Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Size: 6 x 53 “Torpedo”
Body: Medium
Price: $8.00

The Phantom is part of the Classic line from Paul Stulac Cigars. Two days ago, I reviewed the Angel from the same line. I smoked both of these cigars prior to reviewing and found they were different enough to warrant being written about separately. Shape and size do matter….at least, that’s what my wife tells me.

The Classic line, on a generic level, has a rustic look to all of its sizes. Lots of veins, some exposed seams, and kind of a funky cap. The wrapper is medium/dark brown. And very oily. The cigar feels very sandy with a bit of tooth.

I clip the cap and go for the aromas.

The clipped cap gives off the most intense aromas. Lots of cocoa, eye watering spice, cinnamon, cedar, wood, hay, and peanuts.
Time to light up.

The first puffs are cocoa and black pepper. And a bag full of nuts. No, I’m not talking about Paul when he gets out of the shower. The draw is superb and I am quickly engulfed in plumes of smoke. The tobacco has a rich sweetness. Much more intense than any other Classic I’ve smoked. The spiciness changes over to red pepper and gets very intense. Much different than the Angel which saw a gradual increase in spiciness.

The char line is dead nuts. The body is on the high side of medium quickly.

The aroma of peanuts becomes a flavor. I taste peanut butter. This is a first for me. It’s thick and aromatic. The pepper is clearing my sinuses. I’m beginning to look like our boxer dog after she chases rabbits in the back yard.

I am feeling the effects of nicotine early in the cigar. Same blend as the Angel. Totally different cigar. Plus the char line shows no evidence of being wavy.

This is a meaty cigar. Zaftig. (A Yiddish word meaning full bosomed).

The first third nears the end and the flavors begin to bloom like wild flowers. The same flavors exhibited in the beginning, which were muted, are now turning this cigar into an early flavor bomb. The cocoa and, now, coffee work in tandem. A bit of creaminess appears but not what I expect. I assume it will show up in force very soon. The cigar is super sweet. A sugary, honeysuckle flavor. The peanut butter is joined by a bready component; much like the Angel..minus the peanuts. So all we need is some jam and we’ve got a PB&J sandwich. This is pretty cool. I can’t remember the last time a cigar’s nuttiness came from peanuts.

The creaminess shows up moments later and completes the picture…I can’t get the picture of Paul getting out of the shower out of my head…I might need electro-shock therapy. Oy.

The Phantom burns a little faster than the Angel. It’s not as solid as the Angel was. It feels like it is a little airy. Probably just this particular cigar..because I’ve smoked all the lines and never had this issue.

I hit the halfway point and the cigar is great. I’m surprised and delighted that it became so flavorful early on. The fruit component shows up. No, it’s not Welch’s grape jelly.

There is a bit of citrus sweetness and tartness. It reminds me of apricot rather than anything I can think of.

BTW- I am sitting in my underwear while writing this review. If you send me $20 and a self-addressed stamped envelope, I will send you some autographed photos of me at the laptop. I will put a black strip across the naughty bits. And since I’m Jewish, the black strip will be small.
The flavors are just knocking me for a loop. These are expressive flavors. Each one is defined easily. No muting. No flavors in the background. And not a very complex cigar. But when the flavors explode like this, I don’t need complex. Complexity tends to mute flavors. And I am really enjoying my PB&J sandwich. LOL. This is way up front.

The beautiful cigar band is removed easily. And I’m a’ diggin’ this cigar.

It always amazes me how a different size of the same blend can have such a huge impact on the flavor profile.

I still have a little less than half to go and can’t wait to see what’s ahead.

A small anecdote about Paul and me. I was in an opium den in Turkey for about two hours. When I came out, there was Paul selling trinkets to the tourists. He had a cigar in his mouth and I asked him where he got it? He barely spoke English back then and managed to gurgle some words out explaining that he made it himself. He used wax paper for the wrapper, fish guts for the binder and camel droppings for the filler. I was intrigued. He handed me one and I lit up. It was marvelous. Paul smiled. He told me that one day he would make it to America and start his own cigar business. And of course, he did. He smuggled himself on a freighter in a Russian potato container. He later told me that people followed him down the streets trying to pour ketchup on him the first few days after he arrived.

Of course, he was dismayed when there were no camel droppings to be found so he went to the zoo in NYC. He climbed over the fence and scooped them up from the camel pen. He was caught and arrested. He spent one month on Riker’s Island rolling cigars for the inmates. And his career took off from there….A little known fact about Paul.

The last third begins and I want to bottle the flavors. Not a thing has changed except for the continued explosion of flavor. The spice has gotten stronger. And so has the body of the cigar. My vision blurs and my hands shake. I am a pussy to the core.

The cigar burns down and the flavors intensify. The power of the cigar is kicking my fat tushy. But that funky cap has behaved admirably. Not a single piece of loose tobacco. And the char line has been a real champ.

This cigar is way better than most cigars in the same price point. Such a treat. I have only allowed the cigar to rest for a couple weeks. This seems to be the norm for all of the lines of Paul’s cigars. Of course, additional aging improves them exponentially.
You have to try this cigar. A real gem.

Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS