Caldwell Blind Man’s Bluff Review

Blind Man’s Bluff
Made by: Caldwell
Wrapper: Ecuadorian
Binder: Honduran
Filler: Dominican
Vitola: 5 by 50

The Caldwell Blind Man’s Bluff is a 5 inch by 50 ring gauge cigar, the pack feels even. Nothing to distinct about the cigar in particular, the band is quite attractive though. It reads “Blind Mans Bluff” on one side and “We Own the Night” on the other side.

Prelight

The cap is decently applied, and the nose on the foot reveals a slightly sour tinge followed by a sweeter scent reminiscent of hay. Extremely clean cut with no loose tobacco. The cigar maintains the light dry sweetness and the sour note seems to denote the age of the cigar. I would assume this to age well with my observations at this point.

1/3

The first notes that appear are a clean dry hay, very quick finish. Low-Medium body and absolutely no strength in sight. Faintly on the retrohale there is a ever so slight herbal spice on the finish. It is odd however, the cigar is producing a great amount of smoke, yet the body is very low in comparison. The flavors are holding through the first third. The finish remains quick and clean. The pepper is coming up on the finish and is more noticeable on the retrohale. However, the sweet dry hay still dominates till the finish. The body is rising slowly with the pepper.

2/3

As the second third begins the body has reached a medium, and the strength has come up slightly. The sweet hay is still recognizable on the draw but black pepper is the primary flavor. The finish is lasting longer, with the black pepper lingering. The ash fell as the first third ended and it was white and tight. Plentiful and rich smoke production is continuing. The pepper drowned out the hay as this third progressed. At this point it is medium bodied and low strength with black pepper controlling the profile. At the very end of this third pepper rose even more, but the slightly sour note showed its face. I believe the sour note will retreat with age. And if your not really looking it won’t be noticed. This will definitely be something that I would like to revisit in 2 or 3 months.

3/3

Surprise, at the very start of the last third the herbal spice came up. It’s enjoyable because after the black pepper note, this herbal white pepper scrubbed the black pepper note out completely, and there is an hazelnut note showing up on the finish. There is a slight sour note that catches me off guard occasionally, but the blend needs time to better mesh in my opinion. Still it is a well constructed cigar that you can tell was played with a lot when it was being created. Different would be my best way to describe the transitions encountered in this. One more note, as the cigar reached the nub the black pepper was coming up again with the heat of the cigar reaching its end.

Smoke Time: 55 minutes

Conclusion: 84

This cigar surprised me, the last third was the gem by far. I was expecting the cigar to maintain the sweet clean hay that was present in the first third. Medium bodied cigar with low strength, again I would like to see what a little bit of age does to this flavor profile. I recommend smoking one now and aging a couple more. Seeing a cigar develop is fulfilling, especially when you know it made the transition in your own humidor. If you have any questions on how I develop my scores, sign up and leave a comment, I would be more then happy to make a reference post explaining my reasoning behind them.

Click on the picture to find this cigar at anthonyscigars.com