Saturday, July 19, 2008

What Happened to My Indians?

As you can see by my trail of recurring posts on the subject, I've long been an avid Indian Tabac Super Fuerte robusto fan, holding it in high esteem as one of the tastiest and strongest habano-wrapped cheapies on the market. I was so impressed that I even bought a whole box of them last August for the astoundingly low one-day sale price of $25.

The ITSF robusto became my go-to smoke, the one I pulled out when wasn't sure what I wanted or when the weather wasn't conducive for an expensive cigar or when the wife might decide at any minute it was time to drag me to the latest chick flick.

Anyway, to make a long story short, several months went by since my last IT Super Fuerte robusto, and I only recently found myself in a position to smoke them again.

I've had two in the past few weeks. But something has changed. They're different now. They've mutated during the months of humidor rest into some other than the crackly, stringent, mind-blowing cheapies they were when I bought them. Time has mellowed them into something I'm not sure I like - something almost laid-back, subdued and - dare I say it - mellow.

No, they aren't "mild." They've just lost the energy and puppy-like zest that made me love them. They've become refined, somber, and almost complex. I liked them better when they were a one dimensional kick-your-ass and take no prisoners cigar.

If this is the fabled aging effect, I guess I'd better beware. Wonder what's going to happen to the Gurkhas and CAOs and RP Vintages I've been squirreling away at the bottom of the humidor for the past 18 months? I'm almost afraid to find out.

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