Wrapper: Nicaraguan Corojo ‘06
Binder: Dominican Criollo ’98, Nicaraguan Habano 2000
Filler: Dominican San Vicente, Nicaraguan Corojo ‘99
Size: 5.5 x 54 “Robusto Grande”
Body: Medium/Full
Price: $6.50 by the box
I’m not breaking any land speed records with this timely review as it debuted at the 2010 IPCPR trade show. But then I realized I hadn’t tried it. When I read that Pepin Garcia blended this cigar in collaboration with Nestor Miranda, I bugged good ol’ buddy, Jason Harding of BestCigarPrices.com to hand ‘em over so I could review them. As always the caring, gentle soul, said “…of course you old fart.”
It seems when Miranda teams with Garcia, they make very good cigars.
And Cigar Aficionado agreed when it rated the Art Deco a solid 90 and said this about the cigar:
“Smooth and rich in appearance, this cigar starts out spicy and herbal, then warms up to show a sweet licorice note before spice flavor intensifies.”
I can see the two engaging in fisticuffs when Miranda insisted on using some special Dominican leaves. Garcia is a Nic puro kind of guy. So I envision them rolling on the floor until one of them ran out of breath; probably a minute or so.
The cigar is full of veins and a bit bumpy here and there. It appears to have either a double or triple cap. The seams are a little sloppy. There is a nice oily sheen and a tiny bit of toothiness to the touch.
I clip the cap and find aromas of sweet gingerbread cookies, spice, toast, baking cocoa, earthiness, and a bit of coffee.
Time to light up.
The first puffs are very earthy and creamy. There is a modicum of spice in the background. I should add that I have only allowed the cigar to meditate in my humidor for a month. The toast aroma translates to freshly baked bread. The spice, rather than the normal Garcia blast of pepper, moves up the ladder slowly.
One of the seams comes loose near the foot and I use my Kingpin glue to fix it. Good stuff. But I am hearing little snap, crackles and pops as I smoke it…which means it is too dry. My other cigars are just fine.
I check my humidor several times per day and use three digital hygrometers in each humidor to make sure that everything is hunky dory.
Sweetness and creaminess and spice are the front runners at the 1” mark.
The flavors of cocoa and coffee are struggling in the background to become more dominant.
The cigar comes in only three sizes:
Coffee Break 4.5 x 50
Robusto Grande 5.5 x 54
Gran Toro 6 x 60
The price range is $5.60-$7.50 per stick by the box.
The cap is deteriorating faster than Lance Armstrong’s right nut.
I must add that I have these sticks in a humidor, with perfect humidity, and only a few cigars in this particular humidor. The other cigars I smoke from this box are all just fine. A piece of wrapper just comes off at the cap exposing a large area of binder underneath.
I finish the first third and fingers crossed that the second third will be a little more exciting; and I don’t mean watching the cigar disintegrate before my eyes.
The spice is all but gone. The flavors of creaminess, sweetness, cocoa, and coffee are muted substantially.
The cap looks like the hair on one of those troll dolls.
The body has been a classic medium from the first puff.
I want to clip the messy cap but I am afraid of even more wrapper unraveling. So I go against my gut feeling and clip away. And guess what? More wrapper unravels. I may be very close to smoking a cigar without a wrapper.
I have smoked four prior to this review and they were inconsistent.
The char line needs correction.
I begin the last third. I am getting some bitterness. With all the gluing and burn line correction, I am not surprised.
I allow the cigar to just sit in the ashtray for a few minutes.
Flavors are better. I’m sure this would have happened much earlier if not for the construction and burn issues.
The body is becoming stronger.
I remove the cigar band and it pulls some wrapper off with it. This would be funny if it weren’t a review.
The cigar finishes out cool and with a bit of harshness. As I said earlier,
The cigar looks like Frankenstein’s monster. The wrapper has come off so many times and I have repaired it so many times that it looks like a cigar you find on the curb after a big rain. I have to stop smoking it now or there will be nothing but filler showing.
I can’t recommend this stick. The cigar band should be a tip off with its campy look. Its inconsistencies put me off. This is a good stick to give to your mooch friends.
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Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS
Wrapper and burn issues really chap my ass…A stick can have the best flavor profile on the planet, but if the Cigar falls apart on me, and continually needs a touch up, I’m gone…I’ll be skipping this bad boy.,..Nice review !
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I agree with you but the exception was that I smoked four of them prior to the review and they were all fine. Zero problems. Must be my karma.
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