Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano Sun Grown
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Honduran, Nicaraguan
Size: 4 x 48 “Perfecto No.2”
Body: Medium/Full
Price: $8.75

Today we take a look at the new Bahia Matanzas.

Now I’m sure most of you think of inexpensive bundled cigars when you hear the name Bahia. In fact, Cigars International carries 12 different bundles of which I speak.

Owner, Tony Borhani was the MAN during the cigar boom. He put out more cigars than Patel and Hansotia combined. And with the death of the boom, the Bahia name disappeared.

It returned in the form of cigars that range from 50 cents each to an average of $4.00 each. The most being $9.00 not including the Matanzas.

Again, back in the 1990’s, Cigar Aficionado loved his cigars and he garnered nothing but 90+ ratings.

So what happened? I can’t tell you. Borhani has been in the cigar business for close to 20 years and is a complicated man. The inner workings of the man befuddle me. I wish I had a chance to speak with him to see why he turned a burgeoning empire into what it is today: The king of bundled cigars.

His current most popular cigar is the Bahia Gold. There are three divisions of that blend:
Bahia Gold ($4.25-$7.20), Gold Maduro ($2.25-$3.00), Gold White Label ($3.00-$9.00)

I happen to see the Bahia Matanzas on a cigar.com daily deal. Ten sticks for $25.00. They looked gorgeous and when I checked both cigar.com and CI, the price range stunned me. There are three sizes and the prices range from $8.75 to $12.00 each. Wow!

Now Borhani clearly let his dick dangle in the wind with this blend as he is obviously trying to bring back the good name of Bahia cigars.
All three sizes are Perfectos and are 4 x 48, 6.25 x 54, and 8 x 58. (Donkey dick size)

I have a small cigar group on Face Book made up of loyal readers/friends. When I saw this deal for $25.00, I urged them to give it a shot. $2.50 for an $8.75 cigar. How could you go wrong?

But the Bahia name was so tainted that everyone just laughed at me while I bought the deal.

Now, a few weeks later, I have a surprise for them. And something new for you.

This is a great cigar. Now would I spend almost $9.00 on a cigar the size of my penis (I’m talking about the 4 x 48)? Of course not. But I get to experience this fine cigar for $2.50 each. And if you keep an eye on Cbid, before word gets out, you can probably score a nice deal for yourself.

The cigar looks like it was dunked in 10-40 motor oil. Dark, dark cocoa beautifully constructed without a single visible seam. Almost no veins. An absolute perfect triple cap. The stick is jam packed with tobacco. And as smooth as ice.

I clip the cap and find aromas of wonderful cocoa and espresso. Spice, a lovely floral scent, orange citrus, cedar, and leather.
Time to light up.

I don’t cut the little nipple off the bottom. It only takes a minute or two for it to burn away.

The draw is nice and easy. Red pepper attacks my palate first. Strong. I like it.
Then an immediate creaminess followed by dark chocolate and espresso. Just like the aroma.

This should be a short review as I don’t believe I will crack 1000 words; half of what I usually write so I should add a rock n roll story to the end.

I’ve smoked three of the Bahia Matanzas and had perfect char lines. This one? It is unruly. Go figure. Oy vay.
And then a delightful fruitiness appears. What the hell is it? It tastes like those chocolate covered raspberry jellies. The really good ones.

More flavors begin to pile up. Here they are: Creaminess, spice, dark chocolate, espresso, raspberry, lemon citrus (I know I said it smelled like orange), cedar, and a rich earthiness.

There is an elusive flavor playing hide and seek. I shall find it.

The char line is repairing itself. A $9 stick should have no burn issues.

This puts a whole new twist to the telling of this tale. The first three I smoked had no issues. Now, two in a row have problems. Maybe it’s inherent to the size and odd shape. I don’t know. I would have preferred they put the 6 x 54 size on sale instead of this little peanut.

Still, it is a very pleasant blend. I will discuss this stick in halves for obvious reasons.

Flavor bomb status hits after burning 1”.

Butterscotch is a new flavor element. A welcome flavor.

And nuttiness close to peanut. We have a Butterfinger candy bar.

I am at the halfway point.

Absolutely delicious cigar. But I think Borhani fucked up with his pricing. This is a good $6-$7 stick. Not $9. At the most, it is a 30 minute smoke. That’s $18 per hour. Ouch.

But as it burns down, it has all the required elements of an expensive cigar. I just think for such a tiny cigar, it is too much. I can understand charging a couple bucks more for the big honkers but not this one. Big no no.

The Bahia Matanzas has flavors oozing down my arm. Squeeze my lemon and the juice runs down my leg. (My apologies to Zep.)

The flavors once more: Spice, creaminess, caramel (Not butterscotch), raspberry, citrus, nuts, toasty, nougat, espresso, cedar, and leather.

The Wisconsin sun comes out. Gloriosky! (Polish for Glorious!)

The second half of this cigar takes no back seat to any cigar. It is glorious, mahvelous, and delicious.
The complexity is friggin great. The balance on point. And a long finish.

Even though, I would have preferred a bigger cigar to review, I’m pretty sure that this little bugger is the most flavorful as is usually the case with cigars.

The Bahia Matanzas is Borhani’s ticket back to the big time.

Once again, I think he made a big mistake with the pricing. He probably thought that the sticker shock caused by the outrageous cost would raise eyebrows. He wanted the Bahia Matanzas to stand apart, and above, the rest of his line. But by making it out of the comfort zone of most smokers was a bad idea. Bad strategy.

The only hope most smokers will have in buying this cigar is Cbid.

And I encourage you to keep an eye out on Cbid for this cigar. The 8 x 58 is a ridiculous size. It will take a year in your humidor before it is ready to smoke. He makes only three sizes and one is a Redwood tree. Dumb.

The char line has really behaved itself for the better part of the second half. Makes me happy.

I was wrong about the 30 minutes. Oddly, it will turn out to be a 40 minute cigar. So sue me. I have a good lawyer.

I don’t have a gizmo that will act as a roach clip to nub the Bahia Matanzas. So between the wasted cigar at the start of this perfecto and the last half an inch, it is only a 3” cigar.

That’s $3 per inch. Double ouch.

Still, you should hone in on the 6 x 54 Bahia Matanzas on Cbid. That’s the baby that will fulfill your needs.

And now for something completely different:

I’ve told every single story about my rock history that my puny brain can remember.
So I must repeat stories. Sorry. My apologies to long time readers.

This is a classic one. How I got into Curved Air..the English progressive rock band.

Skip and I left America with one way tickets and our instruments hoping to lay on a beach in Greece and make a living playing.

That went awry pretty quick.

We headed to England where you could at least beg on the street corner in English.
Long story short…we were running out of money fast.

Skip and I poured through the Melody Maker musician section looking for gigs.
I got an audition.

I had 5 quid left to my name and it cost half that to get to St. John’s Wood at Miles Copeland’s house. Just down the street was Abbey Road Studio or EMI Studios to be exact.

I am ushered down to the basement where it had been converted into a practice room. A semi sound proof room was erected and a nice lounge.

As I entered the lounge with my bass, I nearly went into convulsions as I saw at least a dozen or so other bassists waiting their turn.

I could hear the band making each bassist play the same chord changes over and over.
So I sat there thinking how I could play them in my own style and still be unique.

I chickened out and left.

As I walked down the driveway, Stewart Copeland stuck his head out the door way and asked, “Hey! Douchebag. Where are you going?”
I told him I just can’t do cattle call auditions. He called me a douchebag once more and led me back to the basement.

An hour later, it was my turn.
I was ready.

Three musicians stood there. Darryl the keys player. Mick the guitarist. And Stewart the drummer.

Darryl was the leader. He said to me as I plugged into a bass amp, “We are sick to death of playing the same shite over and over. Why don’t you give us something to play?”

I fucking shit myself.

That morning, Skip and I were jamming in prep for my audition and I came up with a simple jazz fusion riff ala Billy Cobham.
So that’s what I began to play and they jumped in.

It was a frenetic, aggressive pace. Stewart’s eyes were as big as saucers…staring at me the whole time.
I just went bat shit on the bass.

I was in the right place at the right time. Every bass player in England played like Chris Squire of Yes. All technique, no soul.

And here I come. America was way ahead on the jazz fusion front and that is what I did at home in the States.

The night before this audition, the boys in the band saw Jeff Beck and his American rhythm section. “That’s what I want” exclaimed Darryl.

And there I was.

Over 40 bassists auditioned. And I was the only one with that American twang of funk and soul. Stanley Clarke was my hero. No better bassist to mimic.

We finished and they asked me questions. Who had I played with? I confessed nobody.

A second audition was planned for Sunday and the cream would be brought back.
I was invited.

I got there on Sunday and was nervous and excited.

Once again, I was ushered to the basement and there sat the boys in the lounge drinking tea and eating cookies. (Biscuits)

I stood there and looked around. There wasn’t anyone there yet.

Just as I sat down, Darryl asked if I wanted to join the band?
HUH?
I hugged all three.
I passed the audition.

The next 2-1/2 years make up at least 50% of the rock n roll stories I tell here.
What a ride.

Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS

Tags: bahia cigars, Bahia Matanzas Cigar Review, cigar review, cigar reviews by the katman, cigars, tony borhani