Ventura Cigar Company announced earlier this year in June an addition to the Archetype line. Crystals, Curses, and Cloaks, are the cigars of the new Archetype Fantasy Miniseries, are all made at the Oliva factory. These new debuted at the 2018 IPCPR trade show in las Vegas. Each cigar comes with an MSRP of $9/cigar in a 20-count box format.
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.
“We’re telling a story at Ventura Cigars, and although Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell would agree that there are similarities within any tale, it’s the particulars that set every story apart. The Archetype miniseries reveals more details of the hero’s journey.” says Michael Giannini, General Manager at Ventura Cigar Company.
Vital Stats:
Vitola: Robusto
Length: 5″
Ring Gauge: 50
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Broadleaf
Binder: Nicaraguan Habano
Filler: Nicaraguan
Factory: Tabacalera Oliva de Nicaragua S.A.
Blender: Undisclosed
Number of reviewers: 5 – Diana(ArmyRN) Isaac M.(The Nothing) Daniel S.(Daniel S.) Matt (Mattehh) Jason H.(Jokey Smurf)
Price: $9.50
Age: 3 Months
Release Date: July 2018
Contributed by: Ventura Cigars
Initial Impressions
Appearance: 92
“This is a smooth looking and comfortable looking cigar. A medium brown color with some light brown along the edges of the leaf wrapper. There is a velvety feel and look to the body of the cigar and it is a soft box press vitola. The foot appears densely packed with filler and the cap appears to be one layer. Prior to my cut I tasted the head of the cigar and a piece of cap lifted very easily. I carefully finished the lift and took it off the cigar. I did this because I was worried the if the v cut caught this loose piece it would tear and cause extensive damage. This was a lucky choice as when I did the cut there was no damage and there is no evidence of the missing piece of cap.” –Diana (ArmyRN)
Aroma: 93
“Barnyard and leather notes permeated the wrapper from head to foot.” –Isaac M. (The Nothing)
Flavor: 89
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium
“I was very happy to get chocolate notes right away. I like the sweetness that comes forward pretty quickly that enhances the chocolate flavors. There seems to be a mix of cedar and a hint of leather in the background that only hits on occasion. The retro reveals even more chocolate and its almost like a milk chocolate Hershey bar. I really am enjoying the sweetness of this cigar.” –Diana (ArmyRN)
“This cigar started off with a creamy texture and flavors of worn leather and earthy cumin. There was just a touch of pepper on the retrohale.” –Isaac M. (The Nothing)
Flavor: 89
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium
“The creamy texture persisted in the second third with flavors of leather lingering on the forefront. There was bit of graham cracker sweetness that came and went.” –Isaac M. (The Nothing)
“Again with this third was very fast. Leather and earth were still flavors in this third with the addition of baked goods or something like a breadiness. Every now and then I would get a citrus note but was faint. The spice the previous third had has subsided and went more towards the baking spice. Retro was still smooth. ” –Matt (Mattehh)
Final Third
Flavor: 92
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium-Full
“Some cedar notes fluctuate in and out of the cigar and the chocolate with the other flavors give me an almost citrus flavor. This is an interesting cigar that keeps surprising me. The predominant chocolate keeps getting mixed with different notes that create a more complex cigar than I would have originally thought.” –Diana (ArmyRN)
“As I am getting into the final third the flavors are still subtle but the strength is getting to be pretty strong. Really enjoying the retro hale through out the cigar. The retro is where I am able to pick up most of the flavors. At the end the flavors started to become more distinct and enjoyable.” –Daniel S. (Daniel S.)
Overall Impressions
Draw: 93
“Absolutely no issues with the draw on this cigar…just a slight amount of resistance and a ton of thick smoke. ” –Jason H. (Jokey Smurf)
Burn: 94
“This cigar had excellent burn properties from beginning to end. No touch ups or relights were required and the burn was even for the duration of the smoke.” –Jason H. (Jokey Smurf)
Construction: 92
“Construction was good no issues and the cigar burned cool the whole time. The cigar held is ash without trying.” –Daniel S. (Daniel S.)
Overall Strength: Medium
Overall Body/Complexity: Medium
Experience Overall: 90
“This was a very tasty cigar for me and hit a lot of different flavor notes that my palette enjoyed immensely. There was enough variation and change that I was kept interested and paid more attention while smoking because of the constant nuanced changes. This is a great cigar for almost any level of cigar smoker. Not too strong for a beginner and complex enough for the seasoned smoker’s palette.” –Diana (ArmyRN)
“I really wish this cigar could have finished the same way it started. It had a great texture and good flavors in the beginning, but, once it made it past the point where the band would normally be, the cigar did an about-face and I found it fairly un-enjoyable. if you’re someone that only smokes the cigar to the band this will be great. If you’d like to nub cigars down then it’s not going to work, at least not in my opinion. ” –Isaac M. (The Nothing)
“The draw was a little tight and could be the reason why the flavors were light. Throughout the cigar the flavors and strength progressed. Even though there was flavors I could not identify, it was tasty. I enjoyed this cigar and would definitely smoke this one again.” –Daniel S. (Daniel S.)
“Overall I had a great experience with this stick other than the loose draw which made the smoking time very fast. The flavors were nice and had some nice transitions to keep me interested. I do like having a citrus note in a cigar when it is in the background. I think it brightens up blends so they are not heavy and one noted. ” –Matt (Mattehh)
“Performance wise this was a top notch performer. Unfortunately it didn’t reach the same level in regard to flavors. I would hope that my sample was an anomaly, and based upon the performance I’m willing to try another one.” –Jason H. (Jokey Smurf)
"This was a very tasty cigar for me and hit a lot of different flavor notes that my palette enjoyed immensely. There was enough variation and change that I was kept interested and paid more attention while smoking because of the constant nuanced changes. This is a great cigar for almost any level of cigar smoker. Not too strong for a beginner and complex enough for the seasoned smoker’s palette." -Diana (ArmyRN)
