I got both of these sticks in a bomb from McSmokey. I thought it would be fun to do a head-to-head review.
Humidor time: Just under 2 months
Prelight: Construction looked nice on both sticks. Wrappers were oily. Prelight draw was a bit tight on the 2008, moderate on the 2009. Both tasted of earth, coffee, and leather.
Burn: The 2008 had some serious burn issues. Several touchups were required. The 2009 burned much better, requiring only a single touchup. Ash was nice and solid on the 2009, but so flaky on the 2008 at a few points it looked like I was smoking a pine cone. Draw was perfect on the 2009, with the 2008 I ended up having to clip down below the cap to deal with a progressively tighter draw starting in the middle third. Burn time for both sticks was about an hour and a half.
Flavor: Both sticks prominently featured coffee, earth, and leather in the flavor profile, with a subtle hint of sweetness. For the 2008 it was quite light, like honey; where the 2009 was darker, more like brown sugar. Both had a decent amount of spice, the 2009 had a slight bit more kick.
Summary: I enjoyed the flavors of both sticks. If I had to pick one or the other, I'd go with the 2009. But, burn issues aside, both were decent smokes.
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