Full body enjoyer's Kelner gateway
I tend to enjoy Kelner blends as a mellow and nuanced treat. This stick is certainly not that. Firmly medium and ramping up to medium plus body. Medium strength. Great heft in the hand, great burn, no draw issues. Good long smoke around an hour and a half.
First third is a medley of spices, in the realm of Mexican hot chocolate and snickerdoodle, wrapped up in leather and sweet bread dipped in coffee.
Second third and retro delivers more breadiness, some of that Kelner Dominican herbal and savory funk. Some spicy rootbeer notes pop up, but it can also go in the espresso/molasses realm depending on how your palate is that day.
Final third goes heavy into pepper and savory notes, almost like a thin crispy beef jerky if you think too hard about it (Worcester sauce???). Definitely mostly rooted in the Kelner tobacco funk with darker tinted notes of espresso. Nuttiness and oak does show up but doesn’t take over.
Despite it delivering some darker and spicy notes, it smokes incredibly smooth from start to finish. I can see this aging well, and I think a full body only enjoyer could enjoy this as a gateway to the Kelner profile.
