Cigar Info
Just before IPCPR 2017, Cubariqueño Cigar Company unveiled its third blend, Protocol Themis. The name, Themis, is in line with the company’s law enforcement theme, with partners Bill Ives and Juan Cancel both as law enforcement officers. It also pays tribute to William Agathis, a managing partner with Greek decent. Protocol Themis pays homage to the Lady of Justice symbol. Themis, from ancient Greek mythology, was the Titan goddess of divine law and order – the traditional rules of conduct, first established by the gods.
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.
Agathis worked with Hector Alfonso Sr. to blend this cigar. Production is at Erik Espinosa’s La Zona factory in Estelí, Nicaragua with the other blends. Themis is available in two sizes, a round 5 x 52 Robusto and a 6 x 52 Toro, also rounded. Themis is elegantly wrapped in a Equdorian Connecticut leaf. Its all-Nicaraguan filler is bound by a Nicaraguan binder. The robusto sells for $9.69 and the Toro $9.89. Both vitolas are available in boxes of 10.
Vital Stats:
Vitola: Toro
Length: 6″
Ring Gauge: 52
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Connecticut
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Factory: La Zona
Blender: Juan Cancel, Bill Ives, Erik Espinosa, Hector Alfonso Sr.
Number of reviewers: 5 – Ryan H. (Ryan H.) Matthew T. (A Huge Nerd) John A. (John A.) Zane G. (Zane) Ashley C. (Ashley C.)
Price: $9.89
Age: 6 Months
Release Date: May 2017
Contributed by: Cubariqueño Cigar Co.
Initial Impressions
Appearance: 92
“Pretty seamless and minimal veins with a triple cap.” –Ashley C. (Ashley C.)
Aroma: 88
“Leather and spices through the nose and mustiness on the cold draw.” –John A. (John A.)
First Third
Flavor: 91
Strength: Mild-Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium
“The first light had me a little worried. It was almost acrid in nature, but that dissipated immediately. The plentiful smoke output was giving me a great combo of black pepper, black tea, and cinnamon. As the cigar warmed, something that reminded me of kettle corn joined the flavor profile.” –Matthew T. (A Huge Nerd)
“Lots of pepper on the first puff for both on the tongue and through the retro-hale. Getting some dried fruit with white pepper on the finish. Quickly changes to a nice nuttiness to go with the pepper. A lot going on for a Connecticut. Not the typical flavor profile. Still tons of spice on the retro.” –Zane G. (Zane)
Second Third
Flavor: 90
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium
“Starting to lean towards camp fire woodiness. Still very enjoyable” –Ryan H. (Ryan H.)
“Going into the second third I was able to pick up some slight spice. Reminded me a lot of an all spice flavor. Still not much excitement going on for me in this smoke.” –Ashley C. (Ashley C.)
Final Third
Flavor: 89
Strength: Mild-Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium
“In the final third the bitterness picks up but quickly fades to some sweet cream coming in with some fairly strong sweetness. Get a small amount of Hay/Grass in the background.” –Zane G. (Zane)
“Going into the final third there was still some of that all spice kick that quickly mellowed back out into a earthy and hay like flavor.” –Ashley C. (Ashley C.)
Overall Impressions
Draw: 97
“It was a nice resistance with great smoke output on every puff.” –Matthew T. (A Huge Nerd)
Burn: 92
“No burn issues at all. Burned perfectly even and zero relight or touch ups needed.” –Ashley C. (Ashley C.)
Construction: 91
“Cigar performed well from first light to last puff.” –Zane G. (Zane)
Overall Strength: Mild-Medium
Overall Body/Complexity: Medium
Experience Overall: 91
“Would be a nice cigar to have a few laying around but not box worth in my opinion” –Ryan H. (Ryan H.)
“The smell from the foot before I fired it up had me a little worried, but this cigar was really nice to smoke. It had plenty of smoke output, and that smoke was filled with a really nice combination of flavors that I would gladly seek out again.” –Matthew T. (A Huge Nerd)
“If you were a pepper fiend this is the cigar for you! For a light to medium profile it was an easy smoker that did not go bitter at all. I would’ve liked to see other flavors rear their head however the intense pepper throughout the smoke prevented that. This would be a great cigar for kicking around or enjoying after one or two good sticks.” –John A. (John A.)
“This cigar surprised me right out of the gate with a bit of unexpected spice. The first third was where this cigar really hit it’s stride. The flavors started to mute themselves throughout the second third. I really didn’t get a ton of hay/grass that I typically expect from this type of cigar.” –Zane G. (Zane)
“For me this was a pretty bland cigar just as one would expect from a Connecticut. This wouldn’t be a go to smoke for me. Perhaps something to suggest for a newbie to smoking cigars.” –Ashley C. (Ashley C.)
Smoking Time (in minutes): 88
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Reviewer
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Apr
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Aro
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1/3
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2/3
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3/3
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Draw
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Burn
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Const
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Ovr
All |
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| Ryan H. | 92 | 83 | 90 | 88 | 90 | 95 | 92 | 90 | 92 |
| Matthew T. | 85 | 88 | 92 | 92 | 90 | 97 | 90 | 90 | 92 |
| John A. | 90 | 88 | 88 | 88 | 88 | 90 | 90 | 88 | 88 |
| Zane G. | 90 | 90 | 92 | 88 | 88 | 95 | 95 | 95 | 88 |
| Ashley C. | 95 | 95 | 85 | 92 | 88 | 100 | 100 | 97 | 95 |
To view the complete scores and notes, click here.