Up this week I have something that is a little different. Instead of smoking four to five of the same stick to generate an opinion, I went ahead and recorded my first impression of a cigar which I received at IPCPR 2009. Since this is not something that we generally do here at Stogie Review, please take into consideration that this cigar was my one and only specimen.

I have no way of knowing if what I smoked was consistent with the rest of the line. This single cigar could very well have been the worst the line had to offer and been a dud, or it could have been the best stick to dawn the La Caridad Del Cobre band. This video was recorded because I was in the mood and thought the outcome may be interesting to some of our readers / viewers.

Because this is something new, I’ve changed up the written format so that it was a little simpler and contained less information. I’ve touched on a couple aspects of the cigar which can be built upon with content in the video. The video itself runs about twenty-one minutes and follows my standard review format.

The Details

Brand: La Caridad Del Cobre
Vitola: Toro
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sungrown Sumatra
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Origin: Miami, Florida
MSRP: $185.00 per box of 25

Pre-Light

The first thing that I noticed about my La Caridad Del Cobre was its dull sheen, which gives it a dry appearance. There are a few veins which sporadically appear throughout the wrapper. The veins are medium sized and don’t protrude much to create a rough or lumpy texture. Visually, the cigar looks to be well constructed.

When pinched, I found the cigar to be fairly dense and evenly packed with tobacco. The aroma was very mild, as was the cold draw after opening the head. The pre-light draw was not bad but a little stiff for my liking

Burning Characteristics

After a quick and painless toasting and lighting session, my La Caridad Del Cobre was evenly lit and producing a fair amount of smoke. Throughout the entire cigar, the burn line remained relatively thin and even. The ash was light in color held a nice compact shape. The strength of the ash was a little disappointing and continuously fell when it reached about a half inch.

Each time the ash dropped, the burn line became a little move wavy. This waviness subsided as the ash began to develop and insulate the burn. This cycle seemed to repeat itself throughout the stick. While it wasn’t too hard to manage the weak ash, this isn’t something that I would want to smoke in a vehicle or anywhere else where the ash could make a mess from excess movement.

The stiff draw has the tendency to make me draw harder to get the volume I am accustomed to. This, compared with an airy sort of smoke, warms up the cigar and makes it slightly harsh as the cigar burns shorter.

Flavor

As a whole, this cigar is very laid back and easy to smoke. The body remains mild for majority of the smoke and reaches the medium spectrum around the last third. The finish is smooth and produces a buttery texture that goes very well with coffee.

When the smoke is passed though the sinuses, I get a very unique spiciness that it difficult to describe. This spiciness is not overwhelming and does not present the typical pepperiness that generally makes your eyes water a bit.

The main flavor component was a straight up and generic tobacco taste. This flavor lasted for majority of the cigar and did not change up much as I transitioned from one third to the next. The only change came in during the final third when the body increased and the finish became a little aggressive. There was also an occasional bready flavor that seemed a bit out of place.

Final Thoughts

The La Caridad Del Cobre was a bit mild for me, even as a morning cigar. I was most interested in the second third and didn’t care for the final third. It was pleasant, for the most part, with a cup of coffee but I could see this easily being overpowered by anything it was paired with later in the afternoon.

When the price of $185.00 is broken down over twenty-five cigars, it comes out to about $7.40 per single. I think this is a bit high for what I got out of it but the fact that it is made in Miami makes the price a little more justifiable. While I wouldn’t go searching one of these cigars out, I certainly wouldn’t pass one up to smoke as a first cigar of the day with a cup of coffee.