This excerpt was taken from the Total Flame website…
In 2010, the first goal was accomplished. Total Flame Cigars was born. Vlad and Max traveled to the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua to develop their perfect blend. Smoking up to 30 cigars a day, over a period of many months, when they were finally satisfied and were convinced their cigar was the best.
They went back to Russia to set up the company that would distribute and sell the cigars to begin with, exclusively in Russia. With their small but effective team, they have managed to be one of the top recognized cigar companies to ever come out of Russia.
Total Flame Bright Line Breakdown
Sizes
- World Trip – 6.5 x 56 (TF 56)
- Custom – 7 x 47 (Churchill)
- Old School – 6 x 52 (Torpedo)
- Bobber – 5 x 60 (Super Robusto)
- 8 Ball – 4 x 52 (Preferidos)
Blend
- Wrapper: Connecticut
- Binder: Nicaragua / Mexico
- Filler: Nicaragua / Dominican Republic
- Strength: Mild
- Flavor: Med/Full
The other day I was sitting in my local B&M (The Man Cave Cigar Lounge) when the owner Cliff O’Quinn invited me over to the poker table to meet a nice young lady, Kassie Jones. Once I got to the table, I was introduced to Kassie who is the Rep for a fairly new cigar company Total Flame Cigars which is based in Amarillo Texas. Kassie then introduced me to the Total Flame line up which consisted of The Dark Line, The Bright Line, The FTW and Nicaragua.
Kassie gifted me a few cigars out of the line up and asked me to give them a try and let her know what I thought. At that, I opened a small perfecto shaped cigar from the Bright Line called the 8 Ball.
At first I didn’t think I would get much out of the 8 Ball, being that it was a Connecticut shade cigar and just prior to that I had been smoking one of my usual powerhouse sticks. Man was I wrong!
The smell of the cigar out of the wrapper was sweet tobacco and not much else. I cut the end and gave it a little pre light puff. The pre light flavor was sweet and salty. The cigar had a great appearance with minimal veins and a beautiful caramel color. The band was beautiful with gold and maroon colors and the company name surrounded by a V-Twin motorcycle engine and motto – Life’s Short, Do it Hard, with holographic flames. At that I decided to fire it up and twist the throttle.
Upon light up, I got a blast of white pepper with sweetness bouncing off the tip of my tongue. Man, it was a ton of flavor not usually found in a light cigar.
Once I opened the throttle, the first third of the 8 Ball was like a smoking tire in a burnout pit! It gave me a mouthful of chewy smoke with white pepper, cream, a nutty flavor I associate with cashew and a cedar zing. This little cigar is a flavor bomb!
The second third had the pepper subsiding, giving way to the cream and nut flavors of the first third. The retrohale was super smooth with just the slightest hint of pepper. The finish was sweet and salty and stayed on till each following puff.
As I took this little cigar through the gears, I had several changes in the profile with the nut, cream and cedar trading places up front with just the perfect mix of pepper to keep it interesting.
The final third saw a return of the pepper creeping up with the other flavors. It was a pleasant surprise and a great finish. The ash held to the nub at a little over three inches. The construction was rock solid.
The 8 Ball is a fairly quick smoke and lasted about 45 minutes. This time frame could be cut down if I was in hurry but I nursed this one a little to try to get the full profile of the blend.
Would I smoke this cigar again?
In two words…… Hell Yes! I consider this to be a box worthy cigar. Better still, the 8 Ball is like finding that rare bike or car in a barn for a great price, selling for just $5.00 a stick!
Short Link:
- Pretty complex for price
- Fun size
- Quick burner
- Hard to find
- Can get harsh when heated
