Wrapper: Mexican San Andres Maduro
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Dominican
Size: 6.25 x 52 “Torpedo”
Body: Full
Price: $6.00-$7.00 Depending on online store. So do your research.
Manufacturer: Tabacalera A. Fuente y CIA Factory # 4

I spoke to Arby Sosa of Antillian Cigar Corp. that produces Sosa, Macabi, and Imperio Cubana Cigars. But before I get into that, I would like to reprint their bio posted on their web site:
“Don Juan Sosa was a small tobacco grower in the fertile Taguasco region of Cuba at the turn of the century. By the 1920′s, his farm had become one of the largest tobacco-producing haciendas on the island. Over the next 30 years, Don Juan’s son Arturo and grandson Juan manufactured cigars for sale in Cuba and abroad, but due to political turmoil, the family was forced to leave the island in 1962.
“Juan Sosa spent the next several years searching for soils as rich as those in his native Cuba. He found them in the Santiago region of the Dominican Republic where the family re-established their factory along with operations in Miami.
“The story of the Sosa family continues, with his wife Nelda and three sons who continue the legacy of quality, handmade cigars made in the Cuban tradition.”

The new Super Selection, which made its reappearance in 2012, added the flashy foot band and made the change to the original Sosa Classic band instead of the old band from around 2000. Tobacco is aged for at least 5 years and then laid to rest another half a year once finished.

A little birdie told me that this is Arby Sosa’s favorite blend. But that’s just gossip, mind you.

I recently reviewed the Sosa Classic Natural, Sosa Underground, Sosa Classic Maduro, and the Sosa Limitado Super Stout Torpedo. Click on their names to read my reviews. These were all wonderful cigars.

The dark Mexican wrapper is close to coal black. Seams are a bit irregular as one cigar will be perfect in every way and the next will have an exposed seam. I also see the remnants of cigar glue used by the torcedor. Little shiny spots. I use several cigars to compare and they are, as a group, a rustic looking bunch of cigars. And to be honest, some of the best cigars I’ve smoked were rustic looking. So I am not passing judgment yet.
The wrapper is very oily and very toothy. The single cap is admirably executed.

I clip the cap and find aromas of cocoa and fruit….spiciness, coffee, toffee, and earth.
Time to light up.

The first puffs are a light cocoa with a red pepper accompaniment. And a nice sweetness that rounds out the picture. I’m sure the Mexican wrapper is the big producer of sweetness here.

An almond flavor appears that is sweet and full of sugar; like marzipan. My wife is from Germany and as the holidays get closer, she begins to buy all those German pastry goodies. Like marzipan coffee cakes and Stollen (Pronounced: Shto-lin). And I am a damn diabetic and don’t get to eat any of this chazerzai. All this stuff is made in Germany and shipped here. Even Trader Joe’s carries a really good imported Stollen. It should be popping up soon. Get some and then send a box of cigars to your Uncle Katman for turning you on to it.

About 2” into the stick, a wave of creaminess hits the shores of Milwaukee. And the cigar hits a tick above medium from the start of the cigar. And I didn’t eat a thing before writing and smoking.

The cigar is quickly, and quietly, turning into a subtle flavor bomb. Elements are not explosive, but rather, smooth and balanced. The stick has a really long finish.

The toffee aroma transitions to a toffee flavor. I’m not quite sure the difference between toffee and caramel. Experts, Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough, explain the difference: “Toffee is basically sugar and butter. Caramel is sugar and cream, or milk, with butter occasionally in the mix. To make toffee crunchy, it is cooked to 300 degrees Fahrenheit, while caramel stays smooth when cooked to about 248 degrees Fahrenheit (but hardens at around 270 degrees).”

So the only thing missing is the crunch.

I pass the second third and flavors become bolder. In descending order: Creamy, cocoa, spice, toffee, coffee, marzipan, and earthiness. A real Christmas delight. Or in my case, a Chanukkah delight. But no prune filled Danish compares to Stollen.

The halfway point sees the flavors become very distinct and separate from each other. And then like the Hadron Collider, they smash into each other and form a nucleus of one ginormous flavor so intense that it may be the beginning of the cosmos.

My buddy, Rene Cardona, keeps telling me that I have to try this cigar. It is one of his all-time faves. I can see why he is so enthusiastic. It is the halfway point that the cigar morphs from a subtle flavor bomb to an explosive one.

The draw has been perfect, the char line has been perfect, and the cap maintains an even strain. All in all, this is a nicely constructed cigar; in spite of its rustic look.

I’ve only had these cigars for a short while and decided to try one out for its potential. I was so blown away that I decided to review it. If this is only potential, I cannot imagine the cigar a few months down the road.

The cigar gets very chewy and the flavors keep me from putting the cigar down. It stays in my mouth throughout the review. The ash is solid as an iceberg. But I knock it off for fear it might land in my lap or on my keyboard. Writing a review is angst ridden enough without trying to impress you with 6” of ash sitting on a nub. I can’t write on my back.

The last third begins without change. Sweetness and cream and toffee and cocoa are just slamming into each other with extreme prejudice.

If you have read my reviews in the past, you know that I don’t like big cigars. Robusto is my size of choice for wringing out every bit of flavor that the cigar has to offer. But this behemoth is acting and performing just like a robusto in that fashion.
The cigar comes in sizes:
Torpedo II: 6.25 x 52
III: 5.75 x 44
V: 5 x 50
VII: 6 x 50
VIII: 7 x 50

The cigar reaches full bodied. The nicotine blast is upon me.

The third finishes up extremely well balanced, complex, full flavored, and full bodied with a very long finish. While the full body experience is noticeable, the stick never puts out the nicotine I expected and, in fact, the cigar is very smooth to the end.

Most online stores sell the entire line for less than $6 up to $7; depending on size.

I am very impressed with the entire Sosa line that I’ve smoked and reviewed. Arby Sosa is a master at blending. I would love to be a fly on the wall when he and his team dreams up these blends. If you go to the Sosa site, you will see that Sosa also owns and distributes a slew of other cigars. Click on “Antillian Cigars” to see all that this company produces.

Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS

Tags: cigar review, cigar reviews by the katman, cigars, sosa cigars, sosa super selection II cigar review