Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano

Binder: Nicaraguan

Filler: Nicaraguan

Size: 6 x 60  “Grand Toro”

Body: Medium

Price: $4.00

At the Cuenca B & M in Hollywood, Florida….which is only 7 miles from Beverly Hills, FL and only 12 miles from Culver City, FL….they sell a bundle of inexpensive Nicaraguan sticks that the locals go crazy over. It is called: Cuenca Happy 660 Bundled Cigar. This is the cigar that sees itself moving out the door quite a bit.

There is no information on the web about it and there is barely any info on Cuenca’s site about the stick. No blender information because he is hiding in Argentina under the assumed name of Senor Messerschmitt.

On to the cigar…construction is pretty damn good. It is as solid as a rock with just the right amount of give so I have no worries about the draw. The cap is extremely well done. Seams are tight. And just a few veins to make it interesting. There is a nice oily sheen and a nice bit of tooth.

I do the sniff-o-rama and detect hay, barnyard, and some cocoa.

I clip it and light up.

And I get a nice flavor array. First there is leather and cedar. And the Bam! A big dose of Garcia type pepper blast! Jiminy Cricket and Manny Mota! I’m not kidding. My eyes begin to water. I love this cigar already.

I also taste cocoa and nuts. This stick is marketed as a knock around stick. I’ve tried the knock around sticks from CI and other places and they are nothing like this. The Cuenca folks put their heart and soul into providing you a product that is affordable and excellent quality.

The draw is dead nuts on fire. Smoke pours so prolifically that I cannot see my laptop screen. Really. The ash is close to being Christmas white. And the char line is almost perfect.

At the 1” mark, the body is a little shy of medium.

My dear friend, Ana Cuenca (if you visit their store, you be nice to her. This woman has a giant heart full of love and compassion) sent me a couple to see if I liked them. That was almost two weeks ago. I have to be honest here. A house cigar? Uh-oh. But I’m diggin’ it my little lambies. And I don’t usually like the big gauge sticks. But I like this one.

The cocoa taste looms large. The leather and nuttiness move forward. The spice tamps down a bit but not much. I’m a lover of spicy cigars.

Incredibly, after the 1” ash falls, the char line remains perfect.

I would like to see more info on this cigar on their web site.

At the end of the first third, coffee enters the picture. With just the slightest bit of creaminess. And the burn keeps on chooglin’.

I’m now getting a bit of black pepper at the back of my mouth. It seems to be a flanking move. LOL.

As I move closer to the halfway point, the flavors expand exponentially. They multiply like rabbits.

The cocoa, coffee and creaminess do the 40 in 4.3 seconds. Because this is such a big cigar, I take a break from typing to allow me to ingest the length and breadth of this behemoth. It’s taken me a good 45 minutes to get close to the halfway point.

And I’m enjoying every bit of it. I do believe they should market this a bit more on Face Book where they are very active. Ana is a member of my cigar group called Cigar Freaks. And for someone who comes from a cigar family and produces another great cigar: Cuenca 5 Anniversary. This cigar is a masterpiece. And I look forward to their next endeavor of cigar blending. I reviewed this cigar back in January. You can read it at: https://kohnhed.com/2013/01/28/cigar-review-cuenca-5-anniversary.

The second half is absolutely delicious. All the flavors have their foot on the accelerator. And the body stays at a classic medium.

I can state that this is the best $4.00 cigar I have ever smoked and now feel compelled to buy a bundle of 20. To show you the kind of people they are, you can buy this cigar by the bundle, 5 packs or single. And at every stage, the cigar remains at $4.00. Pretty classy. No taking advantage of the consumer. This is rare.

I’m into the last third. Heaven. A little side note. These sticks have no band. I have a bunch of humidors. And I lost the cigars. I went crazy trying to find them. Oh no…I’m going to let Ana down.

This morning, I begin the hunt again and right on top of a heap of cigars in my main humidor, there they are. I mean.. what the hell happened? Did elves move them overnight? Or did I have old man dementia last night? Anyway, it turned out just fine, thank you.

I grab my Diet Coke to enhance the cigar by experiencing the chocolate soda mode. The stick is pumping out cocoa and creaminess like Willy Wonka’s factory.

The spiciness has moved into the background.

I am now a little over 2 hours into the cigar and not a hint of harshness, bitterness or heat.

It is during this period of the cigar that some complexity begins to grow. Flavors meld and the cigar has a long finish. It is very well balanced. Everything is moving in unison.

A sweetness shows up and is lip smacking good. It is a perfect adjunct to the flavor profile.

I can highly recommend this cigar. You can purchase these cigars here: http://www.cuencacigars.com/cuenca-happy-660-bundle0-cig-of-2ars/

I think you should buy yourself some on conclusion of my review. And many thanks to Ana Cuenca for brightening my day with this great cigar.

Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS