Back in 2014, Espinosa Cigars released a new cigar to give consumers the experience of smoking a freshly rolled cigar, it was simply called Espinosa Miami Fresh Rolled. The cigars were rolled in Miami, FL and shipped right away without the usual resting period before being sold. I bought these cigars when they came out, and promptly forgot about them, going untouched until a humidor cleaning earlier this year. While I have no idea what these tasted like fresh, I thought it would be fun to review them after aging for 6 years, an interesting juxtaposition to their original intent.
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.
All that is known about the blend is that it uses a habano wrapper as the packaging would suggest and contains Nicaraguan binder and filler.
Vital Stats:
Vitola: Churchill Length: 7″ Ring Gauge: 47 Country of Origin: U.S.A. Wrapper: Habano Binder: Nicaragua Filler: Nicaragua Factory: Undisclosed Blender: Erik Epinosa & Hector Alfonso Sr. Number of reviewers: 5 – Lauren S.(Lauren S.) Joseph S.(Bearded Bastard) Jake P.(Jake P.) Isaac M.(The Nothing) Randy B.(randobush) Price: $7.00 Age: 6 years Release Date: 2014 Contributed by: Blind Man’s Puff
Initial Impressions
Appearance: 91
“Reddish brown wrapper, just one tiny flaw, nothing to worry about.” –Joseph S. (Bearded Bastard)
Aroma: 90
“There is not much of a scent off of the foot, only a very light sweet aroma.” –Lauren S. (Lauren S.)
Flavor: 89 Strength: Mild-Medium Body/Complexity: Medium
“Lots of leather, pepper, and cedar going on, with a hint of earth.” –Joseph S. (Bearded Bastard)
“Right off the bat, a mouthful of flavor. Pine was first, then ground espresso beans and savory broth. Baking spices are evident but not dominant. A wee bit of molasses with peppercorn coming through. Finish is Med-Long, and although the draw is not difficult at all, it takes about three puffs to satisfy my desire of mouth feel of smoke.” –Randy B. (randobush)
Flavor: 91 Strength: Mild-Medium Body/Complexity: Medium
“The second third started with a earthy bark note. I was overwhelmed by the feeling of fire pits and BBQ’s. That was the first time for that. Also I was getting a strong clove taste.” –Jake P. (Jake P.)
“Going into the second third, the savory flavor is still there, met with a light cocoa, a little pinewood, baking spices, and a hint of butterscotch with a slight pepper zing. Retrohale is smooth with a slight zing. The finish doesn’t last quite as long as in the first third, but still a nice medium.” –Randy B. (randobush)
Final Third
Flavor: 90 Strength: Medium Body/Complexity: Medium
“The final third really ramped things up and was much fuller flavored. It was much like the first third in terms of the same flavors–the kitchen spices, the toasted bread and even leather tones and it really just sealed the deal. I was really wanting a lot more flavor from the beginning, but the cigar didn’t bring it until the end.” –Isaac M. (The Nothing)
“The blend loads up for me a bit in the final third which I actually am enjoying in this case. It’s making the bitter coffee and leather notes the most prevalent they have been the entire time. Still I would only put this as just barely pushing into a medium strength.” –Lauren S. (Lauren S.)
Overall Impressions
Draw: 93
“With my typical v-cut, this cigar boasted a pleasurable draw.” –Isaac M. (The Nothing)
Burn: 89
“No relights or touch ups needed, but ash liked to do the splits every 1/2” or so.” –Randy B. (randobush)
Construction: 90
“Construction was a good quality the ash held although was a bit flaky. The wrapper never had any cracking or separating throughout.” –Lauren S. (Lauren S.)
Overall Strength: Mild-Medium Overall Body/Complexity: Medium Experience Overall: 90
“It’s not the most complex or exciting cigar ever but for those who lean more towards mild and consistent this fits that profile perfectly. A very easy smoke with a good burn and great smoke production.” –Lauren S. (Lauren S.)
“No complaints at all, a great over all flavor profile, followed by great construction. I’m very satisfied.” –Joseph S. (Bearded Bastard)
“Overall I thought this was a nice cigar. Mild spices and earth was the main flavor profile. I thought the middle was very interesting when I got a blast of BBQ. I also like how it started off with cinnamon and pine and it ended the same way.” –Jake P. (Jake P.)
“Overall this was a pretty good cigar, definitely long burning and I spent over two hours watching the procession of this cigar. It starts off pretty mellow and ramps its way up to a medium bodied smoking experience. Ultimately I wish it started with the medium and went up fuller.” –Isaac M. (The Nothing)
“Overall I enjoyed this cigar. It was different, and leaves me curious as to what the hell I was smoking. Transitions were evident and made detecting changing flavors enjoyable. ” –Randy B. (randobush)
"It's not the most complex or exciting cigar ever but for those who lean more towards mild and consistent this fits that profile perfectly. A very easy smoke with a good burn and great smoke production. " -Lauren S. (Lauren S.)
