Cigar Info
From Total Flame: “The Nicaragua represents a true dedication to the country of its origin. Nicaragua is like returning home after a long trip on the road, reminiscing the experience, but more importantly recalling the people that crossed your path along your journey. A blend of three habano tobaccos bring the flavors of Nicaragua in the filler, a spicy Mexican binder, and a Connecticut wrapper give this cigar a taste from around the world.”
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.
Vital Stats:
Vitola: Robusto
Length: 5″
Ring Gauge: 50
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Honduran Connecticut
Binder: Mexico
Filler: Nicaragua & Mexico
Factory: La Aurora
Blender: Undisclosed
Number of reviewers: 5 – Adam B. (Bushboy) Matt C. (Big Matt) Stefan (Stefan) Jason H. (Jokey Smurf) Dave W. (mdwest)
Price: $5.00
Age: 3 Months
Release Date: 2014
Contributed by: Total Flame Cigars
Initial Impressions
Appearance: 90
“Wrapper color on this robusto is on the darker side of milk chocolate. Small imperfection of bunched wrapper about an inch from the foot. Very firm when pinched, with almost no give. Appears to have a well constructed double cap.” –Adam B. (Bushboy)
Aroma: 90
“This cigar has a light tobacco and baking spice aroma. The scents are faint, and I need to deliberately concentrate to detect anything beyond simple tobacco.” –Jason H. (Jokey Smurf)
First Third
Flavor: 88
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium
“The first thing I notice is the amount of white pepper on the retrohale along with a strong mushroom note. Nuts, light cream and a slight cedar note dominate the exhale. The finish is not neither too short or too long; but in the optimal range and it reminds me of the cinnamon and nutmeg notes I picked up on the prelight draw. Draw, construction, and combustion is spot on minus the small hole in the wrapper which has turned into a small crack however it doesn’t hurt the smoking experience. This cigar isn’t a boatload of flavors and complexity, but the flavors that are there are very good. Mild/Med.” –Matt C. (Big Matt)
“The initial flavors of this cigar were faint cream and a bit of cashew. On the back of the first puffs was a slightly acrid tanginess that was metallic on the back of my palate and made me thirsty. After the first inch, the metallic notes smoothed out and the primary flavors were creamy cashew. The smoke was quite oily, and thoroughly coated my palate.” –Jason H. (Jokey Smurf)
Second Third
Flavor: 91
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium
“The second third reintroduces the white pepper notes from the beginning of the smoke, which are joined by additional spices (nutmeg, allspice, etc.). The smoke exhibits a great balance of flavors of cream, smoke, and spice respectively.” -Stefan (Stefan)
“The second portion of this cigar has very gradually increased in strength while remaining relatively mellow in the flavor department. The primary notes remain cashew and cream, however there is a sweetness now and then that reminds me a little of heavy whipping cream. This cigar would go beautifully with a cup of cream laced coffee and the newspaper!” –Jason H. (Jokey Smurf)
Final Third
Flavor: 90
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium
“Starting with the final third this cigar remains to be very enjoyable with the cedar leading the pack with cinnamon, cream, and nuts and light citrus notes closing in. I put the cigar down with less than an inch left to go. Med.” –Matt C. (Big Matt)
“Much of the same as the cigar draws to a close, and no complaints from me. This is quite possibly the creamiest and oiliest cigar that I have smoked in the last several months. A variety of creamy nut flavors, coupled with heavy whipping cream from start to finish. One thing to note is that this is a very easy cigar to retrohale. No pepper at all, and and a delicious salty note through the nose…almost like salted peanuts. Really pretty enjoyable, and would be an awesome start to any day.” –Jason H. (Jokey Smurf)
Overall Impressions
Draw: 92
“Perfect resistance. Great smoke output with the right amount of effort required.” –Adam B. (Bushboy)
Burn: 90
“This cigar required zero touchups after lighting, even with the small crack developed in the first third. Ash was gorgeous and held on for well over an inch with an almost razor sharp combustion line.” –Matt C. (Big Matt)
Construction: 93
“Except for the slight bunching of the wrapper noticed pre light, no flaws. Burn was not affected by the minor imperfection.” –Adam B. (Bushboy)
Overall Strength: Medium
Overall Body/Complexity: Medium
Overall Experience: 91
“Not a bad smoke but a bit on the boring side. Minimal flavor transition left me not craving another. I associate these factors in other cigars I have smoked to very little aging. I assume these cigars are rolled by experienced rollers, but spend very little time from the field to the local brick and mortar. If I had a few more I would definitely let rest for a while to allow flavors to mature.” –Adam B. (Bushboy)
“This was an excellent experience and I will definitely be picking up more of these cigars if they are still available. The robusto provided just the right amount of time at 70 minutes for me to really sit back and enjoy this cigar. I would recommend smoking this cigar in solitude with nothing more than ice water to cleanse the palate as you may miss out on some of the highly subtle nuances such as the citrus and nuts. I really don’t like to say this but this cigar had a very Cubanesque profile to it, however the great construction, draw and burn path has me thinking there is no way a Cuban cigar performed this well. I guess time will tell…” –Matt C. (Big Matt)
“A crowd-pleasing, medium strength smoke exhibiting outstanding balance of cream and spice flavors.” -Stefan (Stefan)
“This cigar was a bit of a surprise, given the very mild beginning. I’m not really a fan of mild cigars but the cream and salty peanut/cashew notes were interesting and something I would recommend to anyone to begin their day, or practice retrohaling…really quite enjoyable and an easy to enjoy experience. If you’re looking for an easy morning cigar, then this is for you.” –Jason H. (Jokey Smurf)
“Overall not a bad cigar. Just nothing to write home about in my opinion. Flavors were decent, and performance was ok, but nothing about it wowed me or made me want to try another. Price would likely drive my decision to smoke again. If affordable it might make a decent cigar to knock around the yard with. If on the expensive side, for me there are probably better options available.” –Dave W. (mdwest)
Smoking Time (in minutes): 63
|
Reviewer
|
Appearance
|
Aroma
|
1/3
|
2/3
|
3/3
|
Draw
|
Burn
|
Constr.
|
Overall
Experience |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adam B. | Bushboy) | 88 | 88 | 88 | 88 | 88 | 92 | 95 | 95 | 88 |
| Matt C. | Big Matt) | 90 | 92 | 92 | 92 | 92 | 92 | 90 | 90 | 92 |
| Stefan | Stefan) | 90 | 90 | 90 | 92 | 90 | 90 | 88 | 92 | 90 |
| Jason H. | Jokey Smurf) | 92 | 92 | 88 | 92 | 92 | 92 | 92 | 92 | 92 |
| Dave W. | mdwest) | 83 | 88 | 88 | 88 | 88 | 85 | 90 | 83 | 85 |
To view the complete scores and notes, click here.