Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano Rosado

Binder: Nicaraguan

Filler: Nicaraguan

Size: 6.5 x 52

Body: Medium/Full

Price: $9.00

This is the third entry in the Ortega Wild Bunch series. The previous cigars started at Big Bad John and followed with Iron Mike. I got all three from Atlantic Cigar.

Island Jim is named for Jim Robinson, who owns a cigar shop called the Leaf and Bean in Pittsburgh.

The cigars are made at the My Father Cigar Factory in Esteli, Nicaragua.

Only 500 boxes of each will be made and each will be totally different in shape and blend from the prior cigar and month.

Construction is good…a nice solid cigar with no soft spots. The wrapper is a milk chocolate typical of Ecuadorian Rosado. And with that is a slight tinge of red. Veins are acceptable and seams are tight. Oils glisten in the light and there is a slight toothiness.

I sniff around and detect cedar, citrus and some nuttiness. There is also a nice graham cracker aroma concentrated at the foot. As well a lot of cocoa.

I snip and light.

I taste red pepper, rich tobacco; citrus that is both tart and sweet, and caramel.

I smoked one last night for the sole purpose of seeing where the cigar was in the aging process and when I could smoke it and review it. I had a rough time with the burn. Hopefully, it doesn’t recur.

The draw is excellent. And it is a smoke factory in Pittsburgh.

The burn begins to become erratic and I correct it.

At this early stage, the cigar is on the mild side of medium. But if this follows the My Father recipe, it starts off slow and then gets on the good foot the last third.

The sweetness and the citrus are divine, baby. I have never tasted this much lemon in a cigar before. Almost like a yellow, icy cocktail with a small umbrella in it.

I’m still in the first third and the spiciness has moved to the background. The richness of the tobacco has lessened. The char line has coned. I have a few Iron Mikes in my humidor and this cigar blend is not in the same category.

As the first third ends, it gets a little blah. The flavors were stronger in the first inch than as I enter the second third.

A bit of creaminess shows up and so does some cocoa. The lemony flavor component hangs on and I like it. The sweetness remains but now only shows itself in the background.

The char line begins to correct itself on its own. And the cone effect seems to lessen but is still there. Since this is the second Island Jim I’ve had in 18 hours, and I’ve had burn issues with both cigars; I am guessing it might be a prevalent issue with the rolling.

At the halfway mark, the power is at a classic medium. Of the three blends released so far, this is my least favorite. It’s not bad but I believe it needs some serious aging time.

The spiciness keeps the cigar on point for having some oomph. If not for that, it would have none.

The last third ramps up on the flavor front. The spiciness is much stronger. The cocoa becomes more important and the lemon zest has moved a bit back to the middle ground. The nuttiness emerges as a bona fide flavor now. The char line is right on.

It is at this point that the strength increases; as expected. But it doesn’t wow me. I was really looking forward to this. If you are pressed to buy only one blend of the three, I would definitely go with Iron Mike.

The flavors are all stronger than the first two thirds but nothing knocks me out. It could be as simple as the cigar needing months of humidor time. The other two in the series were rip roaring and ready to go after two weeks. So I assumed that this stick would be ready as well. Either this is the totality of the cigar or it needs that aging.

And now for something completely different:

Back in 1983, The Mike Douglas Show was still on TV. It was one of those day time talk shows that started in the 50’s and lasted til the mid/late 1980’s. It was Douglas who allowed John Lennon and Yoko to be co-anchors for an entire week and allowed them any guest they wanted.

                                                                                                                                                   MIKE DOUGLAS

When the show was on its last legs, it went from normal syndication to airing on TBS. My press agent got Butch Patrick a guest spot to promote our “Whatever Happened to Eddie?” project.

                                                                                                                                          EDDIE AND THE MONSTERS

I went to all the TV show interviews and all the radio interviews with Butch. I needed to make sure he arrived on time and sober. I had my own idea of how an entertainment manager should look and bought an expensive 3 piece pin striped suit. I looked exactly like Alexander Haig.

The show taped late afternoon. We arrived and were ushered to the Green Room which was a holding area for the guests.

The two guests I remember were Barbara Eden and Earl Holliman. Of course, everyone knows Eden as the Genie..but Earl Holliman was a character actor. He played the cook in the legendary sci-fi movie of the 1950’s called, “Forbidden Planet.” He also played Angie Dickinson’s side kick cop on “Police Woman” on TV.

BARBARA EDEN

Meeting Eden was a thrill and she was even more gorgeous than on TV. She also had a boyfriend the size of the Hulk with her.

Holliman and I struck up a conversation and I told him about the burgeoning birth of MTV and rock videos. We of course had brought our rock video that accompanied our song. The more we talked, the more friendly he got.

I got to meet Douglass and was shocked at how old he looked. They had enough pancake make up on him to bury him in it.

So Butch did his shtick in a very good interview but it was cut short because a washed up magician/mentalist, The Amazing Kreskin, was hogging Butch’s time. Even Douglas was perturbed because at one point he rolled his eyes.

I was actually happier about sitting and talking with Earl Holliman that I was about Butch being on the show. We talked about Forbidden Planet and John Wayne, and a million other things that this man had done.

EARL HOLLIMAN

                                                                                                                                                      “POLICE WOMAN”

When it was over, Butch and I left and walked down the corridor to the elevator. Earl and Douglass both leaned out of the doorway, and Earl yelled, “See ya Phil. Take care. Have a good one.” I was thrilled and told Butch so as we got into the elevator.

As the doors closed, Butch turned to me and said, “Earl Holliman is gay.”

Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS