Some of the inmates here recommended that I pick up an Illusione cg:4, so I grabbed a box at Georgetown Tobacco this afternoon.
The cg:4 is a smooth, pretty stick with with some small veins that don't detract from the look or feel. It has a nice prelight draw with a pleasant fig flavor.
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Right off the bat, the cg:4 had an amazing sweetness with the perfect amount of spice. In fact, it had one of the most balanced and pleasant flavors that I have ever tasted. The ash, however, doesn't hold too well, and as you can see from the pictures below, it routinely fell off after only a ¼ of an inch.
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I got up to get some coffee, and when I came back, the sweetness was gone! In its place was a very full leather flavor that reminded me of a gurkha (in a good way). The smoke got a lot thicker and creamier, too.
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The burn was even for the entire 90 minutes that it took me to nub this one.
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Overall, the cg:4 is an amazing smoke, and for $6 a stick, it's a good bang for your buck. The flavor profile is complex, and I love how the sweetness in the first half of the stick pairs with the leathery second half.
I probably never would have discovered this one without the BOTLs here at CA, so thanks guys.
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Nicely done! I'm making my way thru the whole Illusione line & the cg:4 ranks right up there. I had one this weekend and the first half tasted like Cheerios! Nice spice and underlying sweetness like you noticed, too.
I've found that all the Illusiones seem to have the same problem with the ash. What I really like about them, though, is that they are full-bodied while you're smoking them, but their aftertaste doesn't linger around long when you're done.
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