Care for some cow tongue?! I'll take a pass on that too. Jamaican Cow Tongue tobacco is a different story though. It's a tobacco that has been cultivated in the Jamaican hills since the indigenous Arawak farmed it in the same region. Nick Melillo says on the Foundation website "Most people don't know this, but Jamaica has a long history of growing tobacco that rivals Cuba." Honestly, I fell into that "most people" category as I had never heard of Jamaican Cow Tongue ( a.k.a. Silver Tongue) or any other from the country. Foundation integrated the leaf into the line The Upsetters. The different vitolas have various wrappers, but the binder & filler remain the same, although ratios are adjusted accordingly. There is also another unique characteristic to The Upsetters line and it's called "Caribbean Atmospheric Herbal Fusion". Sounds pretty darn cool, although I can find no real information about what that even means. Infused cigars are not typically in my wheelhouse, but let's put the pillar of flame to it and see what's up.
The Deets
Cigar: Foundation The Upsetters Django
Origin: Estelí, Nicaragua
Factory: Undisclosed
Size: 5 x 54
Wrapper: Sumatra
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Jamaican Cow Tongue, Nicaraguan
Appearance 9/10
If anyone was unware that The Upsetters are infused they'd be promptly notified once removing the cellophane. Boom! Pow! Biff! The spicy pine-cedar aroma is a full blown uppercut to the senses. I couldn't decide if I liked it, so it required about a dozen huffs. Still unsure. Sniff it again...This is a good looking cigar though, as Foundation usually puts out. No vein bumps whatsoever, very clean cap, seamless wrap, and the bands were applied perfectly. The wrapper has a minor fuzzy feel which is cool. There were a few wrapper bruises or blemishes, but outside of that things were on point.
Draw 9/10
The beginning did require more suction power than I'd like. I made a few surgical pokes and it it was just right once I was approaching the end of the 1st third. Smooth sailing from there on out.
Burn/Construction 7/10
Ya know, butane isn't all that expensive, but it's still annoying to have to blast through an entire torch's tank of fuel to keep things from going berserk. As you can see from the pics, the burn started way lopsided. It got better by the end, but that is only because I was breathing dragon fire on it the whole time. The final ash & burn line was looking nice until I fumbled it before the picture.
Taste 8/10
1/3 - Yup, Django certainly went through whatever the hell Caribbean Atmospheric Herbal Infusion is. A bright and pungent spicy pine/cedar is all up in your face. Sweet floral and incense are the tag-team partners and they're doing a number on the palate. After the first handful of puffs some marshmallow appears along with rich tobacco.
2/3 - After the initial flurry of punches, the flavors simmer down a bit and become more harmonious. A pleasant charred caramel is present, but the overall profile is still sweet. Reminds me a little of Factory Sweet (which I don't care for). Cinnamon rolls tumble in occasionally. The wood/floral/incense team is still very much there, but aren't so loud.
3/3 - I found the final third the best when warm, rich tobacco moves forward. Floral has gone home, but incense continues to be a part of it. A softness blankets the palate on the finish which is a nice transition. The bright pine/cedar has morphed into dark smoky oak. Some puffs deliver a perfume sensation which I'm on the fence about.
Overall 8.3/10
This is a very different kind of smoke and will most certainly make some people gag upon first puff. For me though, I'm in the middle. I didn't love it by any means, but I was intrigued by the flavor profile and simply having something out of the box so to speak. There are great attributes about the cigar and for an infused smoke, it didn't seam one-dimensional. I don't see myself buying these outright, but if one lands in my humidor again I'd smoke it eventually. So to those who can't stand floral, incense, and sugar, stay away from this one. To the rest of ya, give it a shot. It could be that oddball changeup in your collection for when you 'be jammin'.
**Number of cigars smoked for the review: 1