Wrapper: Broadleaf
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan, Indonesian, Peruvian
Size: 7.5 x 42 Lancero
Strength: Medium/Full
Price: $12.00
Photo courtesy of Ezra Zion Cigars (Their photo is way better than my talents afford):
Today we take a look at the The Raven: Nevermore by Ezra Zion Cigars.
The cigars were sent to me by Ezra Zion. I’ve had them resting for around 6 weeks.
Addendum 7-31-2017: At the time of this review I was unaware of Ezra Zion’s takeover of Cigar Federation and its cigar outlet. I bitch in this review about the ever constant price of $12 a stick on the Ezra Zion store site. With the new acquisition, new blends are being made available at more palatable prices in the $9 range. I wish them the best of luck in their new venture.
This is my 25th review of an EZ cigar blend since 2014. No one has come close. And only one review was not a rave: All My Exe’s Maduro. For some reason, I didn’t get that one. But still, 24 out of 25 highly rated cigars ain’t bad.
And by the time I get to review a limited release of the EZ cigars, they have long sold out. On average, once a new blend is released the entire production disappears in an hour. Frustrates the shit out of a lot of smokers who adore EZ blends.
So I’m going to do my part in causing more frustration by reviewing a cigar you will never get to purchase but may be of some help to those who bought The Raven in their quest for Yoda-like wisdom and guidance about the journey; and to see if EZ’s vivid description of their blend matches mine. These boys have excellent palates; much better than mine. This should be fun.
BACKGROUND:
From the Ezra Zion Cigars web site:
“The Raven: Nevermore is the second installment in The Raven series. If you liked the first Raven cigar, this just became the day you’ve been praying for.
“The Raven: Nevermore is a gorgeous lancero boasting a cuban-esque stinger cap. Wrapped in a 10-year -old milk chocolate broadleaf, it’s laid expertly over an exotic blend of Nicaraguan, Indonesian, and Peruvian fillers.
“Full bodied and full strength, The Raven: Nevermore is a brooding and complex smoking experience. Both the balance and construction are impeccable.
“First light rushes across the palate with bold flavors of sweet cinnamon bark, Cuban coffee, vanilla bean and beer hops. Blasts of chicory and tanned leather emerge on the finish. The retrohale is strong bringing the warm burn of chipotle peppers to the blend.
“As it progresses. dry champangne (sic), sage, and hazelnuts are added. White oak gains steam on the finish. The blend may remind the smoker of dark ale.
“The exotic tobaccos cause the finish to linger long on the palate. Creamy flavors settle nicely onto the tongue between puffs.
“This all ends with a crescendo during the last third. Subtle cocoa powder and licorice notes arrive just in time to add even more complexity the The Raven: Nevermore. The magnitude of all the flavors is overwhelming!
“The Raven: Nevermore is a cigar for the sophisticated cigar connoisseur. Easily a $25 cigar experience. Arguably the best cigar we’ve ever done!
“Get these while you can! They will be Sold Out very quickly. And I can tell you, because the tobaccos used in the blend are all gone…The Raven: Nevermore will never be made again!
“Total Production: 685”
SOLD OUT
Best cigar they ever made? Wow. We shall see my lovelies…
DESCRIPTION:
It’s long like a chop stick. I could have them coated in Lucite and use them that way for posterity as I have two sticks left.
It’s a beautiful coffee colored stick. Smooth and appealing in appearance with invisible seams but with veins in abundance. The triple cap is very nicely applied with a fan tail atop the cap.
AROMAS AND COLD DRAW POINTS:
From the shaft, I can smell deep, dark chocolate, red pepper, malt, caramel or general sweetness, espresso, vanilla, floral notes, cedar, heavy cream and dark raisins.
From the clipped cap and the foot, I can smell all of the above with the exception that the chocolate is stronger and the red pepper nearly sets my nose afire.
The cold draw presents flavors of creaminess, chocolate malt, coffee, cedar, red pepper, cloves, cedar, and floral notes.
FIRST THIRD:
The samples I got all showed the same issue: Tough draw so I was lucky enough to have my PerfecDraw cigar poker to open this Slim Jim. I’m always nervous when I am forced to use the cigar poker on a small ring gauge like a lancero. It takes just a momentary lack of focus to penetrate the wrapper. It’s happened a couple times. Luckily, I have the PerfecDraw Cigar Glue and all one has to do is spread some of it on the pierced wrapper and it’s good to go a minute later.
The lancero is still packed pretty tightly making the draw a bit tighter than I like but it’ll work.
Batter up: Chocolate, creaminess, red pepper, vanilla, malts, coffee, and cedar. The nice sweetness apparent in my sniffing is absent from the flavor profile. Still early…
I expected, after the boast of that this is probably the best blend EZ has produced, more of a smack in the puss from the start. Not so. It starts off slowly in the flavor department.
The “Wow” factor is missing.
I’m reacting, primarily, to its spiciness and chocolate/coffee flavors.
EZ mentions a white oak element. I have to be honest. I don’t know what that is. I have trouble identifying wood flavors, except for cedar, so as my tree bark licking techniques are lacking, my palate cannot identify “white oak.”
Strength is medium.
The best cigars I’ve smoked, which include many, many EZ blends, always start off with a big bang. The Raven: Nevermore is on a slow roll. I didn’t expect this. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a nice blend but far from killer at this early stage. Still have 6” to go.
The malts are heavy as EZ describes but I have no sense of champagne or sage or nuts or white oak. Hopefully, it will show up later.
The balance is on point. Transitions begin. No complexity yet. But it does possess a nice long finish.
Creaminess, malts, and chocolate are a fine team.
SECOND THIRD:
Smoke time is 25 minutes.
I’m disappointed. What am I missing? Their best blend yet? The EZ boys are masters at pumping out great blends and I love them all. Even the Blending Sessions. But I had high expectations from this blend and I feel I’ve been let down. The first third should have had me jumping for joy. Of course, at my age it is more like limping for joy. That works.
Every EZ blend I’ve smoked or reviewed was rip roarin’ ready to go in a month. Maybe the 6 weeks I’ve had the stick in my humidor is insufficient. Although, I’ve found lanceros to be quick studies in the marinating process.
Bitterness shows up out of nowhere. I did smoke a couple sticks prior to this review and all were basically the same as today’s review stick. Nothing special but still a good cigar. A $12 cigar.
Flavors are lazy. Maybe it needs another month of two of humidor time. Just a guess because I’ve basically had a very joyous time with every EZ blend.
It reminds me of the All My Exe’s Maduro which didn’t excite my palate. A list of non-descript flavors that underwhelm my palate.
I’m sure we all do it. Read a review(s) of a cigar we want to purchase before pulling the trigger. But the EZ blends are so limited that no one bothers to review them; not to mention that a release of 500-1000 cigars disappear before you can blink. So one has to trust EZ implicitly to spend $60 on a 5 pack. Fortunately, we’ve been rewarded with great cigars as a result of that implicit trust.
Strength remains at medium.
Transitions just ain’t happening any longer. No complexity. The finish is comprised primarily of black pepper with malt and cream.
You ever get the sense that the cigar you are smoking is dying to transcend its plane of existence and bolt into the stratosphere any moment? I’m waiting.
At this point in time, the The Raven: Nevermore is nothing special. I don’t get it.
The halfway point arrives at 45 minutes.
Something is stirring. The bitterness is gone. Transitions return. Some complexity raises its head. The finish is outstanding.
At the halfway mark, the cigar is behaving how I expected it would from the very start.
Creaminess, malts, coffee, black pepper, cocoa, vanilla, cedar, raisins, and red hot cinnamon.
Zero construction issues. A near perfect char line.
The Raven: Nevermore is now making significant changes every couple minutes. Climbing the ladder of excellence.
I reviewed several cigars in the recent past in the $7-$8 range that were incredible…like the La Galera Habano and the A.J. Fernandez Atlantic Cigar 20th Aniversario. Both cigars kicked off like gangbusters and only got better with each puff.
The Raven is now an official entrant in the realm of what one expects from an EZ blend.
There is a white grape sweetness now. It’s probably as close as I will get to taste the EZ described champagne element.
There is some woodiness but in no way could I describe the tree of whence it came.
Strength hits a welcome medium/full.
The first half was like waiting for a pot of water to boil. The second half is the boiling point.
The Raven: Nevermore is now a superb blend. Complexity is in full swing.
I cannot explain the delayed response by this blend coming to fruition about half a cigar late.
LAST THIRD:
Smoke time is one hour 15 minutes.
Every cigar by EZ got a rating from me in the 90’s. The Raven: Nevermore won’t.
The last third continues on its journey struggling to be exceptional. I’m sorry Kyle and Chris. You did a nice thing by sending me these cigars but it is what it is.
The long list of flavors I listed earlier are all accounted for. Nice complexity. Good transition mode with a long finish.
Strength hits full.
I don’t think that 6 weeks was sufficient humidor time. This surprises me as most EZ blends are ripping their clothes off at only a month or less.
It could be nothing more than my palate not appreciating the care and passion that went into designing this blend.
Strong bitterness returns. Yuck.
This has never happened. EZ claims it’s their best blend ever. Maybe I’m currently brain dead.
I allow The Raven: Nevermore to rest a bit before taking any more puffs hoping the bitterness will subside.
I’ve always made it clear that I detest reporting on a subpar blend. It is devastating that I find this blend in that category.
The bitterness is gone now.
Man, my Jewish guilt is raging.
If you were able to buy The Raven: Nevermore, my advice is to give them plenty of humidor time. More so than other EZ blends. I think 3 months is in order. I’m spit balling here but there has to be an explanation for my disappointment.
This is the type of review that keeps big manufacturers from sending me cigars. My honesty becomes an issue.
There were moments of brilliance in this experience but not a consistent smoke.
I’m bummed.
Final smoke time is one hour 30 minutes.
RATING: 84
Revised 7-28-2017: I gave my last stick its chance as the first cigar of my day. I was inundated by huge amounts of black pepper. I like my spice but this pepper was so potent that no other flavors could overcome the onslaught. The cigar remains inconsistent but all in all is a slightly better cigar than this particular reviewed cigar. The black pepper disappears suddenly and the cigar goes blah on me in a “clap on, clap off” syndrome for the rest of the smoke. I don’t feel the pompatus of love from this blend. I’m sure it’s a fine cigar blend but my palate just doesn’t recognize the EZ description of this blend. The palate is a mysterious thing. Still, I’m one of the few reviewers that saw the brilliance of the EZ team early on going back to over 3 years ago when I reviewed my first EZ blend called The Collective sold by Cigar Federation. Don’t let my so so reaction to this blend dissuade you from purchasing EZ blends. I’m still a big fan.
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Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS
Don’t feel so bad I didn’t get Nevermore now. Hahaha.
Once knew a rich guy I worked my butt off for at 16 bucks an hour. I figured out how to make him an extra 300 grand a year in profits. Got a 50 cent raise. ..the prick. This guy was so rich he “lost” a quarter million for 10 years and didn’t even miss it. I was there the day he discovered that little fact. I would have lost my mind. 40 years of my working career and I don’t have but half of that saved…most of which I got in inheritence.
Some people!
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“Money, you’ve got lots of friends
Crowding round the door
When you’re gone and spending ends
They don’t come no more
Rich relations give
Crust of bread and such
You can help yourself
But don’t take too much
Mama may have, Papa may have
But God bless the child that’s got his own
That’s got his own.”
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This is a comment from Bryan Pritchett who read my review on my linkedin.com page:
“You are correct sir. Your story is much better than the cigar. All this time I thought it was just me! I bought them because I love Poe and the raven. I let them rest for six months. They won’t draw, come unraveled and there’s no flavor. I’ve tried to cut them in half, for a short smoke, but that doesn’t help either. I’ve had Fuente’s that are better. I’m going to send mine back. The ONLY EZ that disappoints, and that’s a pretty good track record.”
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I love you, dude! I’m laughing my non-existent Jewish-Italian ass off! “..I can make the down payment on that Porsche…” I wish we could have hung out.
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Hey Bobby,
One of the nicest things to come from totally exposing myself is all the friends I’ve made that have become great pen pals. I sometimes wonder what it would be like to get everyone together for a smoke and enjoy each others’ company. While the internet opens the world and places it at your door step, it also makes you feel isolated by not being able to reach out and hug your fellow idiots who sneak cigars behind their wives’ backs…just like we all do.
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It’s too bad this one didn’t do it for you, or maybe not so bad given the super limited release. But hey, even Kershaw can’t throw a perfect game every time out.
I’ve often thought that if I ever get to Havana and get some custom rolls, this would be a size I’d love to have. A corona’s girth, with a DC/Lancero’s length. Call it a Longsdale. Or maybe a broad sword. The longer I smoke, the more I become convinced that coronas are my favorite size. But sometimes I just want a big, long smoke, without wanting 47+ in ring gauge.
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