Cigar Info
The Tarazona Guerrilla 305 has been around since 2014, but this is actually our first review of a Tarazona cigar. This was the first Tarazona line made at Tabacalera William Ventura in the Dominican Republic.
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.
Tarazona Guerrilla 305 comes in four sizes: Shrapnel: 4 ½ x 42, Propaganda: 5 x 52, El Jefe Flaco: 6 ½ x 42, and El Comandante: 6 x 54. Prices range from $5.70 – $9.00 and come in boxes of 15 except the Shrapnel which comes in boxes of 20. The blend uses an Ecuadorian Habano 2000 wrapper, Indonesian Sumatra binder, and Piloto Viso, Criollo 98, Corojo Seco, and Connecticut Broadleaf fillers.
Vital Stats:
Vitola: Robusto
Length: 5″
Ring Gauge: 52
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Wrapper: H2000 Ecuador
Binder: Indonesian Sumatra
Filler: Piloto Viso, Criollo 98, Corojo Seco, Broadleaf CT
Factory: Tabacalera William Ventura
Blender: Eddie Tarazona
Number of reviewers: 5 – Alan (Eulogy) Mickey T. (irratebass) Ryan H. (Ryan H.) John A. (Bostoneo) Doug S. (Unpossible_1)
Price: $8.20
Age: 6 Months
Release Date: June 2014
Contributed by: Tarzona Cigars
Initial Impressions – Tarazona Guerrilla 305 Propaganda
Appearance: 88
“Robusto in size, this cigar is draped with a pale tan brown wrapper with a rustic veiny texture and seams that are completely invisible.” –John A. (Bostoneo)
Aroma: 90
“Alfalfa honey and charred wood are some things that stick out when smelling the wrapper and foot.” –Ryan H. (Ryan H.)
First Third
Flavor: 86
Strength: Mild-Medium
Body/Complexity: Light-Medium
“With the cold draw I get notes of wood and salt, maybe some coffee, but I'm reaching for that one. As the cigar develops I get a mouthful of smoke and I instantly taste oatmeal cookies! I only tasted the cookies once every puff after was mostly earthy notes…..however, there is a sweetness that has just stuck its head in….let's see where this goes.” –Mickey T. (irratebass)
“Upon lighting up I am greeted with a wonderful mild-medium profile of roasted peanuts, peppered cream, and vanilla oak notes. As this third burns on, bits of sweetness pop in and out of this intoxicating billowing smoke, providing for an absolutely wonderful smoking experience.” –John A. (Bostoneo)
Second Third
Flavor: 88
Strength: Mild-Medium
Body/Complexity: Light-Medium
“I think I've finally straightened the burn after many retouches. The flavors are still very dark earth forward with dusty notes of leather, tobacco, dirt, and mild pepper.” –Alan (Eulogy)
“Some cinnamon joins the charred wood for a little while and disappears as fast as it appeared. it's not a bad cigar, but I am not digging it. Draw and burn are good.” –Ryan H. (Ryan H.)
Final Third
Flavor: 88
Strength: Mild-Medium
Body/Complexity: Light-Medium
“Nothing really new happened in this third. I did experience some hints of sweetness here and there, but it didn't stay long to keep me entertained.” –Mickey T. (irratebass)
“Keeping with consistency, this cigar is on a one-way track to meh for me. The profile is just not singing for me. It's like watching a music video on mute. No content to get excited about.” –Doug S. (Unpossible_1)
Overall Impressions – Tarazona Guerrilla 305 Propaganda
Draw: 86
“Draw was good. I used a punch on this cigar. It did give me plenty of smoke.” –Mickey T. (irratebass)
Burn: 87
“Burn held up without much issues the entire time.” –Doug S. (Unpossible_1)
Construction: 88
“The construction on the cigar was good. Stayed cool and gave me about a 1/4 of an inch of ash with each third.” –Mickey T. (irratebass)
Overall Strength: Mild-Medium
Overall Body/Complexity: Light-Medium
Experience Overall: 87
“My enjoyment level drops like a rock when frustration starts to creep up. Maybe if it was just a slightly tight draw I could have gotten over it. It went deeper than that with a fairly unpleasant wet dirt profile and burn that required double-digit touch-ups. I can't see myself smoking this again or recommending it based on the one example I've had. It would take the other reviewers singing its praises to make me reconsider.” –Alan (Eulogy)
“I didn't hate this cigar, but I definitely didn't love it either. There was plenty for the people who like earth in their cigars. I wished the sweetness stayed around longer. I would smoke this again, but would probably not seek these out.” –Mickey T. (irratebass)
“Just didn't enjoy the cigar as much as I would like. Hopefully, the price point reflects this. I don't think I would pay more than 6 dollars for this stick.” –Ryan H. (Ryan H.)
“This is a wonderfully flavored cigar, however, the sample I received had issues staying lit and completely went out a minimum of five times throughout the hour it took to enjoy this cigar. If the construction was spot on, this would have been one of the best cigars I've smoked recently. I will need to try this again to verify my feelings.” –John A. (Bostoneo)
“I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed. The profile notes of pepper and printer paper really don't jive for me. Even the physicality of the cigar was less than impressive. Just calling it like I see it with this one.” –Doug S. (Unpossible_1)
Smoking Time (in minutes): 71
| Reviewer | Appear. | Aroma | 1/3 | 2/3 | 3/3 | Draw | Burn | Constr. | Overall Experience |
| Alan | 92 | 92 | 90 | 92 | 90 | 87 | 85 | 92 | 87 |
| Mickey T. | 85 | 85 | 85 | 85 | 85 | 85 | 85 | 87 | 85 |
| Ryan H. | 88 | 90 | 87 | 87 | 87 | 87 | 90 | 87 | 87 |
| John A. | 92 | 95 | 95 | 95 | 92 | 97 | 75 | 78 | 87 |
| Doug S. | 83 | 85 | 83 | 85 | 83 | 85 | 87 | 83 | 83 |
To view the complete scores and notes, click here.