Wrapper: Pennsylvania Broadleaf.
Binder: Nicaraguan Habano
Filler: Pennsylvania (U.S.), Dominican Republic, and Nicaraguan
Size: 5 x 50 Robusto
Strength: Medium
Price: $9.50 MSRP

Today we take a look at the Nomad Fin de los Mundos.
I bought a 5 pack 43 seconds after release. They have laid naked in my humidor for 12 weeks. I smoked 4 along the way. Turns out the Fin needs some real humi time.

BACKGROUND:
Factory: Fabrica Oveja Negra
Released: Dec. 2, 2017
Regular Production
From Halfwheel.com:
“Fred Rewey’s most recent addition to his Nomad Cigar Co. portfolio, Fin de los Mundos, gets its name from the Spanish translation of the phrase end of the worlds, though is a nod to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and what some think the agency’s regulation of the premium cigar might just bring about.
“It was first seen back in 2016 at the IPCPR Convention & Trade Show and was scheduled to launch that month. However, delays would push that back for well over a year; along the way to its release, it appeared close to being ready in May 2017 as the Rewey announced pre-orders would soon start, then it was announced it would ship after the 2017 IPCPR Convention and Trade Show, where it was on display with an October release planned. That became early November, and then it was announced that it would finally get its official release on Dec. 2, 2017, with a launch event held at Underground Cigar Shop in Fort Worth, Texas.”

SIZES AND PRICING:
Corona Gordo 5.5 x 48 $9.25
Robusto 5 x 50 $9.50
Shorty 4 x 54 $9.25
Toro 6 x 50 $9.75

DESCRIPTION:
The stick is solid with tobacco packed to the gills. No soft spots. The wrapper has a very rustic quality with lumps and bumps…and a few wrinkles here and there. The color is of pecan and hickory. I count 4 caps; although, they are so perfectly applied, I’m not sure. Seams are nearly invisible and veins surround the cigar while there is no sign of tooth; a veritable imitation of the smoothness of my ass.

AROMAS AND COLD DRAW POINTS:
From the shaft, I can smell lots of good stuff: chocolate, whipped cream, amazing floral notes, a touch of orange zest, malt, black pepper, buttered toast, and bleu cheese (I hope it doesn’t have a yeast infection).
From the clipped cap and the foot, I can smell just really intense versions of the above.
The cold draw presents flavors of chocolate ice cream, malt, earthy, spice, espresso, raisins, and citrus.

FIRST THIRD:
The draw is just a bit tight so I grab my PerfecDraw cigar poker and with one poke, it’s clear and open for business.

Smoke pours from the foot and it encircles my body making me look like Pigpen from the Peanuts cartoon.

Chocolate malted. Lovely. The black pepper singes the hair inside my nares. Lots of subtlety from the get go. 2-1/2 months of humidor time has been kind to this blend. Deep, rich black licorice enters stage left. Black raisins too. An exotic coffee element rears its pretty head.

At 1” in, real complexity hasn’t emerged. But there is a nice train of transitions seemingly making its play for eventual intensity of a complex nature. (What the hell did I just say?).

I read on Fred Rewey’s FB page that he feels that too many folks have preconceived ideas when it comes to acknowledging the name brand. He didn’t say if that meant we expect too much or too little. That is true to some extent…just depends on the brand. Yes, I expect a lot when I’m introduced to a Nomad blend because of its track record of excellence. This is not a bad thing and I believe most smokers would agree.

In this case, the Fin de los Mundos is a bit of an under performer. Every Nomad blend I’ve smoked has knocked the socks off me almost from the very start. The Fin takes its time. Due to the small number of reviews online, I expect most reviewers are mimicking each other in waiting for the blend to really mature to its blender’s intent. We are used to seeing a Nomad blend explode in our faces in as little as a month or so.

SECOND THIRD:
Smoke time is 20 minutes.

The first third was disappointing. No explosions or fireworks.
The second third is in redemption mode. It begins to show some complexity and notes of interest. Exceeding the lackluster first third.
Strength has been a solid medium this whole time.
The ash and char line have performed in exemplary style. A nicely constructed cigar.

Flavors of black pepper, malt, coffee, creaminess, dried fruit, black walnuts with that slightly bitter overtone, very dark chocolate, and black tea.

As my loyal readers have noticed, I’ve been down for the count with the plague this season. I lied about that. I had some major plastic surgery done. I believe I look much better.

As always, music plays while I write in real time. I should add that from the beginning of my less than illustrious reviewing endeavors, I smoke and write at the same time. I don’t go back and edit; except for spell check. It is all stream of consciousness. At the beginning, I tried smoking and taking notes and then writing up a review. That was really stupid as there was no way I could convey my instantaneous reactions.

The late Tom Petty’s tune, “Free Fallin” is playing. If that doesn’t get your juices going, nothing will.

Very little complexity is being exhibited. I’m bummed, man. I’ve reviewed every single Nomad cigar blend and I believe this is the first one that let me down. I did take a gander at other reviews and I don’t believe anyone had their world shaken by this blend. So I’m not alone in my opinion.
I hit the halfway point after 35 minutes.

It was bound to happen. Every blender deserves a mulligan.

The Fin de los Mundos is a nice cigar. Nothing bad about describing it this way. But Fred Rewey has trained us all to expect blistering excellence beyond the pale.
I’m sure his next blend will slam it out of the park. I said this so I don’t burn a bridge.

Complexity is at its most basic. The transitions are merely ghosts of my earlier descriptions. The finish is short. I believe a cigar blend’s finish is underrated. That lingering taste lying comfortably on the palate makes a cigar a real winner if it is long and delectable. Makes a big difference. The finish on the Fin de los Mundos is sort of a flounder.

I really hate dissing a cigar blend; especially when it is made by someone I highly respect. But the truth is the truth. I did buy a 5 pack and tried them throughout the entire rest period of 12 weeks. They all tasted like this one does now. Maybe a couple months is not enough humidor time? I doubt it. There should be a big preview of its potential by now if that is the case.

And then it’s “We don’t need no stinkin’ badges” time. The flavors emerge like a float in the Macy Day Parade. Big and beautiful. Came out of nowhere.
I’m getting full bodied flavors now. The blend has really smoothed out and become what I had expected.
Big flavors of chocolate, espresso, creaminess, malts, dried fruit, marzipan, and real spiciness have moved to the forefront along with long overdue complexity, nice transitions, and finally…a long tasty finish.
All of this should have happened in the first inch. But it didn’t.
Now the Fin de los Mundos tastes like a decadent ice cream treat from Cold Stone Creamery.
The strength is not increasing. It is steady as she goes in the field of medium strength. But the nicotine is showing its head.

LAST THIRD:
Smoke time is 50 minutes.

The blend is reaching for its zenith in the flavor department…at last. Subtlety and nuance make their debut.
The blend is the epitome of smooth sailing. No massive eruptions. Just easy as she goes.

As if lidocaine becomes an ingredient, the flavor profile deadens without warning. The blend is a tease. For 10 minutes, it strutted its stuff as a great Nomad blend. Then…nothing. WTF?
The blend goes bland. Sonovabitch. I don’t get it. There is even a nano amount of bitterness. Nicht gut.

My flu and associated infections are completely gone now so don’t point the finger and say I’m not tasting what I taste. I was, in fact, well enough to review almost a week ago but decided to wait a while to make sure.

Missing in action: Chocolate, coffee, and malt. Wow.
The black pepper is uber strong. The nicotine is in abeyance. I shall live to review another day.
Now the blend is a super tease as it showed me some bona fide potential. And then it slipped away.
That long finish is now mute.

Rewey will never speak to me again. Bummer.

Raisins and marzipan never left the scene of the crime and are the blend’s driving force.
Creaminess and those ice cream flavors are missing in action. I could say it still has earthy, woody, and leathery flavors but that’s what everyone says…so I won’t.

Been out of commission for a while and when I come back, I lay an egg. This was not my plan.

To its credit, the Fin de los Mundos ends without a hint of harshness or bitterness. Still smooth.
I’ve looked forward to writing this review since I got the cigars. I’m now going into the cave and attach my testicles to electrodes and zap myself.
Final smoke time is one hour 10 minutes.

RATING: 86

And now for something completely different:
1983
The Eddie and the Monsters record was pressed and on the market. Butch and I were sent all over the country for PR. Traveling with Butch was a side show unto itself.

It was almost Halloween and Tiger Beat Magazine, Rocshire Records, and Tower Records put together a free trip with Butch to visit the ski slopes of Transylvania. A reporter from Life Magazine would accompany them for photos.
The winner, for some reason, was not allowed a companion. Cheap bastards. But instead, a chaperone from the record company.

I hired Grandpa Munster to be master of ceremonies at a huge Halloween party at the Hollywood Palladium. We met, made arrangements for a fee, and we were a go.

The contest ran for a month. The night of Halloween, Butch and I were in New York doing the Today show. So we made a short video in which Butch made his apologies for not being there. I was in the video too; wearing my best Alexander Haig pin stripe suit smoking a cigar.

At the end of his spiel, he walks off camera and grabs two real lemon cream pies and smacks me with both of them on each side of my head.
Obviously, it was a one take deal. But it went off without a hitch. I was covered in sticky lemon cream pie. Yuck.

The video was then played on a loop the entire night of the party at the Palladium in the lobby. The party had live bands and Grandpa Munster, Al Lewis, doing shtick in between.

They picked a winner. It was an 18 year old chick from Hollywood. A week later, they began making arrangements for the trip. And then the old monkey wrench hit home.
The chick wanted to take her boyfriend. The record company said no.

This went back and forth for a couple of days and no resolve was found so the chick said she wasn’t going.
So what did the record company do? Pick a second place winner? No. They called the whole thing off. They got their PR. And that was the end of that.

The guy from Life Magazine was a friend and had graciously taken the photo for the cover of the 45 single sleeve.
Life fronted him a huge sack of dough for going with them on the trip so the photographer went out and bought a large sum of coke to celebrate.

Now that the project was ruined, Life wanted their money back. Clearly, the guy had no dough to repay them and was so coked out he just ignored them. That was the last time he worked in Hollywood.

I still have the video in professional ¾” tape format somewhere in the basement with the rest of the project. But you can watch it on YouTube.
So the only thing I have to show for that pie in the face is this one photo:

Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS