Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano Maduro
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Size: 6 x 52 “Belicoso”
Body: Medium
Price: $9.00

I just finished my review of Fast Eddie….6 months late, of course. This will be my 9th review of the 12. I have the last three coming this week. And as usual, these sticks need a couple days of dry boxing and after that it’s dealer’s choice.

Now I am doing September’s Gearhead Gary. A beautiful belicoso that is jam packed with good stuff. The wrapper is the color of toffee. Seams are snapped tight. Lots of little veins. Oils glisten. And it feels semi-toothy. Like me.
GG is the mechanic of the group. Something I know nothing about. I’m a Jew. I can make you a killer lox and bagel sandwich and I can worry like no other…but change a transmission? LOL.

Only 500 boxes of each are made at the My Father Factory in Esteli, Nicaragua.
Time to light up.

The draw is good. Check. Loads of smoke. Check. And a wallop of red pepper. Checkeroo. The char line is just the tiniest bit wavy so I touch it up to give it a fighting chance. I really dislike reviews that seem to relish showing really bad burns. Especially, when they could have been stopped early on with a little touch up. Boils my berries! Most cigars will come back from that small touch up and do just fine the rest of the cigar experience.

Creaminess shows up very early. There is a woody component. And I’m not talking about what my left hand is doing under the table. Thinking of Eddie.

OMG. I actually choked on smoke when I wrote that last sentence. LOL. Sorry Eddie. But you move me, baby.

I’m coming up on my 29th wedding anniversary so I might as well be gay. How the hell does that happen? You start out doing it every 10 minutes like mice and then it’s like the old joke where you say, “My wife and I have oral sex all the time. Whenever we pass each other in the hall, we say Fuck you.”

I’m killing time folks; this is a really big honker of a cigar. Sweetness matches the creaminess and wood. The spice is a bit tamer now. As soon as I wake up, I take a decongestant for two reasons. 1) Is to dry me up while I smoke and review, and 2) I’m a Jew who is compelled to take medicine all the time.

Some cocoa joins this fun group. Methinks that as almost a Nic puro, I will be getting a lot of what we expect from this genus species.

And then, out of the blue at the 1” mark, the cigar explodes with flavor. A damn miracle, Margaret. The flavors, in descending order: Creaminess, red pepper, cocoa, sweetness, floral, wood, dried fruit, fresh fruit like a blueberry..I know, that sounds weird. And anise or as I prefer to say; black licorice. Whenever I write the word, anise, I am afraid Spell Check will change it to anus and I won’t catch it.

Damn, I have a small crack in the wrapper near the foot. It’s the freezing subzero cold and the dryness in the air. It is currently -10 degrees in lovely Wisconsin as I type this. I’ve been having trouble with all of my cigars so I bought a huge room humidifier on Amazon and it should be here early next week.

As the first third ends, this damn cigar is scrumptious with flavor. The body is classic medium. And out of my left ear, I hear crackling noises from the cigar’s wrapper. Oy Gevalt. And it’s on the side that I show in the photos. Of course. The crack is about 1” long and runs from the foot upwards and then stops. I grab my Kingpin (If you want to know more about this glue, it is a couple reviews back) glue just to make sure. But it seems to have stopped on its own.
The flavor profile is expanding exponentially, like the universe. They become more refined and distinct. I don’t know what it is about a Nic puro that really makes flavors gel. The creaminess is driving the bus and the spiciness has faded towards the back. The rest of the aforementioned flavors are still there and in the same order.

I hit the halfway point. The sweetness turns to caramel. Strangely, the licorice complements the flavor nicely. Cream of black licorice.

I am watching the snow whip around through the dining room window where I sit. I am sure you are watching the same thing.

The cigar has been a flavor bomb from almost the start. And it finds little nuances to refine it even more. The creaminess has a heavy whipped cream taste. The cocoa has a hot chocolate flavor. The caramel reminds me of the stuff that comes from a fine chocolatier. The wood is a combo of oak and hickory with a black cherry overtone. The dried fruit is cranberry; that combination of tart and sweet. It supplants the earlier blueberry flavor.

So as you can see, this stick is not only big in size, but large in character. The balance becomes perfect. The stick is incredibly chewy with a very long finish. The body remains at medium.

The last third begins after this long journey and you having to wade through an interminable amount of what’s in my head.

Cocoa gets in front of the creaminess but other than that, all is the same. The red pepper is all but gone now.

As the last third burns down, it would be impossible for this stick to become any more flavorful. And the spiciness returns for a how do you do. And the strength hits medium/full without any kick ass nicotine effect. Thank you baby Jesus.
It has been a pleasure this year to experience all of the Wild Bunch series cigars. Next week, I will finish out with the last three cigars: Warrior Joe, Da Byrdman and Crazy Jack.

Eddie Ortega is still a young man. Remember I am almost 64 and someone in their late 30’s or 40’s are still kids to me. His disbanding of EO, or him leaving it rather, was the best thing he could have ever done. It was like his brain exploded and his hands can’t keep up. One brilliant blend after another has spewed forth since he left EO. Look at Pepin Garcia. A man who is 123 years old and he is still cranking out masterpieces.
Eddie has a huge future in store for him and, as a result, so do we smokers of his blends. Cheers Eddie!

Do not re-publish any article or photo from this blog under punishment of Federal and U.S. Copyright Law

Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS

Tags: cigar review, cigar reviews by the katman, cigars, ortega cigars, wild bunch, wild bunch gearhead gary review