Camacho has always been a cigar company that pushes the envelope with unique innovations in blends and packaging. Their new Camacho Nicaraguan Barrel Aged is the latest cigar blend in the Camacho portfolio to do something a little different. Camacho is known for their excellent corojo tobacco, but the NBA adds a twist. Camacho takes their corojo tobacco that is grown in Esteli, Nicaragua and ages it in old bourbon barrels that have been used to age rum from Flor de Cana. Flor de Cana is an excellent rum from Nicaragua so it’s not surprising that Camacho chose their barrels to age the tobacco in. Here is quote from the press release from Camacho on the NBA:
“Having pioneered and perfected the art of aging Original Corojo tobacco in Kentucky Bourbon barrels for American Barrel-Aged, Camacho’s master builders have continued their relentless quest, venturing further south to harness the wild flavors of Nicaragua. Starting with the sweet, spicy, and oaky flavors that define tobacco from this region, Esteli?-grown Corojo is aged in some of the world’s oldest Nicaraguan rum barrels. Once filled with bourbon, these well-seasoned rum barrels were hand selected for optimal humidity and add layers of complexity for an entirely unique experience. Toasted flavors combined with leather and oak are rounded out by sweet flavors and caramel notes from the aged rum. Lastly, the proprietary PowerbandTM bunching process amplifies this complex combination, resulting in a peak performance flavor explosion that once again pushes the limits.”
I’m not sure what Powerband bunching is, but I do like barrel aged tobacco. I’ve been a big fan of cigars that use tobaccos aged in either rum or bourbon barrels….well, that uses quality tobacco anyway. The NBA comes in three sizes: robusto, toro, gordo and robusto tubo.
- Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano 2000
- Binder: Mexican Negrito San Andres
- Filler: Nicaraguan Rum Barrel Aged Corojo 99, Dominican San Vicente and Piloto Cubano
- Factory: Diadema Cigars De Honduras, S.A.
- MSRP: $11.00
Pre-light
The wrapper is gorgeous medium brown and very smooth. The draw is spot on with flavors of leather, oak and rich earth. You can get a hint of the rum barrel aging when you take the cigar out of the cellophane with is very pleasant.
First Half
The cigar lights up well and with the great draw, produces a lot of smoke. You can definitely taste the flavors the rum barrels imparted on to the tobacco. I get notes of leather, oak, vanilla wafers, white pepper, which is stronger on retrohale, with sweet caramel developing later near the middle of the cigar. The cigar is medium bodied.
Last Half
The cigar’s flavor profile changes quite a bit. The caramel note is the strongest now while the white pepper note became very faint. The oak is there still there along with the vanilla wafers and leather. The notes really show how much flavor aging in rum barrels imparts on the tobacco.
Overall Impressions
I really enjoyed this cigar. One of the first things I heard on some of my Facebook cigar groups about this cigar was that it was a gimmick and that they don’t like infused cigars. This cigar is neither. Aging in bourbon or rum barrels is something several cigar companies are doing now with varying levels of success. It imparts a nice flavor that really complements the natural flavors of the tobacco. Which brings me to the second issue of infusing. This is NOT infused tobacco. The tobacco absorbs some of the flavors from the very small amounts of liquor that is still encased in the pores of the wood staves. Infusing uses a large amount of the flavoring material to add flavor to the tobacco which is also different from casing the tobacco. Camacho has hit another home run with this cigar. The flavors are great and the medium body of the cigar makes it approachable to all kinds of cigar smokers. My favorite cigar from Camacho was the Ecuadorian, but I think this might have replaced it. I find it much better than the American Barrel Aged, which, although I liked it, I thought it was a little sharp, as the NBA is smoother. It pairs amazingly well with bourbon and rum, as you would expect. Definitely check these out at your local brick and mortar.
I will have to try this one. It sounds like a winner.
Powerband? Is that like a Power Trio?