The Man O War Ruination cigar is the creation of Abdel “AJ” Fernandez and is manufactured in Esteli, Nicaragua. The stogie features an oily Habano Ecuadorian sun grown wrapper and filler consisting of a blend of Nicaraguan and Honduran ligeros. A Nicaraguan binder completes the presentation for the Cuban-seed, Central-American tobaccos.
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.
These hand-selected tobaccos have been picked from the plant’s highest priming, bringing maximum flavor and richness. To conceal this deep, dense blend of tobaccos, an oily Habano Ecuador ligero leaf was chosen as its wrapper.
Vital Stats:
Vitola: Robusto
Length: 5.5″
Ring Gauge: 54
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Ecuador Sungrown
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Honduran & Nicaraguan
Factory: Tabacalera Fernandez S.A.
Blender: AJ Fernandez
Number of reviewers: 4 – Matt C.(Big Matt) Stefan(Stefan) Isaac M.(The Nothing) Derek(StogieNinja)
Price: $10.00
Age: 11 Months
Release Date: 2009
Contributed by: CigarsCity.com
Initial Impressions
Appearance: 95
“This is an excellent looking cigar and is what I would consider a robusto. It sports 3 tight and nearly invisible seams and a great looking triple cap. Cold draw is natural sweet tobacco. ” –Matt C. (Big Matt)
Aroma: 89
“Aroma is uninhabited barnyard, peat, moss and Central Texas Oak. ” –Matt C. (Big Matt)
First Third
Flavor: 88
Strength: Medium-Strong
Body/Complexity: Medium
“””The cigar lights up with mild flavors of kitchen spices and nuts with a hint of white pepper. White pepper was also prominent on the retrohale. Some chocolate joined in the flavor mix shortly after lighting the cigar and a light oak joins the white pepper on the retro. Hazelnut and coconut hints come in before the first third is finished
“” –Isaac M. (The Nothing)”
“Oh. My. Goodness. From the start, this is everything I want in a Maduro. Spice, chocolate soufflé, hints of white pepper, and baking spices. Incredibly clean and dry finish. It’s medium-full, but with finesse. I like it. ” –Derek (StogieNinja)
Second Third
Flavor: 88
Strength: Medium-Strong
Body/Complexity: Medium
“””Second third picks up with more wood notes along with a creamy blend of cashews and coffee. The retrohale becomes very woody with a bit of pepper spice. There was a nice floral kitchen spice that wafted in and out throughout this portion of the cigar.
“” –Isaac M. (The Nothing)”
“Into the second third, I’m feeling like it’s lacking something. It needs more body, more oomph. But it’s still decent. Baking spices, chocolate, some sweet cedar are the good parts. A syrupy aspect to the sweetness, and hints of oaky bitterness are the only drawbacks. I wonder whether this has to do with youth. The bitterness and syrupy finish fade after a while and the cigar is great again. ” –Derek (StogieNinja)
Final Third
Flavor: 89
Strength: Medium-Strong
Body/Complexity: Medium
“The final third exhibits stronger anise flavors on the palate, and licorice and coffee on the finish at first, then the stogie looses most bitter notes as the burn line approaches the nub, coming back full circle to how it started.” –Stefan (Stefan)
“Kitchen spices came back into play in last third as a more significant player. There was still a creamy wood note as backbone and the retrohale continued to play with wood and white pepper. There were also occasional notes of coffee.” –Isaac M. (The Nothing)
Overall Impressions
Draw: 90
“This cigar had a fairly light draw to it and I would suggest that it would be best served by a V or punch. I found a straight cut to be a bit on the light side for me.” –Isaac M. (The Nothing)
Burn: 90
“Wavy at first, but evens out on it’s own with no need for correction. ” –Derek (StogieNinja)
Construction: 93
“This cigar was very well put together. The appearance was very nice, and it felt uniform from top to bottom. The draw was effortless from start to finish. It as clearly a well crafted cigar.” –Isaac M. (The Nothing)
Overall Strength: Medium-Strong
Overall Body/Complexity: Medium
Experience Overall: 89
“This is a very good cigar and it is very good because it is unique. The first half of the cigar exhibited oak, peat and moss and other very enjoyable flavors. The retro had a flirting chocolate and a cream kaboom in the 3/3. Age this cigar and dollars to donuts you’ll be rewarded. Dank flavor cigar. 88-90 right now. 90-92 with age potential. ” –Matt C. (Big Matt)
“A strong cigar that’s about power over flavor; nevertheless, it does get more flavorful as the smoke progresses. Merits extra points for never turning harsh.” –Stefan (Stefan)
“This was a pretty solid cigar from start to finish. It never required any attention and was a pleasure to smoke. In the end, however, I felt fairly underwhelmed by this cigar. Nothing about it, aside from looks, ever really grabbed my attention. I was surprised that the ash never wanted to stick around and seemed to drop off the cigar about every half inch. I would probably relegate this cigar for times when I’m more distracted by other activities.” –Isaac M. (The Nothing)
“Almost great. At times it was great, which made it all the more frustrating when it wasn’t. Bitterness and syrup were drawbacks, but not consistent. I do sonder if they will fade with time before the sparkle fades? Would like to find out. ” –Derek (StogieNinja)
Blind Cigar Review: Man O’ War | Ruination Robusto No. 1
Summary
"This is a very good cigar and it is very good because it is unique. The first half of the cigar exhibited oak, peat and moss and other very enjoyable flavors. The retro had a flirting chocolate and a cream kaboom in the 3/3. Age this cigar and dollars to donuts you'll be rewarded. Dank flavor cigar. 88-90 right now. 90-92 with age potential. " -Matt C. (Big Matt)
