Cigar Info
Last year, iHavanas released a house blend, the Aguila, produced in Nicaragua. iHavanas is mainly known for being one of the premier sellers of Cuban cigars, but with the growing interest in Europe for Nicaraguan cigars, iHavanas has brought out their own Nicaragua cigar for this new and growing fan base. Not much is known about the blend except that it’s a Nicaraguan blend. Aguila, means “eagle” in spanish; an eagle is prominently featured on the coat of arms and flag of Geneva, where iHavanas is based. Today we are reviewing the Aguila | Sublime.
This cigar was reviewed blind (no bands) by a panel of at least 4 reviewers. They did not know what they were smoking beforehand. The scores are an average of all the reviewers' scores with outliers removed. All of our cigars reviewed are shipped to the panelists with Boveda packs to ensure optimal smoking experience.
Aguila comes in three different vitolas: Robusto (4.9 x 50, $47 per box of 10), Sublime (6.5 x 54, $49 per box of 10), and Torpedo (6.1 x 52, $48 per box of 10). The tobaccos include an Ecuadorian wrapper, a Jalapa binder, and long-filler from Estelí.
Vital Stats:
Vitola: Toro
Length: 6″
Ring Gauge: 54
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Maduro Ecuador
Binder: Jalapa
Filler: Esteli
Factory: undisclosed
Blender: undisclosed
Number of reviewers: 5 – Eric (smalls29) Matthew T. (A Huge Nerd) Matt C. (Big Matt) Zane G. (Zane) Jason H. (Jokey Smurf)
Price: $5.00
Age: 7 Months
Release Date: August 2016
Contributed by: iHavanas.com
Initial Impressions
Appearance: 89
“Nice Medium Chocolate brown wrapper, triple cap, and lots of veins. Very rustic looking wrapper but tight invisible seams.” –Zane G. (Zane)
Aroma: 90
“Not that the aromas are bad, they are just very subtle hard to notice. The wrapper is just a mild tobacco aroma, while the foot has scents of molasses and cedar shavings. The cold draw almost has a hidden note of dried flowers.” –Matthew T. (A Huge Nerd)
First Third
Flavor: 89
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium-Full
“While I was greeted with a tangy, woody taste, I am having a hard time with the draw. It is very tight and makes it hard to get a good inhale. There are flavorful hints of chocolate and coffee but the predominant flavors are woods and spices. The spices have hints of cinnamon and nutmeg. I’m loving the complexity of this cigar thus far” –Eric (smalls29)
“This cigar starts off very well and we have vanilla, cream and mild cedar. There is a nice natural tobacco sweetness on the finish. However, after the first inch the flavors fall flat. As we proceed into this experience, enters earth, damp soil and damn Brazil nuts.. if you’ve ever eaten a Brazil nuts you’ll know what I’m talking about. I’m searching for the spice that I found prelight but it is not there. Finish is clean.” –Matt C. (Big Matt)
Second Third
Flavor: 88
Strength: Medium-Strong
Body/Complexity: Medium-Full
“The range of flavors remained consistent in the middle third, with just a few subtle additions. A little floral hint showed up, which was nice with the woody notes. Also, the dark molasses sweetness transitioned to a very light honey sweetness. The retrohale is still smooth and aromatic.” –Matthew T. (A Huge Nerd)
“The second portion of this large cigar presented a lessening of the stark flavors from the beginning and a noticeable decrease in the pepper through the sinuses. I still detected some of the charcoal flavors but instead of dark roasted wood, I’m now getting a hint of bourbon barrel. It’s really pretty nice. The espresso bean is gone and there is more of a milk coffee after taste.” –Jason H. (Jokey Smurf)
Final Third
Flavor: 86
Strength: Medium-Strong
Body/Complexity: Medium
“I was hoping for more of the same, but the flavor profile took a turn. Not a bad turn, but also not what I was expecting. Some pepper notes make a first appearance in this cigar in the final third. This is mixed with an interesting sour note. The sourness is not bad, but very unexpected. The retrohale ramps up a bit and tingles the nose more than the previous two thirds.” –Matthew T. (A Huge Nerd)
“The final third comes in with primary notes of leather with bitterness lingering in the background. No additional changes in the final third.” –Zane G. (Zane)
Overall Impressions
Draw: 87
“The draw was a little more snug than I prefer from non Cuban cigars.” –Matt C. (Big Matt)
Burn: 90
“Really no burn issues at all. The burn line wasn’t perfect and the ash didn’t look like the picture in a magazine, but I only had to light it once. That matters.” –Matthew T. (A Huge Nerd)
Construction: 89
“This was by all appearances a well constructed cigar…that being said, it did not handle the punch cutter well at all. As soon as the punch cut through the cap the cigar split all the way down to the band. The split went home all the way to the filler and definitely played a factor into the draw and smoke production. The ash was surprisingly weak…never growing to more than one half inch. It was frustrating as well…ending up on my lap at least twice.” –Jason H. (Jokey Smurf)
Overall Strength: Medium-Strong
Overall Body/Complexity: Medium-Full
Experience Overall: 86
“This would have been a great smoke if the flavors could have remained throughout. While I know it is not possible, the first two-thirds were great. The final third grew bitter with only a strong coffee flavor and at the end it went totally south. I tried to take it to the end but it grew to tart for me. However, the first two thirds were very nice. There was a nice balance of coffee, woods and spices. They balanced very nice and really complimented each other. Even though the end was not good, I would still enjoy this one again.” –Eric (smalls29)
“With flavors in the first and middle third that were pleasant and consistent, but not boring, I was really hoping the cigar would finish out the same way. Even though it didn’t, I can’t complain. While I didn’t enjoy the flavors as much at the end, they were not bad, I was just hoping for more of the good stuff from earlier. All in all, this one was pleasant and classic. One I would probably try to smoke again.” –Matthew T. (A Huge Nerd)
“Every cigar that I smoke I want to enjoy however this was not one of them. I had high hopes from the start as the cigar smelled fantastic prelight and tasted great for the first 3/4 inch.. but then the wheels fell off. I understand these are hand-rolled long filler cigars and lets just hope I just got a shitty sample.” –Matt C. (Big Matt)
“Cigar started out with some great notes of sweet cream which I really enjoyed. Cigar really fizzled in the last third with primary notes of leather and the cigar closing out with strong bitter notes.” –Zane G. (Zane)
“This was definitely a cigar of changes. I was a bit concerned with the intense start, not sure if I was up to the task…fortunately, the cigar settled into something that was not only reasonable, but was also interesting and kept me eager for the next puff. I don’t typically choose to smoke cigars of this size, but based upon the flavor range of this smoke, I could see myself reaching for this again in warmer weather. I’m intrigued for the reveal…” –Jason H. (Jokey Smurf)
Smoking Time (in minutes): 83
|
Reviewer
|
Appearance
|
Aroma
|
1/3
|
2/3
|
3/3
|
Draw
|
Burn
|
Constr.
|
Overall
Experience |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eric | 90 | 90 | 88 | 88 | 85 | 83 | 90 | 90 | 87 |
| Matthew T. | 88 | 85 | 90 | 88 | 85 | 87 | 90 | 90 | 87 |
| Matt C. | 85 | 90 | 85 | 83 | 78 | 85 | 90 | 85 | 83 |
| Zane G. | 90 | 95 | 90 | 88 | 85 | 95 | 88 | 90 | 87 |
| Jason H. | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 92 | 90 | 88 | 95 |
To view the complete scores and notes, click here.