Origin: Honduras
Wrapper: Nicaragua
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Honduras/Nicaragua/Peru
Introduced in 2005, the Henry Clay Honduran is a new stick from an old school brand. Henry Clay is one of the brands mentioned in Rudyard Kipling’s cigar poem The Betrothed as Kipling writes There’s peace in a Larranaga, there’s calm in a Henry Clay.
The Henry Clay Honduran isn’t one of the most attractive cigars out there. The band and the stick are pretty unexciting to look at. The wrapper is rough, bumpy and dry to the eye. I smoked the Churchhill (7.0 x 52) which is a bit bigger size than I’m accustomed to smoking so the Henry Clay Honduran didn’t have that perfect fit feel.
My trusty Palio made another precise and smooth cut. The unlit cigar sat in my mouth longer than usual as I couldn’t find my lighter and by the time I did, it was out of butane. Again the unlit taste was similar to the cigars appearance; interesting but not exciting. It had mixed spice and tea tastes to it.
This is classified as a medium-full bodied smoke and upon toasting the foot and drawing from it, I would have to agree. The Henry Clay Honduran gives off a nice heavy white smoke that will definitely get a few looks. The aroma of that smoke is awesome. The tea flavor I mentioned tasting is definitely in the aroma. It smells like you’ve stepped into a fresh tea shop. This can go for the lighted up taste as well. The spicy tea note is very defined while smoking. After a bit it gives you that built up spicy/warm feeling in your throat.
As you smoke down, the cigar doesn’t change its flavor characteristics. The definition fades a bit in the middle but picks up again around the 75% mark. Unfortunately, so does the harshness of the cigar. The spicy tea flavor gets mixed into the burnt harshness of the stick and smoking anywhere past the label just isn’t enjoyable at all.
The Henry Clay Hondurans Nicaraguan wrapper stayed in tact. It didn’t unwrap. Smoked even for the most part but did take some nurturing around the 50% mark. Again, once I reached the band the cigar burn became uncontrollably uneven despite my attempts to rotate early on.
When you factor in the price ($3.50) into the equation, the Henry Clay Honduran is a good bargain worthy of another visit. I’m not sure where it fits in my humidor. The Henry Clay Honduran is not a must have but a good stick with a defined singular taste for the I’m not sure what to smoke occasions.
