Brand: Camacho Diploma
Blender: Christian Eiroa
Vitola: Diploma
Ring Gauge: 50
Length: 5.00
Wrapper: Authentic Corojo
Binder: Authentic Corojo
Filler: Authentic Corojo
Origin: Honduras
MSRP: $8.95
Purchased From: Kensington Tobacconist

Brand:

The Camacho Diploma is a product of Christian Eiroa and utilizes what is called an Authentic Corojo leaf. Like most Camacho Product, these cigars could be described as a complete Puro, in the sense that all of the tobacco used is not only grown in Honduras, but grown on the Camacho Fields.

Printed on the band are the words “Quinto Corte”, the Camacho website informs us that this translates to “Fifth Priming”. The significance of this priming is that it allows the tobaccos to remain on the plant for a longer period of time. This additional time causes the leaves to develop a richer and fuller taste.

The Camacho Diploma line is available in five sizes which include; Diploma (50 x 5.00), 11/18 (54 x 6.00), 07/05 (52 x 6.00), 60/6 (60 x 6.00), and a Scorpion (54 x 6.00). All of these sizes, with the exception of the Scorpion, are available in a Maduro variety as well as the Natural.

Pre-Light:

After removing my Camacho Diploma from its cellophane sleeve, I gave it a good looking over. Being a standard Robusto size, as well as sporting a large band and a foot band, a large portion of the wrapper leaf is covered. When purchasing a cigar with this much band coverage, I really like to give them a good looking over for damage that may have been covered up and gone unnoticed at the time of purchase.

The first thing to jump out at me was a flattened section of the foot. It appears as though it may have been stuffed into the box at some point, be it at the factory or a customer deciding he no longer wished to purchase the stick. While this will not cause any ill affects on the way the product smokes, it gives it a bit of a goofy appearance.

The wrapper color is consistent from head to foot and is a beautiful deep brown color. There are a few veins which all feel as if they have been flattened out. They can be easily seen but do not protrude and make the cigar feel lumpy when handled.

When pinched, the cigar feels uniformly soft, from head to foot. Finding this on any other brand may alarm me, but it is common to find Camacho product slightly under-filled. By under-filling the cigars a bit, you are practically guaranteed that you will never pick up a plugged Camacho product.

First Third:

After the pre-light inspection was complete, I removed the foot band and got down to business. With the head of my cigar opened up with a pair of cigar scissors, I touched flame to foot and had my cigar producing smoke in no time.

The first few puffs of my Camacho Diploma produced a sort of dusty flavor with just a touch of spice to jolt the sinus when retrohaled. The body does a very nice job of coating the palate and making you feel as though you are smoking something full.

As I settle into the cigar, that dusty flavor from the first few puffs subsides and is replaced by a dry spice. As the initial flavor subsides, the residual smoke brings on a delicate flavor of wood, which seem easy to miss if my attention began to wonder elsewhere.

The burn line is not a pleasant site, and that is being modest. In all honesty, I don’t think I’ve ever smoked a Camacho Diploma that burned thin and evenly. While the burn line is not radically out of control, it is wavy throughout the entire first third. The thickness of the burn line varies as well. One side may be relatively thin while the opposite side of the cigar is much thicker.

Second Third:

After roughly thirty-minutes, I was surprised to find myself into the second third of my Camacho Diploma. Due to it being slightly under-filled, it seems to burn at a faster rate than most other cigars of this size and shape. Due to that slight under-filling, the draw is effortless and produces loads of thick smoke.

The flavor profile seems to have made an abrupt shift, somewhere in the first third, away from the dry spice and woody flavors. I am now finding that the flavor profile is made up of mostly a rather dynamic Corojo taste. While similar to the standard Camacho Corojo, it seems to have a boldness in the flavor intensity that is all its own.

As the cigar grows shorter, the burn line is not showing signs of improvement. It is still rather wavy and continues to show a burn line which is thicker in some spots, than in others. Due to the erratic burn, I’m finding that occasional tough-ups are required to keep it burning relatively even. The occasional re-light is also required from time to time, as the cigar seems to go out if left unattended for more than a couple of minutes.

Final Third:

After nearly seventy-minutes, I found myself most of the way through the final third of my Camacho Diploma. As I entered the final third, the cigar seemed to slow down a bit and smoked at a much more comfortable pace. The cigar smoked for this write-up actually seems to be the fastest burning one of the bunch. All of the others burned fast compared to other Robusto sized cigars, but not nearly as fast as this one.

The body and finish remained about the same. The body was full and did not progress much, it held a steady pace throughout the entire smoke, while the finish did very much the same with its creamy texture. Flavor-wise, this cigar only got more complex as it turned to ash. While it was lacking in variations of flavor, the complexity made it very enjoyable.

As you can see from the variety of photos, the burn on this stick was all over the place. One minute it was burning fairly well and the next it was rather wavy. Several touch-ups were required along the way, fortunately, the flavor intensity more than made up for this inconvenience. The smoke rate slowed down dramatically as I reached the band region, and made for a much more leisurely pace.

Final Thoughts:

Despite all the work that goes along with the Camacho Diloma, I think it is a fantastic smoke. I’m a sucker for a rich Corojo flavor and this cigar was in no short supply. Of all the Camacho Diplomas I have smoked to date, the one outlined here burned the fastest, by far.

While the price point is a few dollars more than that of you typical Camacho Corojo, I think this is a well deserved change of pace. The flavors are intense and complex and have yet to fail me. With a price point near the double-digit range, it isn’t something I would smoke everyday, but it is something I pick up from week to week.