The Edge A-10 is long overdue as the brand celebrated its anniversary last year. But much like most of the cigar industry, things never seem to happen on time. The cigar features a barber pole style wrapper that puts together the two wrappers of the original Edge Corojo and Edge Maduro.
Cigar: Rocky Patel The Edge A-10
Size: 6 x 52 (Toro)
Wrapper: Honduras / Costa Rica (Dual Wrapper)
Binder: Honduras
Filler: Nicaragua, Panama
Strength: Medium
Source: Rocky Patel
The Look: For me barber pole cigars have always been a gimmick, with more of them being a miss than a hit. In an essence, it creates a cigar that is bi-polar in nature. Upon looking at the cigar, the color combination of the two wrappers is more inviting then most other barber poles, as the contrast looks different with a more robusto Corojo wrapper against the maduro. In fact it reminds me of a stick-ball bat from the old neighborhood. The band utilizes colors of forrest green and a silver background with silver text that is embossed. While the band is at the foot, I moved it up to a tradition spot for the smoking photograph.
The Notes: Once the cigar is clipped the cold draw takes me back to my old cigar shop in Brooklyn, where at one type we sold more Edges than anyone else in the city. While for me the cigar has changed over the last ten years there is a memory attached to it. The notes are woody, and sweet while the foot serves up some cedar notes.
Once the cigar is lit there is some spice on the palate, saltiness on the lips and hints of grass and wheat. As the cigar progress some sweetness develops, but not enough of it to put my finger on a specific note.
In the second third of The Edge A-10 some notes of cinnamon begin to develop with some notes of wood. The sweetness that developed in the first third of the cigar still lingers in the background but has yet to show itself.
The final third continues down the road of the first two third with some spices and wood. The sweetness disappears and an earthy component rounds out the finish of the The Edge A-10.
The Burn: The dual wrappers of the barber pole style cigar burn in unison. The thin combustion line of the cigar reveals a marble colored ash that has some flake and hold on for almost an inch at a time. The draw was perfect, and it remained lit from first light to last puff.
The Finish: It’s amazing how we can’t always go home again. For me The Edge was a go to cigar over a period of a couple of years. However, over time I transitioned away from the brand and I was looking forward to smoking this. I expected some more complexity but the cigar was straight forward. While I enjoyed it, I realized that a cigar that was hot 10 years ago may not carry that same stature today. I would pick up a few of these for the nostalgia purposes but that is as far as I would personally go.
Score: 89
Price: $7.50
Rocky Patel The Edge A-10
Rocky Patel The Edge A-10 Foot
Rocky Patel The Edge A-10 Burn
