Cigar Info
Having been in the cigar industry for many many years, Mitchell Orchant of C.Gars LTD decided it was time to create their own brand, and they weren’t happy until they found a blend that they were 100% satisfied with. There are no other cigars on the market produced using 100% Peruvian filler/wrapper/binder tobacco.
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.
Inca is named for after the native American Inca Empire that encompassed what is modern day Peru. Tobacco growing in the region can be traced back some 5,000 years.
In terms of introducing this unique project into the American market, Orchant explained, “I’m not trying to make a zillion cigars and a load of baseball caps to sell them with! I’m not trying to compete with anyone. I’m just trying to give the consumer a different choice that during extensive market research sampling across the USA makes me confident that this boutique brand will be well received and very popular.”
Inca Cigars works with Alec Bradley to handle distribution. They handle their own marketing. The Inca Secret Blend launched in two vitolas: Secret Blend Imperio (6 x 60, $10.25 each) and Secret Blend Tambo (6 x 50, $9.50 each), both of which are sold in boxes of 20. A third size, the Inca Blend Roca (5 x 50) is expected to be added shortly, also in 20-count boxes. In addition, the first 500 boxes of each vitola have been marked as “Edición Limitada Inaugural,” although the blend is the same. The US version is a slightly different blend than the UK. While both cigars are Peruvian puros, the U.S. version has a different combination of viso and ligero fillers and less seco than the U.K. version. In addition, Orchant said that the U.S. version uses “natural Colorado maduro shade,” while the U.K. versions have various wrappers.
Vital Stats:
Vitola: Toro
Length: 6″
Ring Gauge: 50
Country of Origin: Peru
Wrapper: Peru
Binder: Peru
Filler: Peru
Factory: Tabacalera del Oriente
Blender: Mitchell Orchant
Number of reviewers: 5 —– Gregg (McGreggor57) Steve (ThaGreatWazoo) Kent (Throck) Alan (Eulogy) Kyle (kaleehb)
Price: $9.50
Age: 7 Months
Release Date: May 2015
Contributed by: Inca Cigars
Initial Impressions
Appearance: 88
“Cigar has a very rough, veiny, light brown wrapper. Cap is double seamed and well applied. Solid roll with no soft spots found.” –Kyle (kaleehb)
Aroma: 90
“There’s a slightly sweet, papery smell on the wrapper. The foot and predraw both contain a sweet woody smell.” –Alan (Eulogy)
First Third
Flavor: 89
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium
“A little pepper and grass quickly gives way to floral notes with rose highlights. As some leather develops it pushes the floral into the background allowing more of the grasses to come out. There are also glimpses of coffee, toast and nuts. A pretty flavorful start to this cigar.” –Gregg (McGreggor57)
“Cigar opens with a bold white smoke that is delivered on the smallest draw. Notes of earth and pepper are predominant on the initial first puffs. Cigar quickly takes on a medium body and strength which remained throughout the first third. The rich, sweet, and spicy tasted led to a wavy burn that produced a soft gray ash. As the cigar worked through the first third the tastes became a bit muttled, however, eventually formed into a soft leather, wood, and pepper finish. Slight metallic/lead tastes were also noted during this third.” –Kyle (kaleehb)
Second Third
Flavor: 91
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium-Full
“The pepper from the first third subsided and the draw let up to offer a great second third. The main characteristics of this third were that of leather and cedar with a hint of almond in the background. It was a very enjoyable section and worth the wait.” -Kent (Throck)
“The level of pepper has become far stronger this third and is now swirling around the entire mouth, instead of just the tongue. There is still a woodiness to the cigar, but it also has a strong minty finish.” –Alan (Eulogy)
Final Third
Flavor: 90
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium-Full
“As the leather fades, pepper and coffee move to the front. The grasses transition to more of a dried hay and the is now a little bite on the retrohale. This is a definite shift from the milder flavors in the previous thirds.” –Gregg (McGreggor57)
“The final third comes through with some real good black pepper. A couple touchups were needed to keep the burn on track. No real harshness or char towards the end. Just a nice finish, but nothing extraordinary.” –Steve (ThaGreatWazoo)
Overall Impressions
Draw: 91
“Just enough resistance on the draw. Just a little easier than sipping a milkshake through a straw. Burn gave way to a thin white smoke and powdery gray ash.” –Kyle (kaleehb)
Burn: 93
“Lots of smoke more than made up for a slightly askew burn line.”- Gregg (McGreggor57)
Construction: 90
“After getting past the not-so-appealing first glance, the construction was actually quite nice. There was no fissuring or unwrapping during the duration of my smoke. This was one of the highlights of the cigar.” -Kent (Throck)
Overall Strength: Medium
Overall Body/Complexity: Medium-Full
Overall Experience: 91
“For the most part I found it to be a flavorful milder cigar, perfect to accompany a morning cup of coffee. The final third, while comparatively fuller, was still spot on with a nice balance of flavors. Very enjoyable!” –Gregg (McGreggor57)
“This was a very nice smooth smoking experience. The beginning was flavorful with some great oat hits. Really nice and crisp. There was a good strength to the stick, but nothing overbearing. Grab some of these, let them rest a bit, and enjoy.” –Steve (ThaGreatWazoo)
“Once one was able to get over the initial impression, the actually flavors and overall enjoyment was quite nice. Perhaps I just received a fluke regarding the wrapping, but I wouldn’t mind giving this stick another shot.” –Kent (Throck)
“It was a very interesting cigar. There’s not a lot of cigars that have the minty flavor and other than there being no profile changes, was a pretty solid smoking experience.” –Alan (Eulogy)
“Solid cigar that had both great moments and those less desired. Overall aroma was very enjoyable and the cigar’s performance was spot on. If it weren’t for those moments of metallic tastes on the start and finish this cigar would have been much more enjoyable. A little resting time may serve this stick well.” –Kyle (kaleehb)
Smoking Time (in minutes): 61
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Reviewer
|
Appearance
|
Aroma
|
1/3
|
2/3
|
3/3
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Draw
|
Burn
|
Constr.
|
Overall
Experience |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gregg | McGreggor57) | 87 | 90 | 90 | 92 | 90 | 95 | 92 | 88 | 92 |
| Steve | ThaGreatWazoo) | 87 | 90 | 90 | 88 | 90 | 92 | 90 | 90 | 90 |
| Kent | Throck) | 87 | 90 | 92 | 95 | 92 | 88 | 95 | 95 | 90 |
| Alan | Eulogy) | 90 | 95 | 88 | 92 | 90 | 88 | 95 | 92 | 92 |
| Kyle | kaleehb) | 87 | 90 | 88 | 88 | 88 | 92 | 90 | 90 | 88 |
To view the complete scores and notes, click here.