Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano Oscuro
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Size: 6 x 46 “Corona Gorda”
Body: Medium/Full
Price: $6.50

How could Eddie Ortega plan and execute a mammoth undertaking of releasing one completely different blend; one after another for 12 months? Is he a mere mortal or does he possess super human powers that can only be vanquished by Kryptonite?

Only Yoda knows the answer. Or is it Yogurt? Oy. May the Schwartz be with you.

The Wild Bill is the 7th release of the year: July. And yes, I am woefully behind the times as most poor Jews are. There are 8 other Jews in Wisconsin and they are all named Sid. Their wives are Catholic and named Maria. They all have children named Pepin and Pepita.

I was allowed into the state in 2007 on a temporary visa which long ago expired and now the Jew hunters are after me. Fortunately, I’m an Ashkenazi Jew so I don’t have the stereotypical look of a Jew….you know…the nose? Many thanks to Moses and his brothers, Shlomo and James Horowitz.

Only 500 boxes were released meaning I have no idea how I got this stick. Probably stole it. It was produced by the famous Jew, Pepin Garcia, at his My Father Oy Gevalt factory in Esteli.

The Wild Bill character has a motorcycle theme and is tied to Sturgis, South Dakota where they make the best lox and bagels you want to die.

I have four more Wild Bunch cigars to review and they are: Gearhead Gary, Warrior Joe, Da Byrdman and Crazy Jack. I will do that next week if this pain in my goiter goes away. Oy, I’m kvelling. Those four will finish out the entire year.
Speaking of Wild Bunch…remember the movie? A bloody western by Sam Peckinpah. A ground breaker because of its violence. A prequel to Quentin Tarantino. I was around 19…so probably 1969. And I took a girl on our first date to see it in Hollywood. Oy. What a mistake that was. While the audience and I laughed at the outrageous outpouring of blood, she broke down and cried because she was too friggin fragile. I took her home and headed over to the world famous hot dog joint, “Tommy’s.” At 4am, there was a line around the block for their chili dogs and chili hamburgers. It was the original and years before they franchised. I took one chick there another time and she was very petite. The daughter of a psychiatrist. Need I say more? She ordered two huge chili dogs and chili fries. Prior to that, she brought out from her purse a splif and damn near smoked the whole thing herself. So I watched as the chili ran down her hands, her arms and on to her clothing; the whole time moaning in delight. I never got a girl to moan like that again.

Wild Bill is very rustic. Seams aren’t that tight. Lots of veins. Cream cheese stains, but a nice little pee pee at the cap that needs to be circumcised. The stick is very solid and glistens with the oil that the Hebrews used to build the pyramids. It is a bit toothy too.

I clip the cap and find aromas of chocolate chip cookies, baking spices, citrus, honey, and brisket.
Time to light up.

The draw is nice and easy. I get some instant sweetness and cocoa. Another smoky cigar that fills the room with pillows of matzoh balls. Spice then slams me in the puss. But not the typical Garcia Blast. It starts off semi-potent and then builds.

A delightful earthiness emerges along with stronger cocoa. The cocoa continues to get stronger; overpowering the earthiness. A note of orange zest comes forth. A bit of zing. The strength is at classic medium body.

The char line is dead nuts perfect. The spice, along with the citrusy zest, makes my mouth pucker. My mouth.

The spice continues on its journey of frying my uvula. This is a real wake up call. I grab an Atkins Shake to put out the fire. Vanilla, of course.

About 1” in, creaminess becomes a welcome element. The spiciness is tamped down by it. It also enhances the cocoa.

The first third ends with only a few flavors: Spice, cocoa, creaminess, citrus, and earthiness. But they tend to work together nicely. A new flavor shows up. It is very buttery and most probably, caramel or nougat. It has a real chocolate candy bar note. I’m thinking of a Three Musketeers bar. One of my favorites as a kid. Oh wait. Not a Musketeer, but a U-No bar. It had that chocolate mousse-like center that literally melted in your mouth. Do they still make those things? They were a pretty sophisticated taste for a kid but I loved them. Gotta find a photo.

The second third is moving from shy of medium bodied to a tick above medium bodied. The red pepper makes a resurgence and is making my eyes water.

The halfway point is here and the cocoa and creaminess fight hard to overcome the spiciness. The citrus is gone. While the flavors are few, they make a perfect match for my palate. Simple but effective. There is no complexity at this point but it seems to be building towards it.

The bed rock of earthiness becomes much stronger and gives the cigar a more balanced taste. The stick becomes very chewy with a long finish. This is a very nice cigar.

I appreciate the price point. Mr. Ortega has made this cigar available to everyone.

I hit the sweet spot. The cigar explodes with intense flavor. The complexity makes itself abundantly clear. It is now a bona fide flavor bomb. Brethren, this is a good tasting cigar.

The burn line gets a little wavy but well within the parameters of no worries. The spiciness has reduced itself by several notches allowing the cocoa and creaminess to really shine.

The last third sees no changes.

I have Gearhead Gary to review next. After that, it will be Warrior Joe, Da Byrdman and Crazy Jack. And that will be that. It has been a fun year with the Wild Bunch series. I really salute Eddie for such an innovative idea. I do not believe anyone has done this before.

And if you are looking for samplers of 3 different blends, then you need to go to Podman Cigars. They have an in with Eddie and have been selling the samplers well ahead of everyone else. My last purchase was Sampler #5 with the last three blends in it. They go for $26. This is the standard pricing for anyone that carries the samplers.

The cocoa is running the show.

The cigar has been a real pleasure. Simple, but elegant. The cigar hits the medium/full point in the last couple of inches. But the nicotine isn’t so bad. I’ve never smoked a single cigarette in my life and hence; I am sensitive to nicotine. I’ve tasted it back in the 70’s while living in England. For some stupid reason, that’s how the Europeans smoked their herb….mixed with cigarette tobacco in a huge splif. The first month I was there, I got sick all the time. Then I bought a small pipe and did my own thing. I would offer a hit to friends at parties and they all declined saying it was too powerful that way. Wusses.

I most definitely recommend this cigar. It proves itself to belong in the Wild Bunch.

Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS

Tags: cigar review, cigar reviews by the katman, cigars, eddie ortega, wild bunch wild bill ortega cigar review