Blind Cigar Review: Espinosa | 601 La Bomba Napalm

Blind Cigar Review: Espinosa | 601 La Bomba Napalm

Blind Cigar Review: Espinosa | 601 La Bomba NapalmCigar Info

La Bomba comes from La Zona and Erik Espinosa, is ressed in a dark, oily Nicaraguan Habano wrapper, and full of extra fermented, extra feisty Nicaraguan ligero long-fillers. Normally regarded as one of the strongest cigars on the market, I wanted to see what our panel thought of this cigar after a few years of aging.

The blend consists of an all-Nicaraguan long filler & binder core rolled in a savory Habano wrapper leaf. If you love lots’a Ligero, you’ll enjoy this explosive, extra-strength smoke in a Nicaraguan puro format. Presented in boxes of 10 cigars spanning several popular sizes, La Bomba is chock full of dark, spicy tobacco flavor.

Blind Cigar Review: Espinosa | 601 La Bomba NapalmVital Stats:

Vitola: Robusto
Length: 5″
Ring Gauge: 52
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Habano
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Factory: La Zona
Blender: Erik Espinosa
Number of reviewers: 0 – Mickey T. (irratebass) Eric (smalls29) Derek (StogieNinja) Kevin S. (KBS1153)
Price: $7.60
Age: 2 Years 5 Months
Release Date: 2014
Contributed by: Blind Man’s Puff

Blind Cigar Review: Espinosa | 601 La Bomba NapalmInitial Impressions

Appearance: 90

“A very nice looking robusto with a fuse tail. Appears well constructed, with a light brown wrapper. Nice tight seams, and a well-applied cap.” –Derek (StogieNinja)

Aroma: 88

“I am noting aromas of pepper and earthiness.” –Kevin S. (KBS1153)

First Third

Flavor: 93
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium

“With the 1st puff I get a bit of a smokey oak flavor, but surprisingly no spice/pepper. getting some peanuts on the retrohale mixed with wood. A bit of sweetness & slickness covers my tongue. Draw was nice with a little resistance, but I was still getting a mouthful of smoke. Ash was a nice gray, almost white color with black lines that held on for an inch in one big chunk.” –Mickey T. (irratebass)

“What a wonderful start. That wood and oak aroma led to nice flavors of whiskey that has been aged in an oak barrel. The after taste immediately reminded me of whiskey. This is something I have never experienced before in a cigar. Absolutely amazing. It is just missing the warm feeling going down the throat and into the belly.” –Eric (smalls29)

Second Third

Flavor: 90
Strength: Medium-Strong
Body/Complexity: Medium-Full

“Into the middle third, the flavor has really amped up. There’s cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg up front, leather, hints of milk chocolate, a bit of sweetness, cedar, a touch of oak, sourdough bread, and a bit of black pepper bite all playing supporting roles.” –Derek (StogieNinja)

“Wow, along with the savory flavors now a flavor of dark roasted coffee is arriving. The draw is impeccable. I let this cigar rest for 5 minutes and it did not require touching up. The ashes at this point are white with black striations.” –Kevin S. (KBS1153)

Final Third

Flavor: 91
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium-Full

“No major shifts in the final third. Remains a very good cigar, with baking spices, chocolate, leather, cedar, and bread notes all playing roles. The red pepper is a little stronger in the final third, which I appreciate. It adds a bit of excitement to an already very good blend.” –Derek (StogieNinja)

“It is always enjoyable to find a cigar with savory flavors that are blended in such a way they are all prominent from time to time. The burn is still razor exact. The ashes are solid. The pepper, smoky and dark roasted coffee are still very prevalent. I am also noting cedar becoming part of the flavor profile.” –Kevin S. (KBS1153)

Overall Impressions

Draw: 93

“Even from the raw draw the draw was very good. It remained consistent throughout the event.” –Kevin S. (KBS1153)

Burn: 93

“It had a great burn. Too bad the ash fell away just as a good chimney formed.” –Eric (smalls29)

Construction: 89

“Based on a good draw and excellent burn, along with the attractive appearance, I rate the construction as great.” –Derek (StogieNinja)

Overall Strength: Medium-Strong
Overall Body/Complexity: Medium-Full
Overall Experience: 90

“This was an extraordinary smoke. Started out with a smokey woody flavor and ended up with a sweet cocoa flavor.” –Mickey T. (irratebass)

“This cigar started off with wonderful flavors. From the pre-light aroma of wood and oak to the instant flavor of whiskey, I was in heaven. I thoroughly enjoyed the whiskey taste just missing that warm felling down the gullet. The oak and wood was a nice balance to the whiskey and continued through the first two thirds. It was a downer when it went sour. The flavors suddenly turned bitter and sour and almost immediately took the cigar from wonderful to bleh. I could see a few of these in my humidor and would love to see how it would pair with a single malt.” –Eric (smalls29)

“A solid, well made, medium-bodied smoke with a solid flavor profile that hit in my wheelhouse. This didn’t wow me, but it was very good throughout, and sometimes that’s more important than the wow factor. I would definitely smoke this one again.” –Derek (StogieNinja)

“This cigar is perfect for the evening paired with a great port! The savoriness was there from the beginning to the end.” –Kevin S. (KBS1153)

Smoking Time (in minutes): 75

Appearance

Aroma

First Third

Second Third

Final Third

Draw

Burn

Construction

Overall Experience

 

To view the complete scores and notes, click here.

Blind Cigar Review: Carlos Toraño | Vault TM-027 Robusto