Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sumatra
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Size: 6.5 x 38 “Lancero/Panatela”
Body: Medium/Full
Price: $8.00
Who doesn’t love Eddie Ortega Cigars? Once he left EO Cigars, he did some serious soul searching and came up with a mission statement that must have been 300 pages long.
According to Wikipedia: “The brand was created by José “Pepin” Garcia as well as the co-founders of United Tobacco Erik: Espinosa & Eddie Ortega. All 601 cigars are manufactured at the Tabacalera Cubana factory in the Estelí, Nicaragua. The brand was introduced in August 2006.”
The Ortega cigars are being manufactured at the My Father Factory in Esteli. And only 500 boxes were made of each Wild Bunch character.
I have reviewed several of the Wild Bunch sticks. I will list them with links at the bottom of this review.
The Fast Eddie is 8 of 12 or August. This lancero is a bit smaller than the usual lancero size of a 42 ring gauge and is sometimes called an 8-Ball.
Construction is like all Ortega cigars. Damn near impeccable. The shaft is solid with a little give. Seams are invisible and just some minor veins. The wrapper is oily with the smallest of tooth. There is a small pig-tail on the cap.
I clip the cap and find aromas of sweet cedar, eye watering pepper, orange zest, and candied lemon peel. Stirred, not shaken.
Time to light up.
Instantly, there is a cured wood flavor and then Bam! The Garcia blast of red pepper. The draw smokes like a big boy. The char line is a bit wavy. But of no consequence. There are some very subtle things going on in the flavor profile. It is sweet. And sour. Like General Tso’s Chicken.
At the 1” mark, it becomes a huge flavor bomb. The flavors, in descending order are: Sweet cured cedar, red pepper, creaminess, cocoa, baking spices, citrus, clarified unsalted sweet butter, coffee, earth, and huge balance and a very long finish.
The pepper is perfect for my tastes. Strong, but not strong enough to obliterate the wonderful flavors layered beneath it. I like a zesty cigar.
The ash doesn’t last very long and I’ve dropped some on my lap. Fortunately, I have a small ding-a-ling so no harm done.
You know if you look long enough at the cigar band, Fast Eddie looks a lot like Eddie Ortega. Am I the last to know?
I hit the end of the first third and the cigar beams with subtle and not so subtle flavors. The earthiness moves almost to the front of the pack. Behind that is pepper, creaminess, cedar, sweetness and citrus…way in the back is cocoa and coffee.
The nice thing about Ortega’s new lines of cigars is that they move away from the old school way of doing things. His 601 Brand took a long time in the humidor before they were ready to smoke. The new blends take a few weeks are ready to careen around the last turn at the race track…picking up speed the whole time. It makes it easy for smokers on budgets who don’t want to invest in time; they prefer to invest in a cigar ready to smoke soon.
As I hit the halfway point, we are in the deep dark hole of the sweet spot. It is dribbling down my lips and making a mess on the carpet. This cigar can be characterized as a sweet, creamy, spicy treat.
I should note, that up to this point, the strength of the cigar is classic medium, not medium/full. Not a hint of nicotine…The draw has been perfect and the char line not requiring touch ups. This is a joyful smoke that should be shared with friends. Not by yourself.
The last third begins and the flavors explode. Everything is on full throttle. The flavors don’t change except for the addition of something nutty. Raw cashews.
Another new flavor shows itself. Salty pretzel bread. And buttery toast. A nice yeasty note. With a little more than 2” to go, the strength makes it move. It is medium/full.
The complexity shows itself at this point. The stick is very chewy and has a wonderful balance. Nothing is out of place.
I want to thank Podman Cigars for the 3 cigar sampler which is only $26. I don’t think anyone else has them. It is called the Wild Bunch Sampler #3. They even threw in a Drew Estate BOTL LE2013. A cigar that is almost impossible to find as only 500 boxes were produced.
The stick finishes out with a nicotine kick and a potent dose of red pepper.
I’d be hard pressed to call out a fave in the Wild Bunch series. But you gotta try this one. Get that sampler pack at Podman Cigars.
On a personal note:
I would like to thank the Reggie White Foundation. Reggie was a Green Bay Packer until 2006 when he died of a heart attack brought on by sleep apnea. He was only 44. The director of the foundation told me that his CPAP breathing machine was sitting on the night stand next to him in bed: unused. Like most users, especially ones who are claustrophobic (like me) find it very difficult to get used to the full face mask. It took me 30 days of baby steps. But I did it. You just can’t give up.
My father died of complications of sleep apnea.
I was diagnosed with sleep apnea in 2006. The CPAP machine has changed my life. I no longer snore. No longer get chronic sinus infections. No longer always tired during the day.
And then 3 months ago, my 7 year old machine burst into flames right after I turned it on as I went to bed. I never saw the dog move that fast in her life.
Since then, I have not slept a wink. Nada. Nothing. I have been a walking zombie. I take 3 hour naps in the afternoon and wake up more tired than when I lay down.
I can’t afford a new machine and we don’t have health insurance. A new machine would be around $1000-$1500.
My dear wife, Charlotte, did some digging and found the White foundation only 7 minutes from here.
I spoke to the director yesterday and I went in this morning and was given a brand new $1500 CPAP machine at no cost to me whatsoever.
God bless Reggie White’s wife who set this foundation up.
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Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS
Thank you for bringing to light this situation. More individuals need to admit they suffer from this blight. What some people don’t realize is how serious this problem is. Sleep Apnea can KILL YOU! Many have died just driving there car to work by falling asleep at the wheel. Let alone the heart attack they can suffer while trying to sleep. My wife forced me to take a sleep study when she couldn’t take my snoring any more. The doctor said I had stopped breathing 80 times in one hour! If any one is reading this and you even think you may have this problem,for the sake of the ones who love you please have yourself checked out. You do not have to use a full face mask anymore. There are many more alternatives now. I use just a simple nose cover and it works fine and its more comfortable and less evasive than a full face mask. The first time I used it I felt like a new man the next day! I could never go back to sleeping with out it. And by the way your SEX LIFE gets a BIG JUMP in all Ways! And as far as your review on this cigar I have had them. You owe it to yourself to try this cigar if your a Maduro fan. But they are becoming hard to find. As always much love to you brother.
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Marco,
You nailed it.
The 3 months I was without my breathing machine, I was scared to death that I might suffer a stroke or heart attack. Sleep apnea is the leading cause of both these life risks.
And now I find that you don’t need health insurance. I am sure there are clinics out there similar to the Reggie White Foundation. If you are not sure, call them to find you a clinic in the city and state you live. Their phone is 414-336-3000.
And the most common symptom of sleep apnea is heavy snoring. I’m sure that once you got used to your machine and the snoring stopped, your wife, or your harem, was very happy.
I just took my first nap with a CPAP in 3 months. 90 minutes and I slept like a baby for the first time in what seems like a lifetime.
And if you have claustrophobia like me; which is the the biggest problem with full face mask wearers, do it in baby steps. 20 minutes for a few nights, 45 for the next few, and so on. Took me a month to be able to wear it comfortably.
The only issue with the mask you wear is that it only works if you are not a mouth breather; which I am. It does no good if you have a mask covering your nose but then breathe heavy through your mouth. I tried that first and it didn’t work for me. I am perfectly comfortable with full mask.
Oh…one note…I use the Resmed $176 full face mask. The clinic gave me a $104 mask and it is a real cluster fuck to get the damn thing on right because there are no clasps. It is all velcro straps and it is like a fucking rubik’s cube. So I used my old mask today and just ordered a new face cushion on Amazon or ebay.
Thanks for your input, Marco.
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That stick is too damn skinny for me to smoke my friend…I prefer an Anaconda to an Anorexic…That’s just me ! I knew your CPAP blew up a few months ago, but I had no idea that it hadn’t been replaced…Your wife probably just saved your life…You might remember that I was a CPAP specialist for most of my career in Healthcare…While in Vegas I was the go to guy for training and set up for the VA until I retired in 07, so I hear what you are saying…I know peeps that refused to wear their CPAPS because it was uncomfortable and annoying…Months later they either had heart attacks or died…I’m certainly glad your wife took the time and effort to take care of the OLD MAN…Screw the Pope…Charlotte is the person of the year…Keep it smokey, unless you have your mask on, then keep it humidified…As always !!!
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You are right on the money. I got so goofed out from no sleep that I was expecting a heart attack at any time. I couldn’t put two thoughts together and never would have found the Reggie White Foundation.
All it took was a phone call. “And come on in tomorrow and pick it up.”
I used it for the first time last night. The $100 mask they gave me is a disaster. No clasps.,all straps and velcro. So I grabbed my old $176 mask and used that. Only problem is the cushion is old so I bought one on Amazon and should be here in a few days.
I was awakened a lot of times because of the air leaks in the mask.
And a dry mouth and throat. I am going to have to ramp up the humidity level to high from now on. But still, I actually got some REM sleep for the first time in 90 days.
I did some research and discovered that they gave me over $1100 worth of equipment. From just a phone call. Gotta send them and Mrs. White a nice thank you note for saving my life.
Nice to hear from you Mr. Guse.
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I realize that the chance of anyone reading this who deals with sleep apnea is ridiculously low, I need to add this.
For 7 years, I struggled with dry mouth and throat from the CPAP machine. I had a full mask that covered my nose and mouth. My machine had a warming humidifier attached to the face mask hose. But I would wake up several times per night, remove the mask, and sip water that sat on my night stand, replace the mask and an hour later go through the whole thing again.
I spoke to someone at the Reggie White Foundation because I am having the same trouble with the brand new unit.
He told me that it is probably the cold weather. The warm humidified air leaves the machine and travels the length of the 6′ tube. By the time it gets to my face, it has cooled off causing the dryness in my throat.
The guy tells me they make cloth covers for the hose to keep the warmth intact.
7 friggin years and no one tells me this? WTF??
So, I went to cpap.com and bought a 6′ SnuggleHose for $14 and I await its delivery and hope this solves the problem.
So if anyone out there suffers the same problem. I will let you know next week it it is the Golden Ticket.
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Interested… until I saw 6.5 x 38 “Lancero/Panatela. Just not a size that ever appeals to me, regardless of how good the cigar might possibly be.
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