I picked up a couple of these guys after a local tobacconist told me these were kind of hard to come by. As the story goes, not every shop can get their hands on these cigars, and as a condition of getting them as a shop owner, you can’t advertise that you have them. It might make the other shops angry or jealous. Seriously.
I don’t know if the story is true or not, but it has a certain conspiratorial tone to it that makes it fun to repeat. And since I haven’t seen these smokes anywhere else and couldn’t find much information about them online, I’m inclined to believe the story. Of course the question comes down to whether or not the cigars are worth all the entertaining cloak and dagger. Let’s check it out.
Cigar Stats:
Size: 5 x 52
Wrapper: Indonesia
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Dominican Republic, Brazil
Smoking Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
Beverage: Water
Price: $6.60
Foot fetish?
The Pre-Smoke
To being with it was a fine looking cigar. It had a very light wrapper that was smooth with fine veins and a nice little sheen, all wrapped up in a sharp-looking bright white and gold band. The cigar was firm to the touch with a slight, somewhat inconsistent give. But not inconsistent enough to cause much concern.
I did, however, notice a few tears in the wrapper. One really pronounced one on the first cigar and a minor one in in the second. I’m not sure, but I think the major wrapper rip in the first was my bad. I dropped the cigar when I pulled it out of the humidor. I’m pretty sure the tear wasn’t there when I bought it.
Collateral damage
The really interesting thing about my pre-smoke evaluation of this cigar was the scent of the wrapper. The first cigar had a fairly normal light sweet barnyard scent, but the second smelled exactly like lightly perfumed baby powder. I’m serious. It was so exactly baby powder I had to think about whether or not we had any around. (To the best of my knowledge, we don’t have any baby powder in the house.) I’m not sure what to make of it, it’s pretty unusual aroma for a cigar. (Anybody else come across a cigar smelling of baby powder? Probably a good idea not to carry your travel humidor in the baby bag!)
I think I need to get my Xikar sharpened…
The Burn
Overall the burn for both cigars was great, with a few exceptions. I did have to relight both cigars toward the end of the second third, and at points the burn line strayed a bit before correcting itself.
Each cigar produced a mostly solid light ash that weighed in at an admirable inch long ash. (The second was slightly flaky, but not too bad.) And though the draw was a little tight in the first cigar, it was generally good.
The Flavor
If I had to describe the flavor of this cigar in one word, it’d be pretty easy. It was very creamy. Excluding a few sections sprinkled throughout the smoke, this cigar was very creamy. Fortunately I’m not limited to a single word, because there’s a lot more to it than that.
In the first third I got quite a bit of sweetness, leather and a grain flavor in addition to that creaminess. At points the sweetness was like syrup, at other points it was like berries and cherry.
In the second third the body picked up noticeably and leather was more prominent. I also got notes of cinnamon, and interestingly, mushroom. The leather flavor continued into the final third as did the sweetness.
The Price
Given the interesting and tasty array of flavors, the good burn and the storied scarcity, I’d have to say this cigar is fairly priced.
Oooo… Pretty…
The Verdict
Saying I really enjoyed this cigar isn’t revealing a big secret. Creamy to the point of being buttery and sweet with a little bit of spice and some good leather? It’s like dessert! What’s not to love? This one’s definitely going on my list of cigars to buy more of when I free up some more space in my humidor. I’d recommend keeping an eye out for these as you browse through the selection at your local B&M, they’re definitely worth trying out.
Liked It: Yes
Buy It Again: Yes
Recommend It: Yes
The Tower of Burn
Here for your viewing pleasure is my trademark Tower of Burn.
Brian,
Thanks for the review. That looks like a wonderful cigar and you can’t help but love mild, creamy, buttery, leathery cigars. I will certainly have to keep an eye out for these at the B&M. Thanks, again!
Bill
Great Review!
What other cigars have you found that could be described as having a “Creamy & Buttery” taste?
Sean
Thanks ER Doc,
Oh yeah, this was a tasty smoke. I’m thinking box purchase here. I just gotta make some room in my humidor first!
After posting this last night I found a very handy tool that people can use to track down this cigar in their area. The Altadis USA website has a store locator specifically for this cigar! If you’re interested in finding them in your area, check it out here.
Shit. Another cigar I have to try to find. Thanks! Great review man.
Nice review Brian and love the Tower of Burn! I’m just getting over a cold or some sort of sinus issue where anything i smoked tasted like crap. Now that I have some vacation time, I’m hoping to get some quality smokes in. Let me know if you’re looking to unload any of your smokes. I’m hoping to invest in a bigger humidor and could use some help in filling it! Thanks again and have hope all you guys have a Merry Christmas. Stay safe.
The best mild, creamy, buttery type cigar I’ve ever smoked was a Diamond Crown natural with 5 years of age… it may actually be the best cigar I’ve smoked period. The smoke was so cool and crisp it was incredible, they aren’t cheap though.
I still can’t get that cigar experience out of my head, it was the ‘perfect’ cigar IMO.
whoa, 1 hour and 45 minutes on a 5 inch cigar. Wow hah. That is amazing. Must be really good tobacco. I’ve only had a few that would burn that slow, produce good smoke and flavor and one that comes to mind in the La Aurora 1495 robusto. Completely different flavor it sounds like but burned for quite a while for a robusto size.
Sounds like a must try cigar for sure.
Dave
That’s exactly what I was thinking Jabba. Sean, the closest experience I had to this cigar that I can recall was with a Diamond Crown. As Jabba said, it was a great experience, but the thing is about Diamond Crowns is that I have fairly inconsistent results with them. I’ve had a few that either plugged or very close to being plugged. But that one was so good my wife kept hitting me up for puffs- I think she smoked a quarter of it!
Make sure to use that link if you want to track this cigar down guys, it’ll save you some time. I think it’s well worth the effort to find it!
Yeah Dave, I’m a slow smoker, and this cigar really performs flavor-wise if you nurse and savor it. I was actually surprised myself by how long it lasted, given its size. You could smoke it faster probably, but I think you’ll lose out in the flavor department.
Thanks guys!
If I ever run across one of these, I’ll give it a try. As always, excellent review. The new tower of burn format is cool too.
Rock on
I definitely want to try and find a couple of these to try out. Creamy/buttery cigars are my preferred M.O.
My primary creamy/buttery cigar (along with sweet spices) would be the Illusione cg:4. Which are now impossible to get thanks to CA rating them #7 of 2007. Which I have since been admonishing Dion for via email; demanding proper stock to avoid elitist hoarding of a most beloved stick.
Thanks for the review….. got my eyes peeled…..
Yay! The Mesa, AZ Tinderbox (by Fiesta Mall) has both the Upmann Cabinet Seleccion, as well as the R&J cabinet seleccion AND the por larranaga cabinet seleccion. All of the above can be had in every available size, a couple boxes of each….. major score. I intend to sample each blend starting tonight or tomorrow….
Score indeed, Jayson.
I’ve found a couple of shops in my area that carry this cigar, and like you said, they tend to carry Cabinet Seleccions for numerous lines. I have a couple of the Montecristos sitting in my humidor even now, just waiting to be reviewed!
excellent line of cigars, yes, creamy. i like these and the montes and porlarranaga when i dont want a heavy cigar