Wrapper: Brazilian Maduro

Binder: Cameroon

Filler: Dominican  (Entubado Style)

Size: 6.25 x 50  “Box Press”

Body: Medium/Full

Price: $7.00

I am being bold and reckless. I am reviewing a cigar the day after I received it. No waiting as I usually do to give it time to rest and breathe.

I don’t know anything about the blender. There is info on their web page but the names are not familiar. You can check it out at: http://www.iconicleafcigar.com/index.php

I learned about this cigar through a friend on Face Book. They interested me and I popped for a 5 pack of the toros. The box press is flawless. The wrapper is a beautifully mottled coffee brown. Seams are tight and there are only a few veins here and there. There is a lot of tooth. And just the slightest of an oily sheen.

I am impressed that the cigar’s fillers are rolled Entubado style. A long and arduous process of rolling each leaf into a tube and then surrounding the tubes with the binder. They are also very proud that the cigar goes through 8 fermentation cycles. Ordinarily, a cigar will go through 4-8 cycles.

The pre-light sniff detects some spiciness, leather and sweetness..sort of like treacle. The foot is intense with aroma of coffee and cocoa and sweetness.

By the way, the secondary band has the letters: “OTG” which stands for “Off The Grid.”

I V cut the cap and light ‘er up.

The first puffs are very flavorful…espresso right off the bat, cocoa, loads of red pepper…and some creaminess. Not bad. But the char line gets ragged immediately. I decide to give it a couple of minutes. Fingers crossed.

The stick is rich and earthy. Manly. Or Womanly. Your choice. Damn. I have to fix the char line before it goes bat shit on me.

The body is at a classic medium from the start. This stick should be spewing smoke like a chimney because of the Entubado method of rolling, but it is not. The only time I see smoke is when I draw on it and then, it’s not much. While the Entubado method is admirable, a roller can crush those tubes by rolling the binder too tight. This might be what happened here.

The spiciness settles on the tip of my tongue making it tingle. Correcting the burn makes the ash fall off prematurely. I am only at the ¾” mark. And nothing has changed.

And then a nice fruitiness shows up…sort of like yellow mango. A nice surprise. Both the cocoa and the mango tug at the creaminess and sweetness components.

I’m going out on a limb here but I do believe that while there is no information on the manufacturing of this cigar, that it got a lot of love in the aging process. Because while I only received this cigar yesterday, it has all the makings of a nicely rested cigar. It has character and depth. A long finish. And even at the first third, a well-balanced composure.

I give up on trying to get the char line to be even. It is what it is. I just hope it doesn’t canoe or tunnel on me.

The first third ends with loads of flavor: cocoa, sweet fruit, creaminess, earthiness, and coffee.

I enter the second third and the body ramps up to full. The strength reinforces the flavor profile. Flavors are bolder now. I think that complexity is the only thing missing by smoking the stick too soon.

I think the $7.00 price point is spot on for this cigar. It is not a masterpiece, not yet anyway. But it is a very solid, good tasting cigar. Worth the 7 bucks. Which by the way, the manufacturer blended this cigar into 10 sizes. That’s a pretty broad stroke with mucho confidence in one’s product to do that. Usually, 2-3 sizes is the norm for a startup.

Now smoke is spewing. Why? No idea.

This cigar is friggin delicious. The creaminess and sweetness lead the charge with the cocoa and coffee and fruit are right behind them.

I hit the last third and the flavors keep expanding. The cigar remains cool and collected. The char line has a mind of its own. I would love to get some of my smoky cigar photos but the stick won’t cooperate. It goes back to barely emitting smoke.

I’m sure that any problems I encounter are due to the early smoking of the stick but I have no willpower. They are a beautiful, alluring stick and they just kept staring at me. I always allow my sticks to settle for the first 24 hours by letting them sit on top of my humidor. Very often, the sticks arrive over humidified. Sellers, wanting to do the right thing, put a little humidifier pillow in the plastic bag and the cigars tend to get a little damp. So my method works perfectly for me.

The body simmers down in the last third which is unusual. It is now more of a medium/full bodied cigar. Which is just fine with me. The draw gets a little tough during the last couple of inches. My cheeks are coming close to turning inside out. I think the Entubado process is a great idea but it has to be executed with great expertise and I’m not sure that this is the case here. But I have only smoked one cigar and it shouldn’t be judged on one stick.

The cigar never becomes complex. Again, aging will probably remedy this.

Overall, I really liked this stick; even with all its little issues. I will let the other four cigars rest for a few weeks and re-visit this review and discuss the changes in character that occurred, or didn’t, by letting them age a bit.

Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS