Today I have the pleasure of reporting on one of the latest releases from Hiram Solomon cigars. This one is known as the Traveling Man. Considering all the traveling around the world I’ve done this past year, it seemed appropriate that I would sit in my homestead and enjoy this in quiet solitude. The company released the Traveling Man at this years IPCPR and I was there to talk to Fouad Kashouty, Founder and CEO of the company.
Hiram Solomon Traveling Man
Not being a Mason myself, I asked about the name Traveling Man and why it was chosen. You see Masons, back in the day, used to travel from job to job. In fact Master Masons would travel great distances because of their experience they could find work. Today, a Master Mason is one who seeks the light, that is Travels from West to East. Seeking the light is synonymous to seeking knowledge. So the more one travels the more knowledge, information and understanding they have.
Hiram Solomon Traveling Man
I suppose you could say that Hiram Solomon has been traveling and learning about the art and craft of cigars, sharing that knowledge with all they come in contact with. They started with the basics, the Entered Apprentice, Fellowcraft, and Master Mason. Now they have added the Traveling Man, the Veiled Prophet, and the Shriner.
Take a journey with me as I break down the Hiram Solomon Traveling Man Cigar
Introduced in 2016, the Hiram Solomon Traveling Man cigar comes in 3 vitolas:
- Robusto: (5 x 50)
- Churchill: (7 x 48)
- Torpedo: (6 x 52)
It has an Ecuadoran Sumatra wrapper and Dominican filler and binder.
Hiram Solomon Traveling Man
The band of the Traveling Man is Purple instead of the Blue Bands and Black Footers on the previous blends. On the bottom of the band there is the following inscription “2B1 SK1“. The Masonic Symbol separates the 2B1 from the SK1. If you decode that and let the symbol be the letter “A” it explains all about the Traveling Man – “To Be One, Ask One”. That is exactly what a Mason will do to identify their association, they ask “Are you a Traveling Man?”
Lets move on with this journey shall we?
For this review I sampled the Traveling Man Torpedo.
Cigar Review Notes
- Heavily marbled wrapper
- Cocoa and raisin on the foot with a sweet fermented barrel
- Cold draw is nicely open – I cut back to give it a 1/4 inch opening
- Some black pepper on my lips and tongue
- Firing it up there is an early pepper burst
- Pepper fades to the background after a half-inch
- The ash is light grey and solid and rests on a medium char line
- Dry cocoa powder and cherry appear
- Smoke volume is full
- Cherry builds quickly coating the palate
- Cream enters, wrapping the cherry – I have to say it is like a cherry Nougat
- Wrapper is beading up with oils
- Ash falls after the first third revealing a flat and centered burn cone
- Spicy aroma begins to develop
- The spice enters the profile midway through the second third
- Cherry is predominate and has a long finish
- Medium to full strength
- Retro-hale is fairly smooth by the end of the 2nd third with a slight pepper spice
- Sweet almond note developing
- The spice builds through the final
Overall, the Hiram Solomon Traveling Man was a delightful smoke. It had terrific flavor with a solid core of cherry and spice. The cocoa and almond were an added bonus. The burn was issue-less adding to the almost 2 hours of smoking pleasure.
Hiram Solomon Traveling Man