Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano (Jalapa)
Binder: Nicaraguan (Condega Criollo)
Filler: Nicaraguan (Condega, Jalapa)
Size: 5.5 x 50 “Robusto Extra-Clasico”
Body: Medium
Price: $6.60

Today we take a look at the Tierra Volcán Clasico made by Mombacho Cigars. A little known cigar in this county. But the Tierra Volcán is the cigar company’s debut market cigar.

The cigar comes in four sizes:
Grande (Toro)
Clasico (Robusto Extra)
Corto (Short Robusto)
Volcanito (Cigarrito) 4.5 x 26

Mombacho Cigars S.A. was founded in 2006. Their market was primarily Canada and China.

RoMa Craft LLC will become the exclusive U.S. Distributor for Tierra Volcán Cigars.

The company’s Casa Mombacho factory is based in Granada, Nicaragua, while its offices are located in Toronto. The name comes from the volcano known as Mombacho, which means “mother of our islands.”

The cigars are blended by Claudio Sgroi, who went to work for Mombacho in September 2011.

It’s a regular production cigar with yearly production estimates of 140,000 cigars.

The Mombacho Tierra Volcán made its debut at the 2014 IPCPR trade show.

The three big sizes are available in 24 count boxes, while the Tierra Volcán Clasico is also available in boxes of three and eight. Pricing is unknown as far as MSRP.

The only online store carrying them is Small Batch Cigar.

Construction is good. Firmly packed with no soft spots. Invisible seams. Lots of veins both big and small. A clean triple cap. And a dark amber oily brown wrapper with a bit of tooth. The cigar has a closed foot.
The double cigar bands are also orange/amber in color.

I clip the cap and find aromas of fresh fruit. Tree fruit. Can’t tell exactly what yet. Spice, cocoa, and buttery pie crust.
Time to light up.

The foot band has an enormous amount of glue and fucks it up for the photos.

The first puffs are spicy with red pepper notes. Following that is some sweet tobacco. There is a creamy element that decides to hang back and show itself fully naked a bit later in the smoke.

There is just no information about this cigar anywhere. No company web site, only a FB page that is useless, and no reviews. Clearly, the 2014 IPCPR trade show did not knock everyone off their feet with the Mombacho presentation.

The strength is immediately medium. And the main flavor is a rich earthiness. A sign of using very fine tobacco.

Cocoa begins to crawl in under the radar. A sour note is now present. Not an unpleasant sour note; but rather, the type you taste in sweet and sour foods.

The Tierra Volcán Clasico is a slow builder. And a very slow smoke with 7 minutes in and I’ve smoked 1/8”.
I am not going to hit the sweet spot til halfway through the cigar. Merely, a time element in humidor aging.

I did do my dry boxing for 72 hours this time because the Tierra Volcán Clasico is a complete unknown to me and another 3 days in the low humidity humidor. See Dry Boxing Your Cigars for more information.

Sweetness now permeates the flavor profile. And I was close, but the fruit is not a tree fruit, but rather, a vine fruit: Black grapes. The sour component becomes acidic from the sweet and tart grape. A unique component.

And then it reminds me of my child hood when only Welch’s Grape Jelly was used at home. I remember those big glasses of jelly and my mother would use them as water glasses when we finished a bottle. In fact, that’s what they were designed for. Cheap advertising.

Cocoa makes a pleasant surge. Along with some nuts; probably almond and hazelnut. And a slight nougat element.

The char line is perfect. Dead nuts. I break it off at the 1” mark really before I need to but I am afraid of a burned weenie like a couple reviews ago.

It took that 1” to kick start the flavor profile. Before that was just teasing. Now the definitions of specific flavors begin to bloom.

The red pepper begins to make my lips and tongue tingle. You can drive an 18 wheeler through my sinuses now.

Creaminess appears in force. Just walloping the other flavors into submission. This is a highly sensitive cigar that I only recommend for experienced palates. Flavors are subtle and nuanced. Those used to smoking 5 Vegas may miss the good stuff. But then, what the hell…what better way to train the palate than from a cigar blend like this.

I am sleepier than I care to be at 8:40am. I have a lot of trouble sleeping because of back pain. I wake up constantly and I don’t think my brain gets any REM sleep.

Must have been a bad night because I am typing in the same manner as if I were under the influence of a high dose of nicotine. I am typing each word twice.

Like The Who prophetically said, “I hope I die before I get old.” Well, I don’t want to die; I just don’t want to get old.

With 1-1/2” burned, we have flavor bomb status.

Here are the flavors: Creaminess, cocoa, black grapes, spice, hazelnut, cedar, and a small amount of coffee.
The Tierra Volcán Clasico is a nice surprise.

The strength is still medium bodied. And the construction for such an inexpensive cigar is impressive. I’ve not had to clip the cap once. Not a single touch up of the foot has been required.

The Tierra Volcán Clasico is a very smooth and easy going cigar. It is a great example of the next step in the evolution for lovers of mild bodied cigars.

Super flavorful, full of nuance and character, and a spot on construction format.

This is a stick that should be the first cigar of your day. While your palate is fresh and open to new experiences.

The second third begins.

I love this cigar for its subtleties.

The spiciness has almost disappeared now. But the other flavors create a 7.2 on the Richter scale. Subtle but so well defined. I can easily pick out each flavor separately.

The black grape flavor is very strong now. I love grapes. Who doesn’t? And I can taste the gorgeous fruit with each puff.

I miss the fruit stands of Mesa, AZ. You could get everything there; especially citrus fruit. Nothing better than buying freshly picked fruits and veggies and eating them that day.

Caramel enters the picture and coalesces the entire flavor profile.

The Tierra Volcán Clasico will become a monster with more humidor time. The great potential I taste is the overture for great things.

Flavor elements take turns at becoming the forefront of the flavor profile. At the moment, it is creaminess and cocoa. Along with the hazelnut. I grab a Diet Coke. What better time for a NYC egg cream experience.

The body of the cigar is vigilant. Not a single soft spot to be reported.

Here is a hint for you that I share with reader and friend Patrick Hosler. I pick the cigars I think I want to smoke and the night before I let them rest outside of the humidor to make sure every bit of excess moisture is gone enhancing the characteristics of the stick.
This is what Patrick said in his comment: “For whatever it matters I basically dry box and store like you but I add one additional move. I pick my cigars out for the next day, and leave them on my smoking table overnight.”
Right on Hosler.

I am nearing the halfway point and I’ve now invested more than an hour in smoking time.

I should note that because it is so dreary and rainy outside, my photos don’t really pick up that orange tinted amber color of the stick. Instead, my photos show a much darker cigar.

Here are the flavors once more: Oak, creaminess, black grapes, cocoa, hazelnut, caramel, cedar, leather, coffee and a dash of red pepper.

Because of the strength of the cigar and its wonderful flavor profile, this is a most relaxing cigar. I smoke so many medium/full and full bodied cigars that I sometimes forget the positive aspect of a flavor bomb medium bodied cigar.

There is a shift in the paradigm. Caramel moves to the front. There are herbal notes that are new. I can taste black tea. Coffee moves up the line of flavors.

The main cigar band has too much glue. I use my X-Acto blade to remove and in the process, nick the wrapper. Drat.

I am dead center of the halfway mark.

I’ve been remiss by not including the sheer richness of the earthy tobacco. It has that flavor where you can just about taste the soil that the plant was grown in.

At this early point, I can say that I wholeheartedly recommend this cigar. It is a sleeper at the moment but word will spread. And you will see it on more online stores.

I like this size.

And bam. Nicotine shows up. Not a lot but enough to slow my typing down even further.

The nick in the wrapper spreads and I use my Kingpin glue to fix it. I don’t know what I would do without that stuff.

The last third begins. The red pepper returns. The sweet spot kicks in big time.

Subtlety is out the window. And replaced by bold and interesting flavors.

Creaminess reclaims its position at the top of the list. The caramel is right behind. The oak flavor becomes very strong. And the black grapes make it a popsicle.

The Tierra Volcán Clasico is a killer cigar. The strength moves to medium/full. The nicotine is ever present.
But now the finish is long and chewy. And for the first time, the cigar sees some complexity.

Don’t forget that you can now find the Katmensch on Face Book. A small group at the moment but adding members every day. Come join the fun. The back and forth is funny and smart.

The caramel and creaminess and the cocoa are incredible. The nougat and hazelnut element joins the fray and changes the cigar into a candy bar.

What a wonderful blend. Hats off to Claudio Sgroi for his journeyman talent.

I have now spent 1 hour 45 minutes with the Tierra Volcán Clasico.

The flavor profile has gone way past flavor bomb status and heads for the outer atmosphere. I’m sure with more humidor time, this explosion of flavor will be in the first third, not the last.

Considering that I’ve only had the cigars for less than a week, I am shocked and surprised at what a great cigar this is.

As the cigar nears the finish, it was a true cigar experience. Can’t say that about many $6 cigars. Based on my experience, the Tierra Volcán Clasico could easily have a price point of $8. And I bet that is what the online stores will be charging.

Small Batch Cigar has 13 five packs left distributed over three sizes. They won’t last long.

An aside..this really blows me away. On a regular basis, I have an average of 40 foreign countries reading me every day. The most has been 55. You’d be amazed at the countries that read me. From Chile to the United Arab Emirates. And beyond.

The cigar finishes out nicely. But the nicotine level is really high. Crash helmet time. I recommend that you eat something before lighting up a Tierra Volcán Clasico.

Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS

Tags: cigar review, cigar reviews by the katman, cigars, momvacho cigars, Tierra Volcán Clasico Cigar Review