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: Robusto
Length: 5″
Ring Gauge: 52
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Factory: La Zona
Blender: Erik Espinosa
Number of reviewers: 5—–Paul (pmr1010) Ron (shuckins) Gregg (McGreggor57) Wes (SosaCub4Life) Jason H. (Jokey Smurf)
Price: $6.50
Age: 2 Months Rest
Release Date: 2013
Contributed by: Arandoza Cigars
Initial Impressions
Appearance: 93
“This cigar is sporting a nice light brown shade wrapper with a bit of tooth. The seams are invisible as is the cap…very well applied. Also, there is only one small vein to be found in the wrapper…obviously the roller is quite selective in his wrapper choice.” – Jason H. (Jokey Smurf)
Aroma: 94
“Sometimes less is more. There is a faint aroma of leather mixed with sweet tobacco. The cold draw has an interesting mild licorice taste. Quite unexpected and tasty.” –Gregg (McGreggor57)
First Third
Flavor: 92
Strength: Medium-Strong
Body/Complexity: Medium
“A nice blast of peppery allspice on light up. A dry tasting cedar with a splash of coffee joined the mix soon after. This toned the pepper down enough to take the bite out of the cigar and allowed the flavors to blend well together.” –Ron (shuckins)
“A pretty healthy dose of pepper that clears my sinuses dominates the first half inch. The primary flavors seem to be sweet tobacco, light cedar and some anise on the finish.” –Gregg (McGreggor57)
Second Third
Flavor: 90
Strength: Medium-Strong
Body/Complexity: Medium
“Just about where the second third began I needed to touch up the cigar. The bitterness I detected in the first third became more of a baking spice flavor. There was a much creamier flavor developing as well, not as much as other cigars, but it worked well with the baking spices. The barnyard flavor in the retrohale was mostly gone now. The burn began to deteriorate and was becoming more uneven as the second third went on but the flavor was still very good.” –Paul (pmr1010)
“Cedar with coffee flavor is up front, joined by a little taste of cocoa that provides anise creaminess to the cigar. The allspice has a sweet taste to it, and along with a nice balance of pepper, it gives it a pleasant little kick. –Ron (shuckins)
Final Third
Flavor: 89
Strength: Medium-Strong
Body/Complexity: Medium-Full
“Sweet tasty cedar with light coffee and creamy cocoa flavors are up front as it nears the end. The allspice has turned to more of a nutmeg taste, but has kept most of the pepper flavor, which provides a helpful kick to the cigar at the very end.” –Ron (shuckins)
“The final third of this cigar remained quite strong, but not overpowering. The oak flavor was predominant but complimentary to the earth undertones. As the second cigar of the day, this fit the bill perfectly.” –Jason H. (Jokey Smurf)
Overall Impressions
Draw: 88
“The draw was a little tight at first, but opened up nicely about halfway in and provided plenty of smoke.” –Ron (shuckins)
Burn: 90
“I would have scored this higher but I did have to relight the stick once at the beginning of the last third. Overall, the burn line was excellent and it held a great ash.” –Wes (SosaCub4Life)
Construction: 95
“This cigar demonstrated top notch construction…it was pleasant to look at and also performed extremely well. I’m impressed, to say the least.” –Jason H. (Jokey Smurf)
Overall Strength: Medium-Strong
Overall Body/Complexity: Medium-Full
Overall Experience: 89
“I would say that if this cigar was maybe a little older or possibly just kept at a lesser rh it would be really great. It had flavors that I look for in the cigars that I usually buy.” –Paul (pmr1010)
“I enjoyed this cigar, although it wasn’t too dimensional, it still had some tasty flavors.” –Ron (shuckins)
“This was an enjoyable cigar that offered a nice transition of flavors. I was a bit let down at the end by the harsher baking spices but really like how the cigar mellowed in the middle while remaining flavorful.” –Gregg (McGreggor57)
“This stick started out great for me. Lots of great spice and was very enjoyable. The more I smoked, the more dry and hot it got. It dried my mouth out something fierce towards the end and I eventually had to put it down and not finish it to the nub due to that. It was a pleasant smoke, but I wish it had stayed more like the first third and not mellowed out and gotten so dry and hot. I had to drink a ton of water just to get through as far as I did.” –Wes (SosaCub4Life)
“This is a great cigar to end the day. Tons of deep flavors and superb performance. No extra aging needed for this cigar! Needless to say, I want more!” –Jason H. (Jokey Smurf)
Smoking Time (in minutes): 68
Total Score: 91 (Very Good)
| Reviewer | Appea-rance | Aroma | 1/3 | 2/3 | 3/3 | Draw | Burn | Constr. | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paul | 90 | 95 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 80 | 95 | 90 |
| Ron | 88 | 90 | 88 | 88 | 88 | 88 | 88 | 95 | 88 |
| Gregg | 95 | 93 | 90 | 90 | 88 | 88 | 90 | 90 | 88 |
| Wes | 93 | 95 | 97 | 90 | 90 | 97 | 92 | 95 | 92 |
| Jason H. | 95 | 95 | 95 | 92 | 92 | 97 | 97 | 95 | 95 |
| Overall | 93 | 94 | 92 | 90 | 89 | 88 | 90 | 95 | 89 |
To view the complete scores and notes, click here.