These cigars have gotten great reviews in Cigar Aficionado lately so when I saw a box in my local B&M I decided to pick up a few. The wrapper is beautiful and toothy. It smells a bit stinky, which is a good thing I’ve found, when it comes to flavor later on. Beyond the stinky, almost wet earth-like smell, comes chocolate and a little spice. Very pleasing on the nose.
When I cut the head of the cigar, I barely cut into the cap and it still immediately unravelled, leaving me a little perturbed. Little did I know this was only the beginning of the construction issues to follow.
The first third of the cigar tasted of tobacco, nuts, and hints of spice on the back palate. Then – as I was still puffing on this thing, mind you – this cigar extinguished itself. I’ve been smoking for over five years now and I have yet to experience a cigar with a plug so bad. I kept puffing in vain but the tobacco just wouldn’t burn. Pictured to the right is where it stopped. And things were just starting to get good!
I let the cigar cool off and then clipped it about an inch past the burn line and it was clear it was bunched so tight that the air was just not able to enter the center of the cigar for fueling the burn. I have two more of these so I will not jump to conclusions just yet. Perhaps this was a fluke. Although, even as a fluke, they have machines that test the airflow through the cigars before they package them that should have alerted them to a problem like this. Not sure if box-pressing played any part.
Oh well. For now, its a good tasting cigar with unsound construction.
Wrapper: Honduras
Binder: Connecticut
Filler: Nicaraguan, Honduran, and Dominican blend
This little cigar was quite a surprise. Lets start with the beautiful Honduran-grown Viso Rosado wrapper which was cultivated from the Jamastran Valley. Its reddish-brown, toothy, and visually beautiful. The draw was good, with just the hint of drag. It is medium sized and medium bodied, with heavy leather notes for the first inch or so accompanied by subtle nutty, spicy undertones. This cigar burns perfectly, nice and slow. About midway this cigar begins to open up, the leather begins to fade into the background and the nutty, cedary tones really come out, with that same tickle of spice on the back of the palette. The ash is peppered white and holds strong till the halfway point. The finish brings back the original leather note but the spicy undertones that were present throughout the cigar come on strong and keep building until the last puff. This smoke is really fantastic, and CHEAP! At a little under $5 a stick, you really can’t complain. Overall, very pleased.