Cigar smoking is usually regarded to be a high end hobby. Every so often, I do find a cigar that is of fantastic quality and smoke but doesn’t break the bank. While this stick didn’t hurt my wallet, it did really wipe me out. The heavy handed Boneshaker cigar is not a light smoke in any way, shape, or form. I picked up the stick for under $3 from Tampa Humidor, and even the purveyor there warned me that this was not a light bodied cigar, that it takes time, and a full meal would go far to help with smoking this stick. Truthfully, as I like horror movies and spooky things, I really picked up the cigar because I liked the cigar rings. They’ve got cute little skeletons all over and it was an inexpensive cigar so I figured “why not?” The dark Nicaraguan wrapper is boldly honest about what type of smoke it will be — there is no bones about it, is a dark, oily, heavy cigar. While it was one of my more inexpensive choices, I was impressed that it was a very good quality tobacco.
Uncut, and unlit, the Boneshaker smells of smoked woods– mesquite and hickory especially– and dark leather, with tiny overtones of coffee. Once cut, the stick takes on a little more leathery smell, but the dark leaf, oily tobacco definitely makes itself known. It’s like Michael Myers in that it just slowly works its way to knocking you down. It is not in any hurry, it is confident that it will destroy you. After being lit, the first third of the cigar is mostly smoky hardwoods(more hickory than anything) with a lot of leather. The midpoint of the cigar has a bit more coffee going on, but still really heavy on the dark tobacco. As I smoked, I confirmed with my companions that it didn’t stink like a really cheap, poorly put together cigar at all. The smoke itself was heavy as well, as the clouds stayed close to my hand. Yes, I said clouds, not wafting tendrils of smoke. The oily nature of this cigar makes itself known, as even the smoke seems to be heavy.
The cigar smoked evenly, and had a very smooth draw for such a heavy hitter. I never felt like I had to relight, I could go to get another beverage, come back and the cigar was still waiting for me. The last third of the cigar had an Oolong tea feel to it, instead of a coffee aroma, more a dark black tea with a hardwood smoke underneath.
While this cigar was definitely better than expected, it was certainly a lot heavier than I was prepared for on a calm Sunday afternoon. For under $3 I don’t know that I could find a better dark cigar than this, but I also don’t think it’s something I could put on my frequent rotation. I paired this with a low gluten IPA, and I think anything heavier would actually even make me more sleepy. I felt it necessary to let my companions know I didn’t fall in the shower before I fell into bed and slept like the dead. The Boneshaker definitely shook me up.