Today Punch and Draw punch and draw the miniature, Papi Chulo, a petit corona version (4 x 42) of the fledgling HN line from Room 101 and manage to stay pretty well on topic.

Draw: Let us examine this Room 101 HN Papi Chulo. Mine has a bright, citrus scent. No, not just citrus, but grape. Grape juice. Very bright, fruity, and sweet. The wrapper is a beautiful Colorado Claro or Colorado, with a burnished look which highlights the texture of the wrapper. A double-cap covers a touch of roughness at one place on the shoulder; otherwise, construction is superb.

P: Yes. I, too get some Welches. And don’t forget the alfalfa. We may not want to like this one. There were only 20,000 of these made. I’m going to cut this one instead of punching like I usually do. This stick is so small, a cut won’t make a much bigger opening than the punch, and is not so likely to split it.

D: I used my small punch, and it punched alright.

P: Wow! The cold draw is bizarre. Sweet and fruity, like the wrapper.

D: Yes, and malted wheat. Grape-Nuts™. Mild flavor of Grape-Nuts. Quite unexpected considering the reviews found elsewhere.

P: Toasting brought out some additional flavors, like… … … beats me. Maybe an alcohol flavor – making the grape taste like wine, and some of that skunk aroma they put in perfume. (Seriously. In case you didn’t already know; here is an article about skunk spray being used in perfume.)

D: My toasting revealed leather, for one. Rawhide, I think.

P: But I got this thing out to smoke, so Imagonna light it up.

D: Wow. This is bold. Warm fruit brandy is on the attack. The middle is full of spices like an authentic multi-course Mexican meal, and creamy green-chile on the finish. Mmm. I haven’t had lunch yet, and I’m ready to devour this HN cigar! On the aftertaste, I have the leather, and grape-whang at the back of my throat.

P: Oooo. Yeah. Like that whole meal in one bite. And the flavor that hit me on the first full draw is strong and so complex I’ve got no chance of describing it before it settled down with the next draw.

D: The mouthful of smoke is thin, and it readily swirls into a frolicking mass on the exhale… into my clothes that are STILL HANGING ON THE LINE BESIDE ME! Arrgh! Cigars International tells that the ‘H’ stands for Honduran Criollo ligero, which brings to the table ample richness and layers of spice. The ‘N’ stands for the Dominican region of Navarette. Located near the coast, this tobacco produces characteristics of cream and natural sweetness.

P:  I recognize some pepper, and there’s some bitterness on the finish – like when drinking tonic water, and there is some of that skunk lingering, too. The pepper lingers in the back of the throat for quite a while. And this puts out a lot of smoke – when drawing – not necessarily from the foot.

D: I’m trying not to rush this thing, because there’s so little of it to enjoy, and because I don’t want run-away tunneling. These were provided to us by Matt Booth and his staff at the Room 101 booth at the Rocky Mountain Cigar Festival (RMCF) – straight out of a box, sans cellophane – and of all the cigars I brought back from RMCF, this one was probably treated most poorly. That’s too bad, as it is not the way you want to treat a papi chulo.

P: At about half-way I’m already starting to feel the effects of this bad-boy. The flavor strength has tamed down to a sane level and is less exotic – earthy leather with spice on the finish.

D: For me, the middle is settling down to the main course, peppered steak. It spontaneously went out on both of us, and I note that after clearing some ash and restoking it, I’m missing much of the middle! This…this is nice. Just starting to feel it abit.

P: I’ll have to save up for these, but can’t wait too long, as they are limited to 20,000 total – just 400 boxes. I’m not too sure I am a fan of such short cigars, but, I guess I should welcome the opportunity for moderation. It’s just that, when you leave a half-inch of this HN Papi Chulo as a nub, that’s a significant percentage of the total length left unsmoked!

D: Indeed. I notice it doesn’t idle well once I pass half-way, and relighting the last third is a real pain. No really, it’s painful. I need to invest in a proper tool… or develop better callouses on my fingertips. In the last third, the flavors are mellowing toward cream overall and the inevitable cedar starting to slip in.

P: Yeah, I’m thinking the last third, which is the nub on this size, is unremarkable. Maybe that’s the trick to smoking it: take it down to the band and move on? I was going to comment that the cedar which usually comes on strong near the end many of the cigars I’ve smoked is conspicuously absent, and that allows for an appreciation of the other flavors which the cedar usually drowns out..

D: Agreed. I’m trying to do short, slow puffs to keep it alive and keep the heat down. I do get a hint of other flavors from puff-to-puff – this last puff had some floral fruitiness again. If I had a box of these, I’d probably not try to nub them. At that, I’m down to just under three-quarters an inch, and that’s all that my fat fingers can safely hold.

Burn it or Spurn it?

P: No spurnage from me. This Room 101 is a freaky little novelty act that is quite enjoyable. I recommend for anyone to get one – or several – of these and try to figure it out without making the room spin.

D: Burn it. And love it. The HN Papi Chulos are powerfully delicious little packages that remind one that all is not bad in the world. Let your Mac Daddy shower you with these gifts – you probably deserve it.