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Nomad S-307 by Nomad Cigar Company | Cigar Review

By The Katman on April 12, 2014 • ( 1 )

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sumatra
Binder: Ecuadorian Habano
Filler: Nicaraguan
Size: 5 x 50 “Robusto-Box Pressed”
Body: Medium
Price: $7.20
Factory: Tabacalera AJ Fernandez

This is another new brand for me that was introduced to me by Cigar Federation. Check out the Nomad S-307 by Nomad Cigars on their web site.

It was released at the 2012 IPCPR trade show. And here is part of their press release:

“Esteli, Nicaragua (July 1, 2013) – Nomad Cigar Company is pleased to announce a new fall Nicaraguan blend called the Nomad S-307.
“The cigar scheduled to be released in September/October (2013) and will be made available to Nomad authorized retailers.”
There is a disconnect somewhere as the Nomad web site states that the wrapper and binder are Ecuadorian, not Nicaraguan.

The company was launched in 2012 by Fred “GodFadr” Rewey.

In the Nicaraguan line of Nomad’s cigar are the S-307 and the Esteli Lot 1386. In the Dominican line, there is the Nomad Connecticut Fuerte and the Classic Line. And Cigar Federation sells the entire line. Prices range from $7-$9 per stick depending on size and quantity.

From the CF web site:
“The Nomad S-307 continues the trend of using Nicaraguan tobaccos in their blends. The S-307 is the third release for Nomad Cigars, and released in the Fall of 2013. While the Lot 1386 was a limited production, the S-307 is a full production cigar which is made at the AJ Fernandez factory.”

The cigars come in five sizes:
Toro (6×50)
Robusto (5×50)
Torpedo (6.5 x 52)
Toro Grande (6 x 58)
Corona (5.5 x 46)
And all are box pressed.

On to the cigar itself. It is a stunning cigar, and had it not been raining this morning without a single dew drop of sun, my photos would illuminate the oil oozing from the stick. The wrapper is a nicely mottled chocolate brown. The box press is crisp with sharp corners. Seams are invisible with only a modicum of small veins. The cap is slightly curved and so impeccably done, I cannot tell how many caps are in place. It is like they have been puttied over. The surface is satiny to the touch.

I clip the cap and find aromas of dark chocolate, black tea, spice, some lovely floral and herbal notes, barnyard, cinnamon, earthiness, and leather.
Time to light up.

The first puffs are spicy. Black pepper. The draw is great as smoke clouds my vision. There are a couple of other elements….some cocoa, wood, sweetness, an herbal tea note, and rich earthiness.

I like this size; especially in a box press. Easy to hold in one’s mouth.

The cigar has that perfect: jam packed to perfect amount of give, ratio.

The cocoa is making it a race to be the first flavor in line. A sweet cedar note appears. And the leather becomes very strong.
That’s a lot of stuff going on in only the first half inch.

I like to remind you lovely readers once in a while how I review. First, I am sitting at my laptop around 7:30-8:00am every day. I drink a vanilla Atkins Shake to normalize my blood sugar and pump some protein into me to get my heart started.
I then bring out a bottle of water and begin sipping. It’s been 10 hours since my last cigar, my palate is refreshed and I get to taste all the wonderful things a blender intended me to taste. I cannot review a cigar after my 6th cigar of the day.

My palate is on the verge of being fried and all the wonderful nuances and character of the cigar are lost on me. So keep this in mind, please, when you try a cigar I’ve reviewed and remember what I’ve said in case you don’t have the same experience as me.

Cigar Lecture 101 complete.

At the 1” mark, the flavor profile blossoms. Everyone comes out to play. It is only minutes before flavor bomb status is bestowed upon the Nomad S-307.

I am truly digging the cigars I bought at the Cigar Federation Store. Almost every single cigar is ready to swing after a few days or a week. I give a lot of credit to the gentlemen running the organization for picking the perfect boutique blends.

I’ve had the Nomad for two days and it is pumping out the blender’s intent like a water faucet.

The second third begins and the char line is a bit wavy but needs no correction.

Here are the flavors, in order: Sweetness, spice, cocoa, herbal notes, leather, dried fruit, tea, sweet cedar, and the ever lovin’ earthiness.

We have a flavor bomb. The only change, I expect, if the cigar was given its respect by allowing it more humidor time would be that the flavor bomb intensity would have happened sooner. But I’m sure I am getting all the flavors meant to be tasted.

A good buddy and avid follower of my blog, Yohannian, asked me to put up or shut up about my skydiving accident I am always bitching about. So, it will follow the review.

A nice dose of caramel oozes into the other flavors. And the dried fruit becomes black cherry.

I hate the Cokes and Pepsis with cherry flavoring. They taste like cough syrup. But Coke Zero Cherry is a trip in the way back machine. Back to my days in high school when we would order cherry cokes. This is the real deal and the Katman says you should give it a try.

Lawdy, lawdy, Miss Clawdy, I cannot believe this…it is getting even darker outside. By the end of the review, my photos will just be a black smudge.

Balance is the key adjective here. It is spot on. A nice chewy long finish and I am happy as a clam with this cigar.

The price point is terrific for a boutique cigar this good. Plus Cigar Federation Store always sells its wares below the MSRP. You would pay several dollars more in a B & M.

The cigar is on cruise control as the halfway point is reached. This has been a great 45 minutes of cigar smoking.

It appears from the “Sold Out” statement on the CF store that the Nomad Esteli Lot 386 is the most popular of the brand. I look forward to looting the CF store to grab some.

Creaminess entered the picture about an inch ago and I failed to mention it. It is now the reigning flavor. All these terrific flavors meshing together and not losing a step as the cigar burns down.

The last third begins and the cigar is so complex that it becomes hard to distinguish the flavors from each other. They’ve molecularly bonded.

The char line has not needed a single touch up and the cap is holding up perfectly. Even better, not a single crack in the wrapper.

With a couple inches to go, the strength; which has been a steady medium body, moves to medium/full. And the nicotine kicks in. That crap always makes me feel drunk.

I have to be the only person on the planet that never smoked a single cigarette in his life.

Here are the flavors: Sweetness, earthiness, caramel, spice, cocoa, herbal notes, leather, black cherry, tea, sweet cedar, and a subtle floral note.

Considering the size, I still get over 90 minutes of smoke time with a bit to go yet.

I have to put the cigar down a little earlier that I would normally due to the nicotine kick. I’m a wuss.

I highly recommend this cigar. It is so chock full of flavor, the complexity is perfect, and the consistent construction, that I cannot think of a single criticism.

This blend is for the experienced smoker. One whose palate can appreciate the myriad of flavors and that nicotine kick at the end.
This should go on your must have list.

RATING: 94

And now for something completely different:

May, 2001
It had been almost 20 years since I had jumped out of a plane. It was a weekend long company picnic in Sonoma, CA. I had 28 jumps under my belt.

I decided to do a tandem jump and get some adrenaline in my life. I had to do the tandem or take the 8 hour class all over again because it had been so long since last jumped. There is no shame in a tandem jump. You spend 20 minutes signing waivers of liability and you put on your jumping gear and off you go.

I never got to jump out of a big plane. Always those little 5 passenger Cessnas. The pilot, the jump master and three jumpers.
We climbed to 19,000 feet and then I was hooked to the front of my jump master. I couldn’t breathe it was so tight and on top of that, we were on our knees. I could barely move.

Then he tells me to scoot on my knees to the opened door of the small plane. I moved like a turtle.

He gave me instructions on where to place my hands and how to place my legs, between his, during the fall. And to merely roll out sideways of the plane. He counted to 3 and we rolled.

I was completely disoriented at first because we did several barrel rolls at 185mph. You go a lot faster when there are two of you jumping. In fact before it’s time to pull the chute, the jump master pulls a small chute first, to slow us down so he can pull the main chute. Otherwise, there is a danger of going too fast and the chute ripping off.

We fell from the plane at 19,000 feet and did a nice free fall. I even convinced him to do the bullet dive head first. One thing you learn about skydiving, it’s not flying, it’s FALLING!

I paid extra for a professional jumper to dive with us with a video camera on his helmet. He jumped first.

We were having a blast for a couple minutes and then he said he was pulling the chute. Upon doing that, the sudden slowing and the physics of the fall made my head snap back and clocked the jump master squarely in the jaw. He was out cold at 9,000 feet. But I didn’t know that. In fact I wouldn’t know it until I woke up from unconsciousness on the ground.

As we neared earth, I kept yelling, asking when he was going to control the handles that slowed the parachute down. That woke him up, but not in time. By the time he was focused, we were too close to the ground to have one of those TV landings on our tippy toes or on our butts.

Instead, he drove me head first, at 40mph, into the ground. I was convinced by the crew not to wear a helmet for the sake of the video. Great idea!

Having a 180lb guy on my back while pile driving me into the ground must be like an NFL tackle. Fortunately, the ground was loamy from so many landings…so he dug a 15 foot trench with my head. According to the video, I disappeared below the soft dirt and all you can see is the other guy on top of me. He flipped us over and I was out cold. In the video, you can see everyone running to us and then the filming stops.

The jump broke my back and neck. Before passing out, I could hear, and feel, my spine compressing. I heard snap, crackle and pop.

I was told I would never walk again. But I fooled them.

I remember waking up in a hospital and I had casts on all my limbs and was in excruciating pain. Morphine had no effect. I spent three days and nights crying from the pain and could only sleep in small amounts only due to the pain knocking me out.

To this day, I have major structural damage to my back and neck. Less than a year ago, I started using a cane. I took for granted what a life without chronic pain was like. I would give anything to have one day without that pain.

Miraculously, I had suffered no brain injury. I’m a tough old bird.

Needless to say, I survived. I’m guessing you only get one of those in your life.

And that stupid jump master that almost killed me? Well, I hope he is still drinking his food from a straw.

Last note…because the owner of the construction company told me not to jump because he didn’t want me hurt…or to be more accurate; I was too valuable and had 23 major projects I was managing. Who would take over for me?
So he fired me instead. Should have sued the bastard.