Price: $6 – $8.50

Size: Robusto 5″ x 50

Wrapper: Habano Nicaraguan/Honduran

Filler: Nicaraguan/Honduran

Initial Impression: The Tempus is pretty good looking. A dark wrapper that almost feels like leather with a fair amount of medium to large veins. I can’t feel any soft spots and the cap is very nice. The wrapper has a sweet tobacco smell and something very faintly akin to a well aged dry cheese (like a Romano). The cap cut very nicely.

Pre-light draw: Sweet tobacco and spice greet my taste-buds and the draw feels great.

1st Third: The first half inch of this stick very spicy. It mellowed after this first part, but I was afraid I had bitten off more than I could chew at first since I had a light lunch. After that first bit the flavor started with pepper, flowed to a strong cedar and had a slightly acidic aftertaste, almost like that of a coffee bean or dark cocoa. The ash looks quite dark, but I never got a chance to examine it very well as it would keep falling at about an inch or less. The amount of smoke it is putting off is fair, although I wish it were slightly thicker.

2nd Third: The coffee is now a stronger flavor in the second third and makes a nice balance with the pepper and the cedar. The pepper has mellowed even more at this point, but I am still getting a bitter taste at the back of my tongue that builds up if I pull too much. Additionally, the wrapper near the cherry began to split so I had to do some correcting before it became more serious. One remarkable thing about this stick is the cool smoke and the even draw. It’s basically my favorite thing about the Tempus at this point.

Final Third: Pretty much the same as the 2nd third, although it did get a bit sweeter and there was a nice earthy flavor left on my lips after each puff. I let it go out at a little under and inch left, and I felt no real desire to light it back up.

Conclusion: There were some nice flavors in this strong stick and the smoke was extremely cool. I tend to smoke fast and one of the interesting things about this cigar is that it refuses to be smoked faster than it wants to. The draw was just fine, but I found myself unable to speed up on this stick. Still, I found that throughout the stick I was underwhelmed overall. It did have some construction issues and it seemed to lack balance at times. Sometimes a cigar just isn’t that interesting, and I found this to be one of them. Give it a try and see for yourself though!

I give this cigar a 3.75 out of 5.

The Best Thing: Slow burning, cool and even draw

The Worst Thing: Lacked balance

Notes: Cedar, Coffee, Cocoa?, Pepper, Sweet Tobacco