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It was one year ago on this day that I first smoked the Paul Stulac Phantom. At the time Paul Stulac was a relatively unknown retailer from Nova Scotia who was just getting his feet wet in the handmade cigar biz. Since then, he’s expanded upon his original line with three additional blends, all of which have garnered nearly unanimous praise from the blogosphere, and the cigar public at large. For today’s review I decided it was high time I re-visited Stulac’s full-bodied boutique stogie portfolio, this time with one I hadn’t previously sampled, the Red Screaming Sun Robusto (5×54.)
The RSS wore a mottled brown broadleaf wrapper with a fair amount of tooth and a neatly-applied triple cap up top, and was adorned with a red and gold band sporting the Paul Stulac skull, wings, and weapons-laden logo that would have been a big hit with any number of 80’s metal bands. As with all Stulac’s stogies, construction was super solid. Pre-light draws were very firm but gave off a slightly sweet taste of cedary tobacco and left a little spice on the lips.
The cigar kicked off with flavors of unsweetened cocoa and a decent amount of red/black pepper. The draw was a little tight for my taste, but not enough to hinder the smoke. The burn-line was off to a slight lean, but again, nothing too crazy. By the time I was an inch into the Red Screaming Sun I was already feeling its full-bodiedness significantly. The burn had straightened out and a strong note of leather and a little bit of butter piped up just before I burned into the 2nd third.
A bit further in the smoke gained a new smoothness while maintaining its spicy zing.Cocoa, cedar, and leather mingled together creating a hearty “base” flavor while components of cream and pepper worked as accents. After about 2 ¾” inches the nice fat ash that had been building finally dropped off.
In the last third the flavors stayed consistent for the most part and were joined by a slight malty sweetness. This was one of those rare instances where the cigar’s final 3rd was actually the creamiest and smoothest. With just over an inch to spare I decided it was time to let this stick go.
The Red Screaming Sun delivered in all the essential departments. It had a mostly even burn, medium complexity, and deep flavors that came across nice and smooth from start to finish. Its kick-ass bold intro eventually tapered off to a great balance, and in the end left very little aftertaste. I award the Paul Stulac Red Screaming Sun Robusto a grade of B+. I have yet to smoke a Stulac creation I didn’t appreciate.