The Crux Epicure Habano, rolled at Plasencia Cigars S.A. in Nicaragua, began shipping in June 2023. With high-quality Nicaraguan binder, fillers, and a habano seco leaf wrapper, it received overall positive reviews for its flavors and draw.
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·In 2019, Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust introduced their first event-only cigar, the "Polpetta". By 2023, it was adapted into a regular production cigar. The Polpetta, rolled at the Nicaragua American Cigars S.A. factory, was well received by our panel for its earthy coffee notes, spice, dark chocolate, hint of leather and excellent draw. Constructed in a Rothschild vitola shape, it now sells for $7.30 each.
"I think this may actually be a great cigar right in my profile if it wasn't for the construction issue I ran into making the final third harsh. The opening of sweet cedar and baking spice warmed up the blend wonderfully. The transition into a heavier dark chocolate and more black pepper was very enjoyable. Sadly the final third turning into a more harsh pepper and burnt coffee wasn't too good. I'd absolutely try this blend again though cause I feel like the final third would be wonderful if it just wasn't for the harshness due to the relights and draw problems." -Lauren S. (Lauren S.)
"If you are looking for a deep, heavy-flavored blend without being too strong this is perfect. The mix of leather and hickory smoke held a solid taste throughout the entire cigar.
An opening of a bit of cedar sweetness, and some final pepper and mineral flavor add a bit of complexity to keep it interesting. I'll absolutely revisit this in the future." -Lauren S. (Lauren S.)
"This was the loss of sweetness in the final third away from being my favorite thing I have smoked for BMP. Looks great, smokes great, and tastes great. I’d be interested in smoking this in a Robusto if available, because while I liked everything about the flavor experience - I’d have preferred a bit shorter smoking time. " -Bill C. (Bill)
Ferio Tego unveiled its first regular production line, the Ferio Tego Summa, at the PCA trade show. The Summa blend utilizes tobaccos from three countries and is noted for its balance and intensity of body and flavor.
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·"When a cigar doesn't feature a ton of transitions and only minor changes throughout the smoke, I often wonder if the redundancies amongst the notes make for a boring review. Thankfully for me, this cigar was anything but boring and I wasn't the slightest bit mad at the lack of transitions! From start to finish, my palate was greeted with the smoothest of smoke that seemingly got creamier with each and every puff. A splendid balance of flavors and a complex mix of notes that were creamy, nutty, tangy, sweet and spicy had my tastebuds swooning the entire time. The near perfect draw, trouble free burn and solid nicotine buzz only added to an already incredible smoking experience that I can not wait to have again. I for one am excited to pair this smoke with a number of different beverages and I can definitely see it landing in my normal rotation of favorites." -Noah S. (Noah)
"While the flavors weren't mindblowing or unique, they were very enjoyable when judged as a whole. A wide range of flavors including milk chocolate, leather, oaky woodiness, and earth really hit my palate right in the sweet spot. I'd love to smoke this again, perhaps in a smaller vitola to really get the flavors from the wrapper to shine." -Kevin J. (maninblack77)
"Overall it had good flavors through and through. The strength of this cigar was more then I was expecting. The smoke output was a lot. The smoke texture was thick and really stuck to the palate. Musty mineral and rich earthy coffee notes. No sweetness to this smoke. Retrohale was very strong musty black pepper." -Chad M. (Chad Tchad)
"Flavors and construction were all good throughout. However, the format is on the larger size and the smoke time being as long as it was with a profile this linear has me a little bored by the end. This would be a great smoke with morning coffee, but I’d prefer it in a smaller size. " -Bill C. (Bill)