Wrapper: Nicaraguan (Jalapa- Ligero & Viso)
Binder: Nicaraguan (Double Binder)
Filler: Nicaraguan (Esteli, Condega, Jalapa)
Size: 7 x 49 “Centuria – Churchill”
Body: Medium
Price: $8.00 MSRP

Today we take a look at the new Alec Bradley Tempus Nicaragua. A Nic puro.
A gift from an anonymous reader. Thank you sir.

I’ve had the 5 pack less than a week and then I lit one up last night, my testicles tightened and my butt crack healed. Wow. What an incredibly delicious cigar with a multitude of flavors. Oh shit! I just gave it all away. OK. You can stop reading and go buy some now. Sorry…my bad. (Damn dementia…LOL).

This is the very first A/B cigar I consider a New Breed blend. Needs virtually no time in the humidor before being able to light one up. The regular Tempus blends need months.

Thanks to Cuenca Cigars for the above photo. Their prices are right on the money with big savings and with a box purchase, you get an A/B ball cap and a 5 pack of Alec Bradley’s best cigars. Not a bad deal at all. Tell them the Katman sent you. Hey Ana!

BACKGROUND:
The Alec Bradley Tempus Nicaragua made its debut at the 2015 IPCPR trade show.
From the Alec Bradley web site:
“Tempus Nicaragua is handmade with premium tobacco in the same class as our ‘94’ rated Tempus. A choice Jalapa wrapper surrounds long fillers—both Ligero & Viso—from the world-renowned growing regions of Esteli, Condega, and Jalapa. The rich and earthy profile is sure to satisfy fans of everything Nicaragua.”

There is almost zero information. No factory info. No background on how this blend came to be. Nada. I’m sure it will come out soon.
The cigar was released in August.

DESCRIPTION:
A nice looking stick with some rustic qualities due to some lumps and bumps. Tight seams. Lots of veins. A perfect triple cap. Solid, baby, solid.
The wrapper is an oily, dark chocolate color..with reddish highlights in the right light.
The main cigar band and the footer band are beautiful. Really stunning. The filigree work and the art work are terrific. And the copper color just booms out at you. This is going to be a bitch to photograph because they are so shiny.
But this is one of the most beautiful presentations I’ve seen.

SIZES AND PRICING:
Terra Nuvo: 5 x 50 $8.00 MSRP
Medius 6: 6 x 52 $7.50 MSRP
Magnus: 6 x 60 $7.50 MSRP
Imperator: 6.125 x 52 $8.50 MSRP
Centuria: 7 x 49 $8.00 MSRP
The pricing is approximately the same as the original blend and the Tempus Maduro.

AROMAS AND COLD DRAW NOTES:
From the shaft, I can smell fruity sweetness, creaminess, cocoa, spice, raisins, honey, cedar, barnyard, and black cherries.
From the clipped cap and the foot, I smell the identical aromas except that they are much stronger.
The cold draw presents flavors of dark chocolate, strong red pepper, sweetness, bell pepper, wait…wait…Just did a trifecta of sneezes from the spicy pepper going up my shnoz. Continue please: raisins, and cedar.

FIRST THIRD:
I’m a big fan of what is now being called a Churchill. I don’t know why they call it that as the real Churchill smoked ginormous looking cigars. At least 6 x 60. Don’t ask me. I can’t remember if I put my boxers on right this morning.
The draw is good. The stick is heavier than it seemed in the hand. Dangling from my delicate open maw, the lever/fulcrum action feels like I’ve got a Gordo hanging from my lips. (No teeth-my wife taught me that).

The green bell pepper shows up as a headliner upon lighting up. Followed by rich chocolate, creaminess, and red hot pepper. Malts show up as well.
Strength is immediately medium body.
It’s toasty and nutty. Like Kap Kaplowitz.

It’s Amoré. Actually, in Italian there is no thingamajob over the “e.” But I wanted to appear Continental. So fuck it.
The Alec Bradley Tempus Nicaragua is a fine, fine blend. Nothing at all like its two predecessors which I live very much.
With less than a week of humi time, this cigar is blasting out flavors from the very start of the cigar.

Here are the malts (Are you getting tired of this?): Chocolate Malt, Biscuit Malt, Cara Vienna, and Coffee Malt. (See Malt Chart).
Yep, new flavors added: cappuccino, caramel, and an earthy tobacco base that is heavenly.

Oh lord. The Eagles are playing on the cable TV classic rock station. Ptooey. Yeah, I know they’re rich. So what. Their music is for chicks.
Back in the early 70’s, my band had this gorgeous blonde bombshell for a singer. She stayed with us for about 6 months. When I was in Europe a couple years later, she was on the cover of Playboy and Bunny of the Month and was apparently Glen Frey’s squeeze. She used to show up in t shirts with no bra and it made rehearsing a real bitch.

Back to the Alec Bradley Tempus Nicaragua. It is nicely balanced. A charred wood element is exposed. Like a giant nipple…Kohn! Knock it off.

The Alec Bradley Tempus Nicaragua is a very slow roll. But a delicious one with lots of small transitions at this point.
Wonderfully long chewy finish. I’m most certainly just getting a terrific preview of what is to come with a couple months of humidor time but I couldn’t help myself. I’m so impressed with this blend…well, you get where I’m going.

The spicy pepper branches out. There is red pepper, Anaheim chile, and green bell pepper to give it a sweet pepper edge.
There is a smoky quality to the tobacco now. Hickory is present. The cedar fades a bit. A bit of molasses shows itself.

The broken arm sling I confiscated so I can steady my shaky hands when I photograph the cigar seems to be working nicely. It may take me 5-7 shots to get the one that’s good, but that’s OK. Back in the day when I used a Blackberry or a shitty $90 camera, it took me 10 shots to get one good one. So, this is an improvement.

SECOND THIRD:
Smoke time is 35 minutes.
The Alec Bradley Tempus Nicaragua finds its complexity here. Transitions are becoming stronger. Balance is spot on. And I love the lip smacking finish.
A sip of water and my palate is awash in bright flavors.

Construction is good. And only minor char line touch ups required…more for photos than really necessary.
Strength remains at medium body.

The malts and the other flavors are working hand in hand with the complex nature of the blend. I think Alan Rubin (Another member of the Tribe) really scored with this new version of Tempus. With the other Tempus blends, I had to tie rocks to my waist (and one huge one on my naughty bits) to keep from sailing away from the nicotine hit.

And so far…no nicotine. Last night’s smoke did have nicotine in the last third.

For the first time ever, I added a blog roll to my site. None of the other reviewers like me so why should I promote them? Then Kap Kaplowitz came into my sights. He’s been around for a while and is a very accomplished dude. I absolutely love his writing. He is funny, clever, satirical, informational, and a hoot to read. He is the younger version of me.

In trying to determine the halfway point, I had to use a calculator to divide 7 by 2. This is one of those day long vigils I deal with because of my dementia. I can’t remember simple shit. I have a steel tape on my dining room table so I can measure the cigar so as to know when I hit second third, etc. Sometimes, I just forget what a tape measure looks like even when it sits right in front of me. So frustrating. I pick up the calculator instead to measure the cigar.

As a Love Child of the Hippie Generation, I often wonder how much drug use played into what I have or anything I may have encountered health-wise.
We all smoked weed in the 60’s and 70’s. There are no long term studies for some reason. Could pot have caused my dementia? That sort of makes me laugh.

Enough of my whining. Back to the Alec Bradley Tempus Nicaragua.

Here they are: Spice (Chiles), chocolate, creaminess, malts, bell pepper, smokiness, meaty, charred wood, caramel, raisins, molasses, and cappuccino.
That’s a pretty impressive flavor profile. And the transitions keep on coming.
I keep expecting the strength to exceed medium but it doesn’t.

Lord. This blend tastes so much better than last night’s smoke which was probably my 5th cigar of the day.
Thank you Charles Lim. You sir, are a mensch of the highest order.

My little cheap $7 red lighter has been working great. Got it on Amazon. Free shipping. Huge tank. And pin point accuracy with a single flame when I light my cigars using the method of lighting the wrapper around the foot instead of lighting the foot directly. So far, it has worked 100% of the time. Perfect char lines. Unless of course, the rollers did a piss poor job.

Don’t you love it when you can buy a 5 pack of something instead of just a couple? I have three more Alec Bradley Tempus Nicaragua waiting for me in my humidor.

If you’ve never done business with Cuenca Cigars, you should take a gander. They have a membership club that gives you discounts on whatever you order. I don’t know the details. But Ana Cuenca is a real angel. She has been one of the kindest people to me for the longest time.

Eddie Money. Playing right now. What happened to him?

HALFWAY POINT:
Smoke time is 45 minutes.

A loyal reader, Brock, said in a comment that he thought the RP Super Ligero was only medium strength to him. I smoked mine first thing in the morning with nothing in my stomach. I would like him to respond when he smoked it and how much humidor time he gave it. That stick is the strongest cigar I’ve smoked to date. I gave it a month’s rest in my humidor.
My lord. Transitions. Smooth. And complexity galore. Each puff is better than the last.

The Alec Bradley Tempus Nicaragua is an official flavor bomb.

There is too much glue on the beautiful cigar band…leaving drek on the band. I’m glad I though ahead last night and removed the band from that cigar and it came off perfectly so I am using it for my photos.

New malt additions: Flaked Rye Malt and Smoked Malt.
Flavors are swirling like a carousel.

In my teens, I worked at Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park, CA. My main duty was steamboat captain. But we gave each other breaks. There was a carousel, miniature train, and row boats for the lagoon.
There is a trick to getting on and off a moving carousel. Takes a lot of practice and a lot of falling.
It cost 25¢ to ride in the 1960’s. If a child is over 2, the parent must pay to hang on to the kid which pissed off a lot of people. I can’t begin to count the number of people who refused to pay it and would get off the whirling carousel. Only to go rolling like a stunt man. For 25¢. If our manager wasn’t around, we never charged people. Such a stupid rule.

The Alec Bradley Tempus Nicaragua is cruising at 30,000 feet.
The blend is so malty that I can taste beer. I tried the DE Smoking Monks and never had that experience.
This is now my favorite A/B blend. Yeah, I like a lot of what Rubin has done but this is one of the most unique cigars to come out of his head.

LAST THIRD:
Smoke time is one hour.
The strength moves up a notch to medium/full.
Nicotine shows up like clockwork.
Still, a marvelous cigar.
I highly, highly recommend you try this. Everyone has it but don’t forget the deal at Cuenca Cigars. Let them know the Katman sent you.

The construction has been flawless. The char line has been dead nuts most of the time.
I can’t think of another thing to say about this cigar. I’ve said it all. It’s nice to be able to review a great cigar in the morning. Or is that Napalm?
I’m just going to sit back and finish the Alec Bradley Tempus Nicaragua.
Final smoke time is one hour 20 minutes.

RATING: 92

PRICE POINT:
$8.00? Hell yeah. Go to Cuenca and buy a box. Only $7.15 a stick and you get that ball cap and 5 fine A/B sticks. The 5 pack alone is worth at least $35. The cap? Another $15.00. Take those in consideration and you’re only paying $4.65 a stick.
I’m sure Cbid will have them as well.

SUMMATION:
The Alec Bradley Tempus Nicaragua is a grand blend. Right up my palate’s alley. I just remembered that I haven’t had a colonoscopy in way too long. My mother passed from Crohn’s Disease. But I just can’t stand that procedure. Not to mention the night before drinking that liquid that turns your asshole into a spigot.

This was a big surprise. I expected a very heavy smoke. Like the other two Tempus blends.
But the medium strength made this blend light as a feather with a massive flavor profile.
If Cigar Aficionado doesn’t rate this cigar with a big number, I will cancel my subscription.

More news and irrelevant issues:
Ronald Reagan ran the biggest scam on the American people than any other president in history.
Nicaragua.
While president, he funded the Contras to overthrow the sitting Communist government using money from the wholesale sales of cocaine to Americans.

Billions of dollars were raised by selling coke in the 80’s. It ruined countless lives and killed thousands and thousands of people. That money was used to prop up the Contra war.

And yet, the current Republican candidates hold Regan up as their god head. They all wish they were Reagan.

Most of you are not old enough to remember this in real time. I am. And I remember the crisis it caused. Reagan even admitted to this on live television. And yet he left office unscathed.
Meanwhile, Clinton was impeached for lying about a blow job.

Nicaragua. The place where the best cigar tobacco in the world comes from was once a cacophony of murder, genocide, kidnappings, torture, assassinations, and death.

The CIA was the dealer of choice. The trials that followed the uncovering of this horrendous scam were breathtaking.
Yet, none of the main participants went to jail. Some of the low level jackals went to jail. But Reagan was protected by these jackals who knew that Reagan knew everything…while Reagan denied knowing any of it.

The war in Nicaragua lasted from 1979-1990.

Some of the Americans that were convicted:
Caspar Weinberger, Secretary of Defense
Robert C. McFarlane, National Security Adviser
Elliott Abrams, Assistant Secretary of State
Alan D. Fiers, Chief of the CIA’s Central American Task Force
Clair George, Chief of Covert Ops-CIA
Oliver North, member of the National Security Council
National Security Advisor John Poindexter
Richard V. Secord. Ex-major general in the Air Force

This is the administration that current Republicans hold in high esteem.
No wonder Donald Trump is leading in the polls.
P.S.
All of the men listed above were pardoned by President Reagan during his last day in office.

Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS

Tags: Alec Bradley Tempus Nicaragua Cigar Review, cigar review, cigar reviews by the katman, cigars