A Brief Cigar Review - Ashton VSG Eclipse - Steemit

Tonight I puff the Ashton VSG Eclipse paired with spiced rum. The VSG was introduced in early 1999. It is one of Ashtons most successful blends. Crafted in cooperation with The Oliva and Fuente families, it is blended from Dominican tobacco aged at least 4 years, wrapped in an Ecuadorian leaf that is slowly matured under the sunlight filtered by clouds.

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Binder: Dominican Filler: Dominican Vitola: 6 x 52 toro MSRP: $12  

The Ashton VSG Eclipse is the only VSG that comes in a tube. For me a tube is a nice touch to the presentation of a cigar, of course a humidor full of tubes would be a bit much. I store my tubed stogies with the lid off if I am not going to smoke them anytime soon. This allows for better airflow while they are resting in the humidor, cigars full enclosed in tubes are notorious to catch mold at a much higher rate than un-tubed sticks.

The pre-light cold draw produces sweetness that is common with a sun grown wrapper, also a slight coffee note.

After a punch cut the draw needed some poking to open up, and still shows some resistance... if I had tried a regular guillotine cut it might have been better, but I feel the tightness is extended throughout the stogie. 

The flavor profile at the beginning of the VSG produces graham cracker and a large amount of nut flavors on the forefront, these are the two main notes. I find cocoa to be the next prominent note, this makes for a great forefront profile, it taste a lot like Nutella. I also pick up a little zing, like peppermint and/or anise. Pepper and spice is almost non-existent.  

I am delighted by how smooth the Ashton VSG is.., a retro-hale through the nose is also quite mellow, even more impressive is that the VSG is a full flavored cigar.

The smoke output is somewhat sparse which is a little disappointing... I don't remember this being the case on other VSG's I have puffed, but it definitely was the case on Ashton classics.., so maybe it is the way Ashton's are constructed. 

By the way, the VSG is a satisfying cigar after my prime rib dinner:

Hungry now? My wife and I have been craving prime rib since we last had it on Christmas, so I decided to buy one for no reason, it was of course delicious. Hanging with the roast beast are a couple twice baked potatoes, fresh green beans (since asparagus was $7.99/lb! that is more than the roast per pound), sauteed onion, rolls... complete with horseradish sauce. I look forward to the leftovers!

The draw began to get a little stuffy midway, it needed a few pokes to open it up a little more. This is common when a cigar begins a little snug. Sometimes just a few gentle squeezes at the smoking end will open it up all the same. 

Towards the end, the flavor profile hasn't changed from what was established at the beginning, but it has gotten somewhat more bold. The smoke thickens up a little but also remains just as smooth. The burn is nice and straight all the way throughout the smoke, until the very end where it needed a touch up, not a big deal. The total smoke time was about an hour and forty minutes. 

The Ashton VSG Eclipse is a great after dinner cigar, but it isn't a powerhouse that requires a big meal beforehand, it can be smoked any time of the day. My score: 8.5/10