Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Size: 6.5 x 52 “Piramide No. 2”
Body: Full
Price: $5.00 by the box, $9.00 by the single

I’m a big fan of Sosa Cigars. I’ve reviewed: Sosa Super Selection II, Sosa Classic Maduro, Sosa Limitado Stout Torpedo, Sosa Underground, and Sosa Classic Natural.

The Nicaraguan island of Ometepe gives two harvests a year. But on rare occasions, it produces a third harvest. The harvest is small but the product is outstanding.

Yet as outstanding this leaf is, the Sosa folks are able to keep the price point way down; proving that when you flash fancy leaf stats you don’t have to charge the public an arm and a leg (Are ya’ listenin? Jonathan Drew?)

The cigar is a sight to behold. A chocolate brown wrapper covered in oil and slightly toothy. Seams are nowhere to be seen and only a few veins. It has the standard gorgeous main cigar band with a secondary band naming the blend.

I clip this baby and find aromas of deep, dark cocoa. Plus malt. The more I sniff, the stronger it gets. There is some earth, cedar, and leather. And chocolate chip cookies.
Time to light up.

Bouncing Betty! A whole lotta’ cocoa on the palate. Smoke fills my eyes. The draw is wonderful. Sweet cedar, leather, spice that is building slowly, magnificent tobacco flavor, earthiness, espresso, oak, and butter slathered toast. Many Mota!

This is the king of the Sosa line…that I’ve smoked. Another shout out to Rene Cardona, my buddy, for sending me samples.

I never buy a cigar this size for the obvious reason I’ve belabored over and over. Big cigars don’t expel flavor the way a robusto does. If this log pushes out flavor at this rate…Don Drysdale!…what will a robusto do?

I stop typing here because we have a long ways to go.

I near the end of the first third and the flavors are so impressive. This Sosa is totally different than the others; and I loved the others.
This stick became a flavor bomb within 4 minutes of lighting it up. But it shows no complexity yet. Flavors are all crazy and flailing around. I don’t know what to report first.

The sweet earthiness is the bedrock of the flavor profile. The cocoa follows right behind. There is a strong dried fruit flavor. The buttery toast gives it such depth that it forces a big smile on my face. The draw continues to be perfect and the char line is dead nuts.

The cigar started out at classic medium and now that the first third is over moves a tick up to medium/full. The cigar is completely devoid of burn issues. As the second third begins, creaminess washes over my palate like a spackling knife. It enhances the sweetness. There is no way in hell that this cigar only costs $5 by the box. No way.

Again, a lesson to all the high falutin’ cigar makers that flash the PR machine and talk about rare leaves from Quebec, Tel Aviv, Kuo Sheng China, and Dodge City Kansas. And then they proceed to charge $14 a stick.

This cigar is every bit as good as a $14 cigar…Yes; I have dementia, but not that debilitating. (Just kidding)

OK. Here are all the flavors in descending order: Sweetness, creaminess, cocoa, raisins, coffee, spice, leather, earthiness, buttered toast, caramel, and Medjool dates.
Wow.

The cigar hits the complex mode near the halfway mark. My palate is having a party. I believe the cigar only has a few weeks on it. I cannot imagine what 6 months will taste like.

I’m sure Rene will tell me.

The body has shifted back to medium from medium/full. The whole profile has mellowed and smoothed out. The balance is spot on. It has a very long finish. If you’ve never smoked a Sosa, start with this one. Apparently, it is so new; the web site has not caught up to showing it yet.

The halfway point emphasizes the sweetness. It takes me back to the mid 70’s when I lived in England playing music. The band leader was from Devon, near Wales. The most beautiful country I had seen in England. It looked like the Shire.

So one day, on the road to Torquay to play a gig, just the two of us stopped at his mom’s house and she served us clotted cream and crumpets. Trying to describe clotted cream is difficult. Sort of like homemade whipped cream, but richer. I taste clotted cream in the combo of creaminess and sweetness.
The last third begins and the strength moves on up. I begin to feel the nicotine kick.

The cocoa and coffee combo is much stronger. In fact, everything is stronger. I can’t praise this cigar enough.

The cigar sees its last couple of inches go rogue. The pepper comes back in force. All of the aforementioned flavors are emboldened to the point of being ridiculously good. And it is here that the cigar hits full bodied. My vision is blurred.

Yeah, I recommend this cigar. Arby Sosa has a real winner here.

Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS

Tags: cigar reviews, cigar reviews by the katman, cigars, sosa cigars, sosa third harvest cigar review