Alec Bradley 1997 Harvest Selection Robusto
Paired with Water
Cut with V Cutter and lit with Bic Soft Flame
Approximately 1 year old
I have recently smoked and enjoyed quite a few Alec Bradley cigars. After Alec Bradley’s Prensado received the top spot in Cigar Aficionado, I was tempted to expand my Alec Bradley repertoire. After looking through my humidor, I decided on the 1997 Harvest Selection, which is an exclusive blend for Cigars International. The cigar has a nice habano wrapper and is firm, yet fresh feeling. The cigar has a very attractive band with shades that remind me of the fall harvest, fitting.
Although I typically punch, all I had on me was a cheapo v cutter. I moistened the cap and the v cutter went right through the cap. The pre-light draw tasted of grass and leather. Upon lighting the cigar, which was rather easy even though I was using a Bic, I was smacked with a wonderful fall aroma. It was a rather cool night out and was slightly raining and misting. Even though it’s near the end of Winter, the cigar and the weather had me fooled into believing it was a cool November evening. The cigar had a nice woodsy taste and aroma. I consistently tasted wood, grass, and leather in the cigar. I typically like sweeter, more chocolate flavor, however this cigar was so smooth, I didn’t mind at all.
The cigar burned very well. It had a rather sharp burn line and the ash was a nice light gray that held for around an inch. With some cigars, I have a problem with dropping the ash all over me, however, that was not a concern with this cigar. The ash was firm and helped the cigar continue to smoke nice and cool. I was still picking up the fall, woodsy flavors of the cigar. I don’t know if it’s because the beautiful band made me subconsciously associate this cigar with fall or what, but I was digging it.
The band ended up coming off rather easily, which was nice. I collect bands and hate when they either tear or stick to the cigar too much and cause a tear in the wrapper. I will typically leave the band on until the smoke line gets near. By then, the heat has normally loosened the band and will allow me to remove it. This is the case with the 1997 Harvest Selection. It easily slid off and went into the fishbowl. The flavors of the cigar remained the same as above, more grass and woodsiness. One would think this would be boring, however, it wasn’t. This cigar was SO smooth. I did not detect any bitterness in the cigar and it burned rather cool throughout. Along the same lines, the flavor never faded either. Even towards the end of the stick, I was still able to get strong, enjoyable flavors out of it.
Like I said before, these cigars are a Cigars International only blend. Alec Bradley doesn’t even list them on their website as being part of their portfolio. They run anywhere from $3-$5 a cigar, depending on how many you purchase. Although this is only my first one of these I’ve had, I can’t recommend it enough. I would say it was medium flavored and medium strength. I felt a little bit of a nicotine kick from it, but it was ever so slight. I was very surprised by the good flavor and smoothness of such a reasonable priced cigar. It appeared to be a very well built, with a good burn line and a solid ash. Now, I hope I enjoy the rest of the Alec Bradley line as much.
