoughts:
It’s nice to finally circle back to the stick that introduced me to the world of cigars. I don’t come back to Ashtons often enough, but I think I might need to buy a box in the near future.