Emilio Cigars La Musa Melete | Cigar Review

By Cigar Reviews by the Katman on December 28, 2014 • ( 1 )

Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano Rosado
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Size: 5 x 50 “Robusto”
Body: Medium
Price: $8.00

Today we take a look at the Emilio Cigars La Musa Melete.

From the House of Emilio web site:
“The first Muse, Melete (Me-LEH-tay) was the muse to thought and contemplation. The second in the highly regarded La Musa series, Melete (Me-LEH-tay) is a highly complex, yet stronger partner to the original Mousa blend. Rich and sweet, Melete brings strength accented by spice both on the nose, and finish. A blend truly meant to make you think… Melete.”

The name comes from Greek mythology. There are four muses: Thelxinoē, Aoedē, Archē, and Meletē.

The La Musa Melete has been out for a while. And plenty of others have already reviewed it and you’ve probably smoked it.

I don’t have the full spectrum of sponsors like the A List reviewers have. Therefore, only a few cigar manufacturers give me first crack at a pre-release blend. Or does a release of a new cigar coincide with my finances at that place and time.
So I think of my blog as more of an archive for inquisitive smokers to visit.

I’m a big fan of all things House of Emilio. Gary Griffiths has a knack for finding, and distributing, some of the finest boutique brands out there. And I’ve never been disappointed.

This is the first time I’ve smoked the Emilio Cigars La Musa Melete. Last month, during my pledge drive, I received enough money to buy onesies and twosies of a lot of great cigars. But since most boutique blends are in the $9-$10 range, that is why I could only buy one or two or each.

The Emilio Cigars La Musa Melete has been in my humidor for over a month now. So it should tell the truth.

The Emilio Cigars La Musa Melete is a stout little bugger. Packed perfectly. Nice construction. Tight seams. A few veins. A perfectly applied triple cap. The wrapper is semi oily and the color of milk chocolate with a bit of tooth.

The simple and elegant cigar band looks like a Greek beer sign in a Greek liquor store.

I clip the cap and find aromas of cocoa, strong black licorice, cedar, citrus, leather, coffee, and a rich, mineral laden earthiness.
Time to light up.

The draw starts off nicely. Loads of smoke billows fill the room. And right away, I get that little “V” notch telling me the char line won’t burn even unless I attend to it immediately.

Flavors spill out: Red pepper, coffee, orange citrus, cedar, creaminess, licorice, and a big dollop of sweetness.

The char line seems to have self-healed.

There is a doughnut frosting element. It is white frosting full of powdered sugar.

The strength is classic medium body.

It is a gorgeous Wisconsin morning. It is 8:30am and the sun is blasting away through the dining room window nearly blinding me. I don a baseball cap so I can read the screen. And the weather is perfect for this time of year. No snow. No rain. And in the mid 40’s.

So far, the Emilio Cigars La Musa Melete isn’t bowling me over. It’s not bad. Just a good quality cigar.

I recently reviewed the Emilio AF Suave and the Emilio Cigars Draig Cayuquero. The Suave is an inexpensive cigar, in terms of boutique brands go, and the Draig Cayuquero was a $10 baby.

The Emilio Cigars La Musa Melete falls in the middle, price wise. At the moment, I prefer the flavor profiles to the former cigars than I do the Emilio Cigars La Musa Melete.

A salty pretzel component shows up. The powdered sugar is strong. And then I get maple syrup. I take a swig of an Atkins Shake (My breakfast) and the maple looms large.

So now we have a cake doughnut with maple frosting and powdered sugar on top.

The Emilio Cigars La Musa Melete is a quick burning cigar. I’ve smoked 1-1/2” in 15 minutes. Nearly 1/3 of the cigar.

The char line is razor sharp. And I’m playing chicken with the ash. I will lose. I always lose. It gently disengages in the ashtray as if a NASA astronaut was driving it.

The second third begins.

Here are the flavors: Creaminess, maple syrup, powdered sugar, coffee, cedar, black licorice, a bit of cocoa, earthiness, leather, and spice.

The Emilio Cigars La Musa Melete has not acquired flavor bomb status yet. At the moment, it continues to be a very nice cigar.

The price point. The AF Suave was just under $7.00 and I believe more flavorful than this blend. The Draig Cayuquero was $10 and markedly bolder.

The thing is…the Emilio Cigars La Musa Melete is in this slow roll of building up to something. It didn’t get there by the end of the first third. But I sense that by the halfway point, something is going to explode on me. I will have to reserve judgment on the price until I hit the last third.
The other two blends had an immediate flavor bomb status going for them.

I am at the halfway point.

Total smoke time has been 35 minutes.

There seems to be no change in the flavor profile. A very tasty, pleasant cigar. But not the surprise I hoped it would be. If I had to make a choice, I would choose the AF Suave over the Emilio Cigars La Musa Melete. In the family of Greek names, another blend: La Musa Mousa was a better cigar.

The issue here is there is no complexity. It’s every flavor for itself. Plus, it is minus transitions. It is one long flavor log.

The cigar band comes off with some difficulty jettisoning the ash to the floor and the char line needs a major tune up.

Trying to tag a price on a cigar without knowing its costs and background is foolish. Is this an $8 cigar? Is it a $7 cigar? Who knows? The nice thing about House of Emilio is that they seem to be in touch with pricing. You smoke an $11 stick and it is worth $11. But you smoke a $6 or $7 stick, and they’ve hit it right on the nose. A lot of boutique brands just charge double digits without blinking an eye.

I am just past the halfway point and flavors surprise me. They are bolder and more nuanced. The finish is long. A touch of complexity arrives.

To me, the difference between a $7 cigar and a $10 cigar is that the smack in the puss with all out flavor excitement comes right at the start. The $7 cigar tends to build slowly til the last third when the sweet spot is hit. The $10 stick hits you in the puss with a pie in the first eighth of an inch.

There is a little sweet potato element now.

The strength remains at medium body.

The char line is extremely wavy but I shall not touch it up.

The last third begins.
Flavor Bomb 1.0.

The flavor profile is bold enough that I can now label it a flavor bomb. But again, it is low on complexity. The balance is good but not great. It has a very nice long finish.

Absolutely zero changes to the flavor line up from earlier.
Clearly, the last third is the sweet spot.

I still have a couple oldies but goodies from the House of Emilio to review: AF1 and the AF2. I will get to those soon.

Emilio Cigars is one of the more consistent boutique brands out there. Despite the level of flavor bomb status, you can always rely on the fact that you are purchasing a good cigar. The Draig Cayuquero is still my favorite.

So at last, I can make my determination about price point. I would feel more comfortable paying a buck or two less than its current asking price.

There is a shit load of good $6 cigars in the cigar universe that are every bit as good as the La Musa Mousa. And many of them are boutique brands.
The Curivari line is a great example. You will have to take a peek at “The Katman’s List of 118 Great Cigars in the $5.00-$6.50 Range” to check them out.

The char line mysteriously corrects itself.

The last 1-1/2” soars like an eagle. The transition occurs in which we had an excellent cigar to a magnificent cigar. I only wish that the Emilio Cigars La Musa Melete started this way. If it had, I could see it being a $9+ cigar.

Flavors are explosive. Complexity has dug its heels in. The finish is chewy and long.
That’s what I’m talking about.

I gave the cigar over a month of humidor time. So I don’t have to make excuses. Any good cigar is ready in a month+.

I can recommend this cigar. It has its unique qualities. But don’t expect the cigar to really shine until the last third.

The Emilio Cigars La Musa Melete was a fun cigar to smoke. Although I must admit I was a little disappointed based on my last two reviews of Emilio cigars.