Vital Stats:
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.
Vitola: Belicoso
Length: 5.5″
Ring Gauge: 55
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Oscuro
Binder: Jalapa
Filler: Ometepe, Condega and Estelí
Factory: AJ Fernandez
Blender: AJ Fernandez
Number of reviewers: 5—–Sandeep (Djangos) Jiunn (jliu) Wes (SosaCub4Life) Dave (mdwest) Robert (NavyPiper)
Price: $5.90
Age: 4 Months
Release Date: July 2014
Contributed by: AJ Fernandez
Initial Impressions
Appearance: 91
“A good looking box press Torpedo. Chocolate brown in color, dull with no sheen. Seams are tight and well blended. Torpedo head/cap looks good, coming to a pointed tip. No wrinkles or blemishes noticeable on wrapper.” –Robert (NavyPiper)
Aroma: 91
“Great aroma of coffee and chocolate are present, and on the dry puff, the very same flavors are present with some pepper and cinnamon.” –Sandeep (Djangos)
First Third
Flavor: 88
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium
“Bitter chocolate and leather are the predominant flavors in the first third, and the stick produces a fairly high volume of nice creamy smoke. Not a bad start at all.” –Dave (mdwest)
“Started of with a powerful pepper blast for a couple of minutes, then eased up. Flavors are wood (Oak, I think) and mild pepper. There’s a slight harshness and bitterness that kind of reminds me of what you’d experience being around a brush fire- only way I can really describe it. It’s not overbearing to the point of being distracting, but it’s close.” –Robert (NavyPiper)
Second Third
Flavor: 89
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium
“The middle third is slightly more complex than the initial third with the appearance of a cedar and sawdust like quality along with the leather and tobacco. The pepper is still present in each puff and adds to the complexity. No issues still with the draw and burn.” –Sandeep (Djangos)
“During the second third, the spice has really settled down. It’s still there, but now in the background. The creamy side of the flavors have now come out. There’s almost a bit of chewyness to it. Every now and then you get just a pinch of sweetness.” –Wes (SosaCub4Life)
Final Third
Flavor: 89
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium
“Final third mainly tells the same core notes of the first and second third (red thai chili, leather, cedar). In addition to those core flavors, I get a good amount of non-sweet cream mixed in. Oddly, I enjoy it.” –Jiunn (jliu)
“And the spice returns. The last third has been a great combination of the first two. Nice balance of spicy and creamy with little hints of sweetness. This last third is right in my wheelhouse. Very enjoyable.” –Wes (SosaCub4Life)
Overall Impressions
Draw: 96
“Close to perfect draw. Not too tight, not too loose, just right!” –Jiunn (jliu)
Burn: 97
“Combustion was consistent from start to finish, and a reasonably straight burn line was maintained the entire time with no touch ups required.” –Dave (mdwest)
Construction: 92
“The overall construction has been great. Just from the appearance, it looked well constructed and it smoked the same. Great burn. Held a great ash. Produced a good amount of smoke.” –Wes (SosaCub4Life)
Overall Strength: Medium
Overall Body/Complexity: Medium
Overall Experience: 88
“Overall, the cigar was a pleasant experience with a decent level of complexity. The predominant flavors are that of leather, tobacco and cedar. There is also a decent amount of pepper that persists throughout the cigar. I would definitely smoke this one again, but no super premium.” –Sandeep (Djangos)
“Overall, this cigar was very good. I find it odd I enjoyed it. I typically do not like very spicy ligero bombs but this one was different. It’s not the typical black or white pepper spice. The thai chilis made it very unique, especially whilst inter-playing with the cedar and leather. I guess sometimes I just need that nice blast in the face. I would purchase a fiver of these for those face blast times.” –Jiunn (jliu)
“This has been a very good cigar for me. The middle third got a bit boring but then it picked back up and ended in great fashion with everything in perfect balance. Spicy, creamy and some sweetness. Overall, a great cigar.” –Wes (SosaCub4Life)
“Overall, this was a pretty one dimensional stick with nice flavors, but not very pronounced, and with very limited changes or transitions. Not a bad experience at all, but nothing “wowed” me along the way.” –Dave (mdwest)
“I probably would have enjoyed it more except for the harshness and bitterness that it had. I didn’t care much for the flavor profile. The pepper is always good, but the wood smoke just wasn’t doing it for me. Not saying it’s a poor flavor profile, it just didn’t trip my trigger this time.” –Robert (NavyPiper)
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Smoking Time (in minutes): 84
| Reviewer | Appearance | Aroma | 1/3 | 2/3 | 3/3 | Draw | Burn | Constr. | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sandeep | 92 | 95 | 88 | 90 | 90 | 97 | 97 | 92 | 90 |
| Jiunn | 88 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 97 | 95 | 95 | 90 |
| Wes | 97 | 90 | 97 | 92 | 97 | 97 | 97 | 97 | 95 |
| Dave | 90 | 92 | 88 | 88 | 88 | 85 | 88 | 90 | 85 |
| Robert | 90 | 88 | 88 | 85 | 88 | 90 | 88 | 90 | 85 |
To view the complete scores and notes, click here.
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