The Strange Case of Bahia

In a recent flight of whimsy I laid out 12 bucks for a one-day special on a 5-pack assortment of Bahias ("Borhani's Bevy of Bahias") from Famous. What the hell, I thought. You never know. Free shipping. Aw, shucks, why not.

The cigars came in looking good and smelling repugnantly barn-yardish enough for me to expect that they'd perform inversely well. And indeed they are well-constructed, easy to light, and burn without reproach.

The flavor is another thing. While pleasantly full-bodied and generous in smoke production, these cigars have an odd undertone of flint, horseradish, or musty basement. Take your pick, I can't quite put my finger on it. This undertone is more a hint than anything, and might be construed as "leafish" or "molasses tinged" by another palate. Unfortunately for me the taste lies closer to mushroomy and briny.

Again, this subtle flavor characteristic is not enough to destroy the generally pleasant experience of smoking these cigars. Maybe Famous has in fact been keeping them in a musty basement, and I'm just tasting the aftereffects. On the bright side, an unusual flavor like this is something that might just grow on you and become your all-time favorite a year from now.

This review applies to Bahia White Label robusto, Bahia Maduro robusto, and Bahia Trinidad only. All three cigars are nearly identical in flavor.

Somewhat similar to:
Cuba Aliados Corojo toro (horrible cigar)
Indian Tabac Cameroon Legend Grand Robusto (good cigar)