The Cigar Clowns are at it again. Just in time for Halloween they are releasing the Albert Von Blount aka “AVB” which is the actual name of the headless horseman. The Headless Horseman is a mythical figure who has appeared in folklore around the world since the Middle Ages. The figure is traditionally depicted as a man upon horseback who is missing his head. The Headless Horseman is a fictional character from the 1820 short story “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” by American author Washington Irving.
The Headless Horseman is also a novel by Mayne Reid, first published in monthly serialized form during 1865 and 1866, and subsequently published as a book in 1866, based on the author’s adventures in the United States. “The Headless Horseman” or “A Strange Tale of Texas” was set in Texas and based on a south Texas folk tale.
The Albert Von Blount cigar is expressed in a (6 x 52) toro vitola and is described as a Nicaraguan Puro.
The cool part of this release is that there is what is described as a “trick or treat” mix of construction. It was blended in a way that they asked the factory to have some closed foot mixed in to the batches. (Same Blend). So any order you put in may get you a mix of closed or open foot.
I was told that some LCA shops picked these up, but not all, so you may have to hunt these down, going door to door looking for the treat.
The Clowns have planned the official release for this on Friday October 22nd.
I received 2 samples of the Cigar Clowns Albert Von Blount for the purpose of reviewing on Stogie press. One was a open foot and the other a closed foot.
Pre-Light Examination
The Cigar Clowns Albert Von Blount sports a marbled and blotchy, dark brown wrapper, that has a light tooth to it and has a slight oily sheen. The cigar is fairly well packed with a just a slight give when squeezed along the barrel. There a few veins that run through the barrel. A double cap completes the presentation along with a closed foot on some.
A single band adorns the ciagr using an image of the headless horseman riding his horse and holding a clowns head in his hand. The name “CIGAR CLOWNS” is printed on the bottom.
Cigar Clowns Albert Von Blount 
Cigar Clowns Albert Von Blount
Running the cigar along the nose, I picked up a pungent fermented leaf and spice aroma along the barrel and rich chocolate notes off the foot that reminded me of the smell of brownies baking in the oven. The aroma has me wanting my wife bake some brownies for desert tonight at #DiaVitaBistro.
I used my double blade cutter to slice the cap straight across the shoulder and proceeded to give it some cold draw puffs. I found the cold draw on the open foot sample to be a tad open, while the closed foot was naturally restricted. The draw offered a decent amount of peppery notes but if you puff a little more you will get a hint of chocolate which reminds me of black peppered truffles.
With the pre-light intriguing my senses, I reached for my double flame torch to warm the foot to an even orange glow and drew in the first puffs of mild pepper. Follow along as I burn the Cigar Clowns Albert Von Blount to ash.
Cigar Review Notes
- Mild pepper to start
- Decent volume of smoke
- White ash forms on top of a medium thick char line
- Light chocolate notes add to the early profile
- Barrel gets a bit squishy
- Ash fell in a nice chunk reveling a well formed burn cone
- Natural sweetness smooths out the profile
- The blend is creating an excellent salivation on the palate
- Slight wave in the burn
- Black cherry note adds a nice dimension moving into the second third
- Mild spice enters with a continued under core of sweetness
- Earthiness adds to the mix midway
- Strength ratchets up as does the strength
- Medium to full in strength
- Total smoking time was 1 hour and 40 minutes
Final Analysis
The Cigar Clowns Albert Von Blount was a pleasant medium to full strength smoking experience with a nicely balanced array of flavors. I especially enjoyed the black cherry and sweetness notes in the second third which added a great dimension to the early chocolate notes. The profile was the same in both the open and closed foot formats. The burn did have a slight wave now and then and the barrel got a bit squishy after the first third. I suggest picking up a five pack when they go on sale which should be available at some LCA shops. I rate this a 92.
Point Deductions: (-1) Mild Wave; (-1) Barrel gets a tad squishy;
