Caldwell Blind Man’s Bluff This is Trouble
Posted on June 17 2021
Vitola: 5x52
Smoking Time: 78 Minutes
Cigars Smoked: 3
Body: Medium +
Wrapper: Mexican San Andres
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican (Corojo), Dominican (Double Ligero), Nicaraguan (Habano Seed)
MSRP: $10.00
Caldwell was one of the first brands that got me into boutique cigars. Something about the wild names and bands attracted me to them. After running through many different brands, finding new ones I love, and sticking with the firsts. Caldwell is tried and true. I look forward to each new release they drop, and hope they hold a flame to the original!
Visual Inspection: The wrapper on the BMB is absolutely beautiful, a dark cinnamon brown that is almost red in color. There are tons of veins present, and are very rustic, but do not take away from the quality of it. After squeezing the cigar, only one soft spot is revealed underneath the primary band, but nothing too concerning. Tooth is ample, but hidden by the color of the wrapper.
After v cutting, no splitting happened to the head cap, and a cold draw brings sweet notes of cinnamon, macadamia nuts, and charred wood. The draw is very ample, with no restrictions. The wrapper is putting off aromas of earth, baking spices, and the welcoming scent of a campfire
First Third: The BMB took flame very nicely, but started almost flavorless. Almost immediately, maybe 30 seconds in, flavors kicked into 6th gear. There is a chili pepper warmth that is very prevalent to the nose which is met with baker's chocolate, charred oak, gingerbread, and lingering baking spices. The cigar is smoking rather slowly, which is a nice change for me as I tend to be a very fast smoker.
The ash is flaking, it isn't firm and is speckled dark grey in color. With an ok burn line, I touched it up simply to make it look nicer. After retrohaling multiple times this third, the flavors have become very smooth, and almost sweet. Bringing an interesting, almost minty mouthfeel, that is met by a salty caramel. The Wrapper does not leave any bitter flavors on the lips.
Second Third: There is certainly solid complexity in this bad boy. Each third brings new flavors that come and go. The main flavor profile leans towards heavy charred oak, cinnamon, gingerbread, and a milk chocolate sweetness. A retrohale is completely void of spice, and brings stronger notes of cinnamon, and new notes of wheat bread. Despite the ash being flaky, it is very strong.
The burn line has stayed consistent after I first touched it up, as has the consistency of the ash. This is very close to a Blind Mans Bluff Maduro, but much sweeter to my palate. The charred flavors are really taking charge of the profile. I am a huge fan of the mix of charred wood and chocolate sweetness, it truly makes it come together. At the start of the cigar the retrohale was intimidating, but has now become something that is a necessity.
Last Third: Once again I find myself trying to identify new flavors that keep popping up. There is an almond butter note showing up. It is buttery, very smooth, and sweet, it blends very well with the salty caramel extremely well. Flavors are predominantly charred oak, dry earth, milk chocolate, baking spices, and salty caramel. If smoking quickly, whole wheat bread shows up stronger, otherwise it is quite mild.
Despite the rustic wrapper, the veins and character did not mess with the burn line or combustion. The almond butter shifted to a peanut butter flavor. There haven’t been any bitter or acrid flavors at any point of this cigar. The tooth is translating to the ash, but in the same capacity as before burning, it's there, and in ample amounts however it is subtle.
After the first hiccup with the burn line, the touch up fixed it entirely. It is beautiful and really adds to the integrity of the cigar. As this cigar comes to a close, huge flavors of peanut butter, charred oak, caramel, wheat bread, and chocolate are most prevalent. A final retrohale brings notes of cinnamon, and a touch of pepper.
Final Thoughts: I had very high hopes coming into the BMB and I was not let down. The flavors are complex and new sub notes arrive often. The blend of This is Trouble is vastly different from any other BMB, and brings the line together. I am very excited to see what else Caldwell can do with this line and I plan on buying a box while I can!
-Sam