Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sumatra
Binder: Dominican (Family Secret)
Filler: Dominican
Size: 5.75 x 44 “Cetro-Maduro”
Body: Full
Price: $6.00 by the 5 Pack/$3.60 by the 25 Count Box

Today we take a look at the Sosa Exclusive Series.

Arby sent me an email telling me: “The Exclusive Series is somewhat of a secret blend from my dad. He just tells me it’s Dominican.

The cigar comes in two other sizes: 4.25 x 40 and 6 x 50.

From the Antillian Cigar Corp. web site:
“The Sosa Exclusive Series offers a full bodied smoke and oily wrapper. The best Dominican filler tobacco is used to blend the Exclusive Series and the Ecuador Sumatra wrapper undergoes additional aging. They are limited in production because of using only the finest tobaccos.”

I love the look of this stick. The wrapper is mottled and oily and nearly coal black. Seams are invisible. There are a couple big honker veins running the length of the cigar but it gives it character. A break in the black abyss. The cap(s) is so perfectly applied, I cannot tell how many there are. I’m guessing three.

And lastly, the wrapper is toothy as hell and the cigar is absolutely jam packed with tobacco but with proper give to the touch.

I clip the cap and find aromas of clove, cocoa, spice, cinnamon, cedar, and a touch of lemon citrus.
Time to light up.

Wow! A massive wet towel to the face of both dark cocoa and red pepper. Both exuding the same amount of flavor at the same time.

The draw is perfect. Smoke from this little filly blankets the room. And then they pull back long enough for other flavors to be noticed; such as: sweetness, creaminess, leather, and cedar.

Sosa has gone above and beyond by charging less than $4.00 for a stick of this quality.

There is a fruitiness that hangs back. Waiting to lurch at the proper moment.

The speckled ash is hanging tough waiting for the moment to fall like yellow cake plutonium into my lap.

A salty pretzel element shows itself. Very subtle and just balanced enough to be tasty instead of annoying.

At the 1” burned mark, creaminess slams it home. It brings chocolate with it to the plate. (Do I sound like Vin Scully?)

This is the precarious part. The ash doesn’t seem to want to budge. I think it is diabolical and waiting for me to be old and dumb and not paying attention when it decides to turn into a million dots of ash on my boxer shorts.

And then all this fol-de-rol is delivered by the small motion of resting it in the ashtray and it gently disengaging itself peacefully without any screaming of my naughty bits from the hot ash.

The char line is a tad wavy but nothing close to requiring a touch up.

The sun comes out. It is bright and life giving. It is 30 ° outside. It is October that we officially see winter approaching like a being caught in a tunnel with a train bearing down on us. We should see our first snow anytime now.

The second third and the Sosa Exclusive Series hits flavor bomb status.

Here are the flavors: Chocolate, red pepper, creaminess, baking spices including cinnamon, leather, extreme sweetness, cedar, and I have it!

The fruitiness. It’s part banana and part Medjool dates. Reminds of the date milk shakes at Hadley’s Fruit Orchard in Cabazon, CA. It is in the middle of nowhere and they grow dates out in the boonies of SE California. It is right on the way to Palm Springs. Maybe half an hour out.

How odd. When I started this review I was forced to use the flash on my camera and now the sun is providing all the light I could ever want.

Super, uber flavor bomb now. Chocolate and creaminess is the bedrock. The red pepper gives the Sosa Exclusive Series its oomph. The banana and dates give it the perfect counterpoint. And the cedar and leather its earthiness.

I’m still having trouble reckoning that this stick is only $3.60 by the box. That’s just friggin crazy. I can name dozens of cigars twice this price that aren’t half as good.

And the best part? You can avoid the middleman and buy them directly from the Antillian Cigar Corp online. Arby sells his wares plus other brands right there.

And if you use the coupon code Katman5, you get 5% off your order. Now is that just too hip for the room or what?
I use that term a lot. A lifelong musician and there are still old time phrases that I just can’t get rid of.

An incredible nuttiness joins the group. It is a mixture of almonds, cashews, and peanuts.

I just gotta get a box of these.

I am about ½” past the halfway point…

The strength has been classic medium body this whole time.

This is one of my favorite sizes. It doesn’t bog you down for 90 minutes or longer. It is a firecracker of flavors. And starts off being flavorful like a pie in the face from Moe.
And then a spritz of seltzer from Curly.

The flavors are going bat shit. Absolutely nutsy coo coo. No kidding. A perfect complexity. A groovy balance with a long chewy finish.

I could smoke the Sosa Exclusive Series all day long and never tire of it.

The last third begins.

And in the blink of an eye, the strength escalates to medium/full.

Flavors have not changed an iota. But they are so potent that my head is in danger of exploding. (Don’t worry. The dog will clean it up.)

Construction of the Sosa Exclusive Series is exemplary in every way. The char line has behaved admirably. And not a single wrapper issue.

This is the perfect blend for those who don’t like strong cigars. It is a nice even keeled medium body. No nicotine and a boat load of flavor. It will entice the newbie and treat the experienced palate.

I should mention I have had this cigar close to a month. At first, they were a little green or wet. But after four weeks, they have turned into the Incredible Hulk. I always worry when a manufacturer, or online store, sends me samples and the cigar requires a month of humidor time. I worry they may feel slighted that I didn’t get right on it. But like fine wine, the cigar must be ready to smoke and if it takes a month, then so be it.

Patience, more often than not, will usually reward the cigar with a rave review.

Each sip of water brings the banana/date flavor to the forefront. What a great flavor.

I am nearing the end and I don’t want it to finish. The web site states this is a full bodied stick but that doesn’t happen til the end of the cigar. And it does it without any sign of nicotine.

Like all of the Sosa blends, this is a real winner. Arby just has that journeyman’s knack in spades.

I highly recommend the Sosa Exclusive Series and should you choose to purchase them you can do so at the Antillian Cigar Corp. web site.

Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS

Tags: Sosa Exclusive Series Cigar Review