Wrapper: Aganorsa Corojo ’99 (Jalapa, Nicaragua)
Binder: Aganorsa Criollo ’98 (Estelí, Nicaragua)
Filler: Aganorsa Criollo ’98, Aganorsa Corojo ’99 (Jalapa, Nicaragua)
Size: 6 x 50 Toro
Strength: Medium/Full
Price: $11.00 for a Single ($10 if you buy the box of 10)

BACKGROUND:
Released Oct. 8, 2021
Sold Exclusively by Atlantic Cigar Co.
Production: Limited Edition (500 boxes of 10 cigars)
From Cigar Dojo (9-28-2021):
“ReviveR was launched in 2018 with a limited run of 3,000 cigars. The blend was developed by Max Fernández, tailored to Cigar Dojo’s tastes through the selection of Corojo and Criollo leaves primarily from Aganorsa’s farms of Jalapa, Nicaragua. This region is known for producing a sweeter smoking character, in comparison to the more fiery tendencies when heading south to Estelí. With ReviveR, the two combine to offer a zesty profile through the retrohale, followed by a clean, sugarcane-like finish.

“I’ve had the privilege of working on several Cigar Dojo collaborations at two different companies, and it’s always a rewarding experience,” commented Terence Reilly, Aganorsa Leaf vice president of sales & marketing. “That said, ReviveR has a special place in my heart, as it’s the blend that put Aganorsa on the map for a lot of consumers when it debuted in 2018. ReviveR is a perfect expression of Aganorsa’s unique flavor and aroma, and I’m excited we brought it back for another release.”

“Eric Guttormson, owner of Cigar Dojo, commented, “If ever there was a Dojo collaboration that needed to come back, it’s this one. I have made no secret about the ReviveR being one of my favorite Dojo releases, and I couldn’t be more excited about its return. We wanted to refine the branding a bit this time around, but the cigar itself is identical to the 2018 version, because if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

APPEARANCE:
I’m not a big vein fan. The ReviveR is festooned with them. I think it is an OCD thing on my part. Seams are damn near invisible. Nice triple cap. The wrapper is a brown paper bag hue with hints of orange in the sunlight. Mostly smooth with points of toothiness here and there. No hard or soft spots. Feels medium weight in my hand.

SMELL THE GLOVE:
I find dark chocolate, floral notes, caramel, molasses, white pepper, malt, cedar, pumpkin pie spice, barnyard, and cinnamon.

The cold draw presents flavors of charred steak, cinnamon buns, dark chocolate, caramel, malt, white pepper, Vindaloo curry powder, and nutmeg.

The draw is spot on. I gingerly place my PerfecDraw draw adjustment tool in the cat’s arse for safekeeping. He never knows it’s there. I shouldn’t let him out at night. I think he is hanging with the wrong sort.

FIRST THIRD:
Right off the bat, I’m in love. Holy crap. Big fat notes of beautiful cigar tobacco that sells me a time share in Haiti.

Flavors jump at the chance to exhibit themselves in their naked glory: Curry, cinnamon, white pepper, chocolate, molasses, caramel, charred steak, cinnamon, cedar, and honey. That was all derived from two puffs! Two stinking puffs.

I have smoked one and so I know what’s coming. It only has a month or so of naked humidor time, but this is beautifully aged tobacco. And it’s heavy…plutonium heavy water heavy. The weight of the complexity pushes my tongue down til I gag.

I chose to review at what I thought might be a too early stage in the cigar’s humidor hibernation. But there are only 500 boxes available. They should have been gone by now but there are no reviews that I could find. I signed up to be notified the moment they were available from Atlantic Cigar via Cigar Dojo. I pulled the trigger on just three sticks 3 minutes after I got the email, they were hot to trot.

This is a cigar that if you don’t buy a few or a ten-count box, you are banned from ever reading me again…or trolling me ever again.

The flavors makes this blend an instant classic. The baseline flavors just melt in my mouth. The parameter of its spectrum is wide ass open. I’ve burned half an inch. Ha.

Clearly, I’ve given away the denouement of the review. Not very smart on my part. I guess I need to find a way to entertain you while I gush over the ReviveR.

Transitions are on the people mover running past others who are just standing there. The finish is big time curry. When touring England, that’s all the band ate because at the time, English food was horrifyingly bad. TV commercials showing the perfect family ala “Leave it to Beaver” sitting down to a dinner of SpaghettiOs on toast. Yeah, I know. Sometimes they changed it up and showed the happy family consuming baked beans on toast…yum.

So, naturally, we never ate at English restaurants. They could screw up anything. We always ate ethnic. It was safe and enjoyable.

Smokestack lightin’. Huge plumes of white smoke pour from the foot until the smoke alarm goes off.

The intensity is absolutely incredible at this juncture. I’m nearly overwhelmed. Sammy the Cat is standing next to me with the defibrillator.

Strength is a solid medium.

“While We Cry (Live)” by the Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band is killing it.

Spices galore, hot spicy cinnamon, gooey honey, charred meat, malt, green bell pepper, cedar, caramel, pink taffy, and a combo of both white and red pepper…with a hint of black pepper in the distance.

The music I listen to on Pandora during a review always tells the truth. I am not shitting you. If the music is great, so is the cigar. If it is non-stop The Partridge Family, the cigar is headed towards the toilet bowl.

This cigar has an enormous body of balance and density. It sings to me. I sing back. It tells me to shut up.

After the end of the Curved Air Live album tour, Sonja Kristina told me if I could play bass like that, I should be able to sing. I told her I don’t sing. She said if I gave her two weeks, she would have me singing like a bird. We did the two weeks. At the end, Sonja said to me, “Phil…you can’t sing.”

The ReviveR is masterfully classic mixture of blending talent and a UFO conspiracy.
I want to have the cigar’s children.

This is so much like the best of Southern Draw, Casdagli, Tatuaje, Warped, and Padron.

SECOND THIRD:
Great sticks always seem to smoke too quickly. I try to savor the subtleties, but the flavors are so bodacious that it makes other blends chomp the choda.

A minor burn issue occurs but needs only a tiny fix. Otherwise, the construction is flawless.

At either $11 a stick for a single or $10 for the box, this price point is ridiculous. Other manufacturers are shoving $16 cigars down your throat implying that the cigar will rock your world…when in reality, they are just OK.

Atlantic and Cigar Dojo could have easily jacked up the price, but they didn’t. Kudo’s boys.

I am fucking laughing out loud due to all my pleasure points being jarred into submission.

We only have $40 left for November to spend on food, gas, sex, and coffee but I am going to pull a stick up at the nearby convenience store and buy a bunch of boxes. I am kidding about the $40. Charlotte works the streets, so money is always flowing in.

One puff and I taste ethnic food, The next puff I taste cheesecake with a cinnamon graham cracker crust. Every puff is a new adventure. And no nicotine. (Yeah, I jinxed it).

“Shooting Star” by Bad Company. How analogous to this cigar blend.

Ever take too much acid and when the blackout ends, find yourself as an Isis fighter?

Since I didn’t plan on reviewing today because of the interview, I ate breakfast which I never do before a review. Even with all that matzoh ball soup in my stomach, the ReviveR soars.

The char line is razor sharp…like Marilyn Monroe’s wit. That is the sole reason the Kennedy boys and the Rat Pack and half of western culture fucked her.

“Get Together” by The Youngbloods. It was literally the theme song of the 1960’s. The Way Back Machine takes me to Sunset Blvd on a Saturday night. Everyone smoking J’s and passing them to strangers…running into rock stars partying. That time will never be repeated.

The halfway point is upon me. I don’t know if this cigar is capable of obtaining a sweet spot in the second half as the sweet spot started before I lit the cigar.

For my palate, this blend is damn straight perfect.

When my top 25 list is published in December…the ReviveR will be in the top 5.

I don’t believe there are any other reviews of this stick out there. I don’t get it. But then most reviewers stay away from limited edition cigars. I’m pretty sure it is the reason that the cigars are still available.

I was planning on going over the top in my interview this morning. By the time Rob was finished, he would have had to edit my interview down to 2 minutes.

It is a rare thing when a cigar is a flavor bomb and the whole dominates the sum of its parts all at the same time.
I have no idea how I missed this blend when it debuted in 2018.

If you take my sage advice and score some ReviveR cigars, go ahead and smoke one after a week…BUT, if I were you, I’d let them sit for a good 3-4 months before dipping your toes in again.

The flavor profile is mind bending. It bitch slaps me with every puff.

Strength is getting upped. Nicotine. The hazy days of my past return.

I smoke several cigars during the day. I’ve ruined the experience no matter what I choose later.

LAST THIRD:
Bliss and dazed are the current emoticons in my brain.

An unexpected leap occurs. A vicious sweet spot enters from the dregs of hell. I paint my face like The Joker. I plan to stand on my balcony naked and wait for the police to drag me away. At least one cop will look at my naughty bits area and ask, “Are you a man or a woman?” I will explain I’m Jewish. I will be thrown into solitary with only matzoh and water to live on.

Every single flavor I’ve described is in full force without any being diminished.

The complexity is through the roof. Balance, character, depth, nuances, and body are pummeling my aura like being at a Frank Zappa concert. I must retreat to my dental floss farm.

I’m leaning back in my office chair just staring stupidly at the laptop screen. My comfort zone.

I slow my puffs down to 2 minutes apart. I allow the finish to transport me to another plane of consciousness. I wonder if TSA will interfere.

Blends like this don’t come around often. It makes me happy that I am still alive to have the opportunity to enjoy this cigar adventure. Based upon my karma, I will be coming back as a caterpillar. No idea how I will smoke cigars with those little arms. Not to mention no place for my wallet.

But since I plan to live another 20 years, I may get to experience a blend like this again. If you want to have a nightmare, imagine I’m still reviewing at 90. By then, any filter I had will be nothing more than George Carlin’s dirty words you can’t say on TV.

“Strange Brew” by Cream. How apropos.

How do these guys find this combo of tobaccos? Is it luck? Is it kismet? Or an intern with superpowers?

In the Notes section on Atlantic Cigar’s checkout page, tell them I sent you.

If you don’t buy the ReviveR, I will lose all respect for you in the morning.
This is the best advice I’ve given in quite a while.

I want to give the Cigar Dojo folks a standing ovation but since I threw my back out, I will simply golf clap.
Just wow…

Before you purchase the cigars, go to Cigar Dojo and click on the link that says:
“online retailer Atlantic Cigar Co.” highlighted in red. Using this path to Atlantic Cigar will give you an automatic 10% off the box price.

RATING: 100

Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS