J. Grotto Anniversary P555

A good buddy of mine gave me this cigar and told me it would be a great morning when I finally got around to smoking it. I was unsure of that, because I have never had a good experience smoking an unknown (to me) brand that was made for a specific B&M. Let's give this one a chance I suppose.

This one hails from Rhode Island and is a product manufactured by Debonaire Cigars and is sold by Ocean State Cigars. Some people in the New England region of the United States may be more familiar with Ocean State and it's owner Paul Joyal, who operated Mr. J's Havana Shop in Warwick, Rhide Island. Not sure if he still does.... 

Anyway, the Anniversary is their fourth offering that they released and is one of their more robust lines. This one was sold in four vitolas: Churchill, Toro, Perfecto, and Gordo. My particular sample is the P555 (5" x 50 gauge ring) Perfecto. Any vitola with in the line features Dominican tobaccos and some tobacco from "other Central American" countries that are wrapped by a dark broadleaf Connecticut leaf.

"Other" Counties... LULZ

Wrapper: USA - Connecticut

Binder: Dominican Republic

Filler: Dominican Republic and "Other" Countries...hmmm

Length:  5"

Ring Gauge: 55

Size: Perfecto

The Smoke: This cigar features a deep tan hue provided by its broadleaf Connecticut wrapper with some small veins visible. The leaf feels oily in my hand. The cigar also feels well constructed and is stiff when squeezed. My Palio straight cutter made short work of taking off the cap.

Obviously, the cold draw is awful given the perfecto shape. When I was lighting the cigar, I noticed that this is probably the smallest foot of any cigar I have every seen. It was miniscule.... as in it did not exist. No worries, the cigar toasted and lit well. The lit draw as tight but once the cherry passed the narrow perfecto shape the draw of the remainder of the cigar was excellent. 

The profile of the cigar was medium to high and was consistent during the life of the smoke. The flavors are robust through out the smoke as well. The notes in the first third of the cigar are pepper and coffee along with a sweet maple syrup undertone. Cocoa and chocolate were the dominate flavors of the middle third in which the pepper faded into the background. Cocoa remained in the final third but the pepper returned.

The burn rate and draw were really good for a perfecto shape. This vitola is always difficult to pull that off and this did splendidly. The draw as good during the majority of the cigar while the burn rate was even enough that I never needed to complete a corrective burn. 

I would recommend buying a bunch of these if you ever stumble upon them but I have a feeling that finding these would be difficult due to their release being over 6 years ago. Happy hunting!

The Score: Yeah, buy some. A box for sure if you discover it.