Wrapper: Dark Connecticut
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Dominican (Ligero-Aged 8 Years)
Size: 6 x 50 “Torpedo-Piramide #2”
Body: Medium
Price: $8.40 by 25 count box
Today we take a look at the Sosa Vintage by Sosa Cigars.

I want to thank Arby Sosa for sending me these cigars. I’ve been sitting on them for a couple of months due to the first one I smoked a month ago was not quite ready. And since I am dying here not being able to write, I just know that the Cosmic Muffin has put the Sosa Vintage into my loving arms to review today.

Happy After Thanksgiving to you all. I hope you didn’t stay up all night in line somewhere so you could save $100 on a North Korean TV or an El Salvadorian PS5.

From Cigar.com:
“In the Taguasco region of Cuba, Juan Sosa was a small tobacco farmer around the turn of the 20th century. By the 1920’s, Mr. Sosa’s farm was one of the largest tobacco producing estates in Cuba. Mr. Sosa’s son Arturo and grandson Juan started manufacturing cigars for retail in Cuba and abroad, but the family left the island due to political unrest. Mr. Sosa spent several years looking for soils as rich as those in Cuba to restart his tobacco and cigar business and eventually settled in an area near Santiago, Dominican Republic. Once there he set up his factory in his new home and then operations in Miami, Florida. Today, his grandson Juan, along with his family, continues the legacy of handcrafting traditional Cuban cigars.”

While I could not find, nor could anyone else, the origin of the “Dark Connecticut” wrapper, it is a gorgeous color: Gingerbread with a dash of oil, a bit of mottling, and very smooth to the touch. Seams are tight and there are few small veins but some really big honkers. The Piramide triple cap (Might be a double cap) is flawless. The stick is rock solid with the right amount of give.

I clip the cap and find aromas of strong chocolate, café latte, rich earthiness, sweetness, exotic dried fruit, and eye watering spiciness.
Time to light up.

I’m not a big fan of torpedoes. Just too hard to hold in the mouth when you are a chomper like me. But that’s what Arby sent me.

The draw is a bit tight. I carefully use my cigar awl and even with the freezing weather, does no damage to the wrapper. All is well. The draw is spot on.

The cigar has a chocolatey deliciousness that tastes like it has aged those 8 years plus some. It is deep and complex. The Sosa Vintage even gives off an aroma of chocolate.

There is a separate sweetness now. Very sugary. Like chomping on raw sugar cane back when I was a kid. Once in a great while, my mother would buy me one at the Piggly Wiggly and I would chew on that awful tasting thing all afternoon til my teeth turned black. Now that’s Entertainment!

The cigar is so packed; it causes a very slow burn. I might be here for days. That’s why I don’t like big cigars. I get bored easily and have very little interest in spending two hours smoking the same flavors.

The Sosa Vintage comes in 4 sizes: Churchill 7 x 50, Toro 6 x 50, Robusto 5 x 50 and the Piramide #2. I bet the robusto would have knocked my socks off.

The flavors, this early, are a little on the bland side. They started off daring with that rich chocolate and sweetness. Now they have settled down. A surprise is that the bold spiciness in the aroma department did not translate to the flavor department. Not a single lick of spice.

I’ve burned an inch and the flavor profile is improving. The strength is mild bodied.
The main flavors are chocolate, café latte, sugar cane, nuts, earthiness, and wood.

This is a very pleasant cigar. Not a flavor bomb, but pleasant.

The second third begins.

Black pepper shows up.

Arby is not going to like me after this. But I can’t see spending over $8 for this cigar. And by the 5 pack, the stick goes up to $9.40. That’s what CI is charging.

I am a big Sosa fan and have written 13 reviews of Sosa cigars and each one a real gem. Odds are one is going to be a clunker.

The issue isn’t humidor time. I’ve had these sticks for around 2 months. Should be plenty of time. All the other Sosa blends were ready in 4 weeks or less.

The Sosa Vintage must be made for Cigars International because it doesn’t show up on the Antillian web site where Arby sells his Sosa cigars.

Don’t get me wrong…it is a very pleasant cigar but the flavors are very subtle. I expected a flavor bomb. An $8-$9 stick should be impressive from the start; especially after two months rest.

I am at the halfway mark.

Things begin to pick up. Ahhhh….The whole thing has turned around. For some reason, the sweet spot was waiting at the halfway point.

The flavors: Creaminess, chocolate, coffee, nuts, toasty, raisins, sugar cane, very earthy, black pepper, and that special something that comes from extensive aging of the tobacco.

Man, what a difference.

Holy shit! Why I had to wait so long is beyond me. I think the strength being so mild has something to do with it. And it is still mild bodied, not medium as advertised.

The nuttiness is wild. Bunches of black walnuts, almonds (Marzipan), pecan, and hazelnuts.

The black pepper is now extremely strong. Now we’re talkin’.
The Sosa Vintage has hit flavor bomb status.

The only thing that dismays me is the price. It is just not an $8-$9 cigar.

In real life, I don’t mind a torpedo. But for reviews, the Katman drool makes a real mess out of things. So I have to clip it constantly to keep you from dry heaving when you see my photos.

Leather shows up for the first time. Muy leathery.

If the cigar had started this way, I would have no qualms about recommending this cigar. But if CI has them, you know they are on Cbid. I check and you can get the Sosa Vintage for pennies on the dollar. Under those circumstances, I highly recommend this cigar blend. It is a great $5-$6 cigar. CI is overcharging on their main page. Go to Cbid and you pay $2-$3 a stick. Now that’s a steal!

I’m enjoying the hell out of the Sosa Vintage when it makes its move. It is now medium+ bodied. Just like that. One moment it is mild bodied, and the next it is much stronger.

This increases the boldness of the flavors. And complexity even sets in. The balance is great and it now has a nice long finish.

The char line hasn’t required a single touch up.

The thing that makes me different from other big reviewers is that I review in real time. Another reviewer might not allow you to read my early pissing and moaning about the blend. But if I am true to myself, I have to report the truth and be honest about my experience. So I don’t edit out anything.

The last third begins.

The Sosa Vintage is screaming laughter. What a magnificent blend.

My only suggestion is that you make sure to allow the Sosa Vintage some decent humidor time. Maybe add another month to my 2 months of rest and the first third will start things with a bang.

One last time for the list of flavors: Black pepper, leather, earthiness, chocolate, creaminess, bushel of nuts, sugar cane, coffee, toasty, raisins and wood.

Very impressive.

I’ve got three Sosa Vintage cigars left. I plan to allow them to rest at least another month before lighting up the next one. If I see a major change to the first third of the cigar, I will come back and report.
It’s 8° in Milwaukee right now at 10:30am.

All that snow has turned to rock solid ice. This is when the ER’s fill up from people slipping and breaking bones.

Last year, as I was leaving the house, I slipped on an icy sidewalk and fell into the big bushes out front of the house. Charlotte wasn’t home and there I lay. Couldn’t move. Totally trapped by the hard, frozen branches.

I kept yelling for help but everyone has their windows closed. Finally, our neighbor left his house for an errand and saw me and got me up. During the winter in the Midwest, salt is a man’s best friend.

The finish of the cigar is terrific. No heat. No harshness. And no nicotine.

I realize my review is somewhat convoluted but it is what it is. In the end, I would gladly buy more Sosa Vintage from Cbid. You can’t beat those deals.

NOTE: I made the terrible mistake of asking donations from you, my readers. Not a single reader came through for me. And in my Face Book cigar group, only 4 came through. So I mistook readership for friendship. I apologize for moving the subject from cigars to me. Won’t happen again.

Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS

Tags: antillian cigar corp, cigar review, cigar reviews by the katman, cigars, sosa cigars, Sosa Vintage Cigar Review