Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano

Binder: Indonesia

Filler: Nicaragua

Size: 6.5 x 56

Body: Medium

Price: $15.00

You’ve all seen the promo for this cigar.  This is all that I was able to discover about the blenders: “Our master tobacconists are the Puentes brothers (Gonzalo and Daniel); third generation Cuban cigar masters now residing in Esteli and creating some of the most disruptive blends for Humo Del Diablo, LLC (Recon Cigars’ parent company). They bring a long legacy of tobacco growth (Gonzalo is an agricultural engineer) and cigar production to and industry where commonplace is everyday practice. We could not be more pleased to be teamed up fellow innovators.”

So, thanks to the wonderful Robb Capielo of The Cigar Store for providing 3 of these sticks including the behemoth aluminum tube that mimics a 25mm anti-aircraft round. (1-12-2013 Note: The Cigar Store is no longer in business.)
Now what everyone is supposing is that the fancy bullet, that is 10” long, and the gimmicky notion of placing 3 types of tobacco leaves on top of the wrapper to look like camo, is a total gimmick…and that the cigar is probably not that good.

The other thing is that the two places I’ve seen this for sale, the price runs from $12.00-$17.00 each.

The company that makes these sticks is called Humo del Diablo and is based in Florida, no city given.

The cigars are also available in real ammo boxes of 20 sticks.

The PR photo of these sticks show vibrant colors. In reality, they are a drab color and the veins of the cigar show through the patches making the patches look wrinkled.

I pick the most aesthetically pleasing of the three and find aromas of hay, barnyard, some citrus, and cocoa.

I light it up and get flavors of spice, cocoa, woody, cedar. My cigar gut instincts tell me this is going to be a good cigar.

The char line is perfect and so is the draw.

I am getting some cinnamon. So far, very pleasant. The spice and cocoa continue to ramp up at the 1” mark. The body is a light medium.

This is a big cigar and will take some time to smoke and review…and since I smoke as I review, I will be coming back and forth to the written word as the cigar burns down.

Just after the 1” mark, some creaminess shows up. This cigar is turning out to be a big surprise. It’s good!

The little patches of Candela, Cameroon, and Criollo Maduro don’t really have any impact to flavor. Just too small.

The first third comes to a pleasurable end. The spiciness comes from a black pepper profile….black pepper always hits me in the back of the throat and cheeks; while red pepper on my tongue.

The cigar is showing a pattern. It continues to be a worthy cigar. My only issue is that the Recon website is terribly devoid of information; Just plenty of mission statement.

Regardless of how good this cigar is, it is a novelty project. At $15.00 a stick, you are paying for the gimmick. I am guessing that under other circumstances, a stick like this with a decent pedigree would go for $8 at the most. And remember, with the void of information, there is no way to determine how long this cigar will be in production…so do you buy a 20 stick ammo box and display it in your walk-in humidor or on your fireplace mantle? LOL.

I am at the halfway mark and the body is medium in strength. Everything is building in the flavor department. The cocoa is strong; the spice is becoming both black and red peppers.  There is some sweet tobacco flavor.

If I had to compare this cigar to another brand, I’d have to say that based upon the potential I foresee, this is in the same family as the New Breed Tattooed Ones category. The modern blenders seeking new and exotic methods of blending. Nothing old school about this cigar.

The sweetness is highly complimented by the ever growing creaminess. The entire flavor profile and strength profile are growing simultaneously, and in harmony.

The draw continues to be perfect. The burn line is pretty close to dead nuts the entire first half.

The second half will either become a show off or it will go downhill.

Time for a break.

When I come back to the cigar, there is some finite coffee flavor which the creaminess really compliments alongside the cocoa.

A citrusy component enters. Lemon zest.

It is advertised that high quality torcedores are doing the hard work on this cigar. The placement of patches has to be a pain in the ass.

The stick stays in the medium range as I enter the last third. I am getting a little nicotine buzz but I think it is because it really takes some puffing on such a large ring gauge.

The cap gets a bit funky but a little snip with some scissors and all is well.

I discover something odd. The cap on the aluminum tube says that the cigar is a 6.5 x 52. But their web site calls it out as a 6.5 x 56. I measured it and it indeed is a 56 ring gauge. But to complicate things, the initials “mm” follow the size and gauge. Cigars are not sized in millimeters, but rather, inches. The ring gauge is in 64ths of an inch. So this makes no sense whatsoever.

That’s sort of a big boo boo.

I would characterize the last third as a much more intense version of the second third. This is not a complex cigar but it makes up for that by being very full flavored. This cigar has not received any time to rest; so common sense tells me that a few months in the humidor; without the tubes, will do wonders for the taste and complexity.

Buying a few sticks is something cool to show off to your friends. Would I buy a box? No. If you are bucks up, why not?

I believe what everyone guessed at has been dispelled in this review. It is not a piece of junk. Yes, it is a gimmick. But the makers of this gimmick did the right thing and put a quality cigar into its PR package. Is it worth $15? You decide.

Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS