Wrapper: Ecuadorian
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Costa Rican, Dominican
Size: 7.5 x 49 “Doble Corona”
Body: Mild/Medium
Price: $11.40 (By the Box) $9.00 (By the box at Mike’s Cigars)

This cigar finds its roots in Europe. The creator of this brand, Isaias Stantana Diaz, is Cuban and came to the United States in 1995, after living in Sweden. The cigars made their debut at the IPCPR trade show in 2009.

The company is now based in Miami. Manufacturing takes place in Costa Rica. The D’Crossier lineup includes: Premium Blend, Golden Blend, Limited Edition 2008, Imperium Class Vintage, and Presidential Four Pac. All of the cigars received awards in America and Europe upon their debut in this country.

This is from their web site:
“The D’Crossier Golden Blend is aged 7 years. A perfectly made cap and richly colored wrapper makes this noble cigar one of the finest of our collection. The construction of this robusto is virtually flawless, the draw is ample and its aromas summon aged wood and cocoa beans. The cigar itself has a nice dark looking Ecuadorian wrapper that is glistening with oils and is exquisitely rolled with a nice flat cap that gives this a Cuban like appearance.”

I’ve never heard of this cigar and after some research, found only a few online stores carry them. Clearly, they are not cheap cigars.
As anyone who reads me regularly, knows I am not fond of giant redwood logs. I cannot guarantee I will finish this cigar as it could take close to three hours to finish and unless it knocks me out cold with flavor, I will smoke enough to present a clear picture of this cigar and then give up.
I want to thank Ana Cuenca of Cuenca Cigars for gifting this stick to me.

Construction is borderline rustic. Lots of veins, big and small. Most seams are plainly visible. The flat cap is done nicely. The wrapper is the color of Bambi’s bastard son with a slight reddish hue. There is a slight bit of oiliness and the wrapper feels sandy with spots of complete smoothness.

I clip the cap and find aromas of spice, nutmeg, nuttiness, cocoa, cinnamon, earthiness, and leather.
Time to light up.

The first puffs are sweet. With a pumpkin aftertaste. And then comes the nutmeg. Cocoa follows suit. A bit of earthiness. And nuts. Actually, the nuts taste like pepitas, roasted pumpkin seeds.

The body starts off at medium. The char line is very close to dead nuts. Just a slight wave. The cigar is really jam packed with tobacco and is burning very slowly. The draw is a bit tight. I can’t feel any plugs. The size of this cigar is going to make this effort take all morning.
At the one inch mark, the ash flowers; or gets a split ash. I believe that the large vein, running the length of that stick, is the cause. The split happens exactly where the vein meets the ash center. Others blame bunching of the leaves for that problem.

Halfway through the first third, the cigar gets interesting. Flavors come out to play. We now have a more prominent cocoa, added creaminess and caramel like flavors, sweetness, pumpkin, nuttiness, leather, and nutmeg.

Throughout the cigar until now, the ash never makes it past the half inch point before falling off. I gotta tell you that while this is a nice flavored cigar, the construction is producing a big minus in my assessment. There should be no construction problems with an $11 stick. It should stop lying around and wash your car.

It’s nice not to smoke a Nicaraguan puro for a change. While I enjoy them, a nice change up is welcome. The combination of the leaves in this mix makes for an enjoyable flavor profile.

I enter the second third. It’s only taken me 4-1/2 days to get here. Or it seems so. To be honest, the body has slipped into mild/medium body. Fortunately, the flavors are interesting but there is no oomph to the cigar.

At the halfway point, some red pepper shows up to give the cigar some oomph. It doesn’t affect the body, though.

This is an extremely rich and flavorful cigar. It has only around 6 weeks of humidor time. So I don’t know if additional time will make it better or make it mellower.

The flavors become subtle. The stick isn’t that complex. And I lose the pumpkin, nutmeg, and leather.

The char line becomes wavy and a correction is needed. Tsk, tsk…it is an $11 stick and should have a razor sharp burn.

Man, I’ve been smoking this cigar forever. And nothing of note is changing. This is pretty much a one trick pony. Nice nuanced flavors, almost no oomph, a weakling body, and it’s taking too damn long to smoke.

I have no idea who this cigar is made for. It seems like it is competing with the Davidoff blends. Same sort of profile. But cheaper.

The last third is finally upon me. And its same ol’, same ol’. It’s now been 10 days since I started smoking this log. I’ve lost 12lbs. I get it. It’s a diet cigar.

It is a dreary, drizzly summer day in Wisconsin and I must once more make my apologies for my photos. If you read my reviews, you know I depend heavily on that sunshine streaming through the dining room window. Today, I am getting pea soup.

The last third sees the cigar move into classic medium body. The flavors are the same. But no finesse or nuance any longer. This is a $4 cigar. I have no idea why the price point is so expensive. Maybe the doughnut brain Europeans like this kind of cigar, the wussies. Cigars are very expensive in Europe. I have old friends living in various locations of that continent. And they tell me that the prices are crazy, especially the real Cubans.
So maybe the doughnut hole manufacturer thought he could just translate the European cost to America and no one would notice. Clearly, misbegotten move on their part. A little research goes a long way.

With a couple inches to go, the flavors explode and achieve flavor bomb status. I had to smoke almost 6” before that happened. That’s just nuts.
Obviously, I cannot recommend this cigar for several reasons. Its price point is way out of line. The body is way too mild for my tastes. And the flavors are static and become boring. Maybe a robusto would be much better. Unfortunately, the cigar only comes in big sizes. Give this stick a pass.

Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS