Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habana 2000
Binder: Nicaraguan Criollo ‘98
Filler: Criollo 98 (Nicaragua), Estelí (Nicaragua), San Vicente (Dominican Republic), Original Corojo (Honduras)
Size: 6 x 50 Toro
Body: Medium/Full
Price: $12.50 MSRP
Humidor Time: 7 weeks
Number of cigars smoked prior to review: 0

Photo courtesy of Camacho Cigars:

Today we take a look at the Camacho Brotherhood Series Check Six.
Thanks to a reader for the stick.

Now I have seen a shit load of press releases going back to July. Yet, not one single review to be found. Is it too soon to review this stick? Or is not review worthy? We shall find out.
I think we can all agree that the original Camacho line was much better than the Davidoff version. Davidoff brought along the Joe Camel type of excessive PR with less than stunning blends.

BACKGROUND:
Debuted at the 2016 IPCPR trade show.
Regular production. The Toro shipped right after the trade show. Other sizes will follow at the start of 2017.

From Cigar Aficionado:
“Shortly after next week’s International Premium Cigar and Pipe Retailers trade show in Las Vegas, be sure to check behind you when inside your local cigar shop humidor.

“Like Shellback, the first cigar in the Brotherhood Series, Check Six is rolled at the AgroIndustrias Laepe S.A. factory in Honduras.

“We are very excited about this second release under our Brotherhood Series,” said Dylan Austin, vice president of marketing for Davidoff of Geneva USA, which owns Camacho. “While the concept was inspired by a common bond shared amongst the military brotherhood, it is also aspirational for many. We all have people in our lives that we know have our back.”

DESCRIPTION:
A mostly solid stick with a couple soft spots. I can feel a couple of plugs.
The bottom half of the cigar has an oily hickory color. Above the cigar band, the color fades a bit ending up with a more pecan colored wrapper.
Seams are tight. Lots of small veins.
The main band and footer band are a strange color of red. Blood red. Glancing at the cigar makes me think of a tampon…missing the string. Disgusting, I know.
The triple cap is applied with only a semi-pro look to it.

AROMAS AND COLD DRAW NOTES:
From the shaft, I smell sweet/tart fresh apricot, pepper, more exotic fruits, malt, cherries, loads of sweetness, cedar, and oatmeal.
From the clipped cap and the foot, I smell that wonderful apricot aroma, black pepper, chocolate, rye malt, cedar, caramel, and fruit.
The cold draw presents flavors of black cherries, black pepper, shortbread cookies, coffee, cocoa, cedar, malt, cream, and apricot.

FIRST THIRD:
The draw is great. Smoke fills the room like an old billiard hall.
Flavors start slowly….creaminess, spiciness, malts, shortbread, and cardboard.
Hmmmm…methinks I’ve been had by Davidoff once again.

The blend starts off as blah as a $2 stick. No combustion of flavors. Dry as a bone. A Milk Bone.

OK. An inch in, the Camacho Brotherhood Series Check Six begins to show a bit of character with flavors of red pepper, creaminess, rye malt, fruit, cocoa, cedar, caramel, and black cherries.
That first inch of nothingness scared the shit out of me. All I could think was Oh No…screwed again by the new Camacho.

For a nearly $13 cigar, I am underwhelmed. Flavors should pop and be enticing me into wanting to smoke more…not less.
Maybe 7 weeks is insufficient humidor time. Maybe the cigar needs 6-9 months of humidor time. Or maybe this is all she wrote. Let us continue.

Each puff begins to get better. The spiciness is at a nice level. The aromas become flavors. Not bold mind you; but rather sort of a background pallete. Not a palate, and not a pallet. The last one always gets me. The biggest offenders are the online stores.
In a blink of an eye, I get a serious burn issue. C’mon!

Strength is medium body.

Yesterday I reviewed the Matilde Quadrata that can be had for $8 and it is 5 times the cigar that the Camacho Brotherhood Series Check Six is.

Finally, half an inch away from the end of the first third, the blend blossoms. Should have started this way but I won’t hold a grudge…that is, until it is time to rate it.
The flavor profile has come into its own: Caramel, creaminess, chocolate, coffee, earthleatherwood, sweet and tart fruit, salted nuts, malts, black cherries, and cedar.

This is not a flavor explosion; but rather an uncovering of the blender’s intent. But at this rate, it won’t be til the last third that this cigar might want to show off.

SECOND THIRD:
Smoke time is 25 minutes.
A $13 smoke shouldn’t have such disappointing burn issues. I am constantly required to touch it up so it doesn’t canoe.

Here I go on my rant again. Bullshit!! Fucking Davidoff ruined the legacy of the Camacho brand. I don’t care what they put out; it is more that you are rooting for the cigar to be good rather than expecting the worst. But in most cases, the worst is what happens.

I’ve been sent a few of the original Camacho sticks but Camacho doesn’t do well over time. Remember when they were considered the strongest cigar in the marketplace? Smoke one with a couple years on it and it is a docile puppy. Very few blends can take the test of time and improve with additional maturation.

I grab my first cup of coffee of the day to see how it affects the flavor profile.
OK. Flavors are nice. I don’t want nice. I want ball grabbing, dick stomping, pie in the face bold flavors…And is it too much to ask for some complexity, character, nuances, and a nice long finish? It does seem to be a lot to ask from Davidoff.

For me, it just proves Davidoff’s true colors. They can’t make a decent $30 cigar so why should they be able to perfectly blend a $13 stick? Do they not realize that the new Camacho look impresses no one at their exclusive men’s clubs?

In order to maintain an even keel with the char line, I must remove half an inch of foot every 5-10 minutes. By the time I finish this grand exercise in futility, I will have seen 1-1/2” of cigar go up in smoke…so to speak.

I only had one stick. So there was no chance to experiment.

Less than an inch from the halfway point, the blend blossoms big time. Finally. WTF?
Flavors hit the bold standard. Isn’t that Camacho’s tag line? Or something like that.
No additions to the original flavor list. At least, they are out front now instead of hiding behind the barn waiting for a whippin’.

Despite the new flavor profile blooming, it can still be put to the test by hundreds of cigars at this price point and way below it. Check out “The Katman’s Best 214 Boutique Brands/Blends in the $6-$11.00+ Range” or “The Katman’s List of 167 Great Cigars in the $5.00-$8.00 Range.” Almost every single cigar in that list of 381 cigars is better than the Camacho Brotherhood Series Check Six.

This kills me. The Brotherhood Series is supposed to be the new gold standard for Camacho blends. If this is their best…Oy vey.

I liked the Liberty Series. And a handful of others. But Camacho has a large spectrum of blends which include the dumb ass celebrity athlete versions. They are the worst. I see those blends going for pennies on the dollar online.

The most impressive flavors at this point are the creaminess, malt, fruit, nuts, shortbread, and caramel.
The halfway point is upon me. Smoke time is 35 minutes.
The stick is burning too quickly for a Toro. Of course, chasing down canoes shortens that time as well.

I’m not going to fix the burn line for this photo:

The coffee doesn’t help a bit.
This is fucking insulting. Camacho puts out an expensive cigar and uses apprentice rollers to build the cigar. No cigar at this price point should have the ongoing burn issues that the Camacho Brotherhood Series Check Six has. This shows a complete disregard for Camacho’s customers.

Strength remains at medium body. Something is wrong. The blend is described as medium/full body. Where is it?
The construction problems will have a big impact on my rating.
Again, flavors are nice if not shy.

The second half is exactly at the point where the blend should have started in the first few puffs. Now, with a certain amount of dread, I expect a sweet spot in the last inch of the cigar.

I don’t know what’s worse….Raving and fawning over a great cigar…or slamming the shit out of a dud.
Here is my early assessment. The $13 Camacho Brotherhood Series Check Six is no better than the average $5 catalog brand stick.

Way before I’m finished, I am directing you to NEVER buy this blend. I haven’t reviewed the other Brotherhood Series but if it is anything like the Check Six, you can pass on those too.
Davidoff/Camacho put a lot of work into the PR game with their blends.

Strength just barely touches the hem of medium/full. And it drags along some potent nicotine.
I’m just minutes from finishing the second third and man, oh, man I am disappointed.

Now I know why no one has reviewed the Camacho Brotherhood Series Check Six in the 3 months it has been on the market. Since they chose only to release the Toro size, they may be waiting to see the word of mouth reaction. Instead of releasing more sizes in 2017, they may be getting ready to tweak the ingredients. And maybe put some competent rollers on the job.

Where is the bridge? Where is the complexity? Where is the flavor bomb? $13 price points make me assume that the blend will be a flavor bomb. Hand it to Davidoff to fuck up that hypothesis.

Repeating what I said in my last review, the only expensive cigars I thought were worth the price is the Bespoke brand. Owner, Jeremy Casdagli from Estonia made Bespoke a huge seller in Europe before releasing in this country. The rumor is that he uses Cuban tobacco in the filler. He has emphatically denied this but I think there is something to this rumor.

LAST THIRD:
Smoke time is 50 minutes. A decent Toro should be good for at least 90 minutes or more. This baby ain’t coming close.
Here I am with my thumb up my ass and patiently waiting for the Camacho Brotherhood Series Check Six to do something.
The serious lack of a flavor profile, a total lack of complexity, and a very short finish just about turns the Camacho Brotherhood Series Check Six into a $25 bundle cigar.

Exactly as I predicted, with a little over an inch to go, the Camacho Brotherhood Series Check Six shows some decent character. Complexity begins. The finish is longer.
Yet, the flavor profile is a mish mosh. No transitions.

Look at it this way….for those that haven’t made the mistake of buying these Check Six cigars; I’ve saved you a lot of dough. If you still buy some after this review, you need to up your dosage of Thorazine.

The spiciness has returned. Strength is almost full bodied. Nicotine is raging.
I’m curious to see reviews of this blend sometime in the near future. And what exactly the reviewers have to say about this blend.

If you see a single review with a score higher than 85, then you know the reviewer is afraid of Davidoff.
Final smoke time is one hour 5 minutes.
This blend is supposed to be an homage to our brave soldiers. Camacho could have done much better than this.
Damn.

RATING: 80 (I think I’m being generous)

Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS

Tags: Camacho Brotherhood Series Check Six | Cigar Reviews by the Katman, cigar review, cigar reviews by the katman, cigars, davidoff