Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sumatra
Binder: Nicaraguan Habano
Filler: Dominican Piloto, Nicaraguan Jalapa, Pennsylvanian Broadleaf, Paraguayan
Size: 5.25 x 50
Strength: Medium
Price: $10.99
I received these cigars a month ago and since they are extremely limited, I will review them in their fetal state.
Wanderer Corona 5.625 x 46 $9.99
Wanderer’s Robusto 5.25 x 50 $10.99
Wanderer Toro 6 x 52 $11.99
THE WHOLE MEGILLAH:
A firmly packed cigar. Some heft to it. Excellent construction. Can’t help but notice that the cap is applied with great care.
The construction shows off as I take my first draw of the cigar. Perfecto-Mundo. I’ve needed to use my PerfecDraw draw adjustment tool lately on all of my go-to cigars…but today must be the tool’s sabbath and it shall rest.
First puffs are extremely flavorful…creamy, strong espresso, maple syrup, and dark chocolate with almonds.
Immediate start of the cigar’s complexity begins to moon me.
A bourbon-like note grabs hold of the end of my tongue and pulls hard. I triple dog dare the cigar to try that again.
Clearly, at this early stage of humidor aging, I am receiving the blender’s intent rather than the full presentation. That being said, it is an impressive beginning. And it don’t cost $30. Shazam.
Strength is a relaxing medium that goes well with a blustery Milwaukee morning and a cup of coffee.
Very light on the spiciness. Hot cinnamon matches the gentle hints of black pepper.
The char line is dead nuts perfect.
A sip of water and a lovely nuttiness appears for the first time…a mix of cashews, hazelnuts, and almonds.
Lemon tartness shows up giving the cigar a summer-like flavor.
I took a Lyft ride yesterday and a young man approaching 40 was the guy at the wheel. Second time in a month. A guitar player in a cover band that plays weddings and corporate events. He told me that just a few days prior, the guy running the sound board was high, drunk, and messed up their sound to the point that he was lucky to leave the gig alive.
One tour with Curved Air, our support band was named Trace. Three Dutch guys doing a Yes type thing. They had a roadie that was a moron. And on returning from dinner to watch Trace do their set, their roadie headed up to the balcony to watch the sound man and the roadie dropped an entire bottle of booze on to the mixing board and sparks flew into the rafters. No sound. We were an hour out of London and someone from management had to drive like a crazy man to deliver a new mixing board. A few nights later, that same cretin was putting two basses into the truck; but he just left them on the ground and walked away. The next night as Trace was about to do their sound check, the bassist realized he had no basses. They were stolen the night before. One of our roadies kindly lent him one of my basses. That ignoramus roadie was executed at Marble Arch using a guillotine at the end of the tour. No charges were pressed by London Police.
Where was I?
The nuttiness, creaminess, maple syrup, and cinnamon are driving the flatbed.
With 1-1/2” burned, the cigar spreads its wings and a serious depth of spirit begins. The complexity is urged on to keep pace. Transitions kick in. I feel the finish on the tip of my tongue and my inner cheeks. That made no sense. Where else on my cheeks would I taste the cigar? Picked a bad time to stop sniffing glue.
The burn line provides zero anxiety on my part.
Strength remains at a touch zingier medium than at its birth.
With several months of humidor time, this is going to be a great cigar.
Baked apples. Nice. A tasty memory from my childhood. I’ve tried to make them but I have failed miserably each time.
The spiciness ramps up to keep pace with the flavor expansion.
The cigar hits the perfect Savory v. Sweet balance now. It is cooking and a’ boiling.
Ever stick live lobsters into a boiling cauldron at home? I did this in my twenties for a party I threw. I swear I could hear those poor little babies screaming for their mommy.
The cigar is so mellow and delicious that I kick back in my office chair and listen to Sly and the Family Stone.
I’m back. The spicy cinnamon has nearly wiped out the black pepper influence. Another trip into the Way Back Machine as I remember being allowed to buy those apples on a stick with the hard red cinnamon coating. I preferred them to the messy caramel covered varieties. How I never broke a tooth is an unsolved mystery. That first bite was like biting into a steel pipe.
Smokey. “The Tears of a Clown.” The man just released a new album called “Gasms.” Me? Just a puff of powder is expelled. It was better when I was a young man.
The citrus pushes and we have lemonade. Tainted only by the sweetness of the dark chocolate. The mix works.
Stevie Wonder is in my ears now. Anyone can play a Hohner harmonica. You can only play major notes. Stevie has always played a chromatic harmonica. In the past, I tried playing one of those things. I slunk away in shame. The chromatic allows you to play sharps and flats by using a slider on the side of the harmonica. It provides a lushness to the sound as well as having no limitations like the regular harmonica. I went to high school with Nitty Gritty Dirt Band harmonica player Jimmy Fadden. He wore a double bandolier of harmonicas for every key. This was not acceptable in 1967. Plus, he had long hair. He was expelled within a month of our senior year.
The Robusto is a slow roll. Taking its time and interjecting nuances with every puff. Nothing linear about this blend. I find the sweet spot at the halfway point.
Caramel enters for the first time in a duel with cinnamon. The maple is still in play and I taste doughnuts. A palate pleasing flavor that is exceptionally rare for me.
The doughnut thing hangs on with dear life giving the cigar a very cool, and enjoyable, accent to the second half.
The blend gives me signals that it wants to move to medium/full at any moment.
The cigar is influenced more by sweetie pie variations than any savory elements. The tobacco’s wide span of a 6 -country complexity is the baseline for the savory flavor. I can’t remember smoking a stick with Paraguayan tobacco.
With several months of humidor time, this cigar will use the variety of tobaccos to soar.
I’m running on blender’s intent and I’m impressed.
The last 2” is screaming laughter. A sea of swarming simbas approaches from the rear.
Another sweet spot that defines my expectations of this cigar being incredibly special. And the price point is very affordable. This is rare for a limited production cigar.
Strength teeters on medium/full and then drops the mic and we have touchdown.
The blend is smooth as ice.
While the Robusto size is nice, I think that I shall try the Toro next. I’ll get more time to spend with this very intriguing blend.
The other half of this release from Wildfire is The Intro. Just as limited. I will review this stick tomorrow.
I’m in nub mode. The flavors don’t want me to leave, and I comply.
Should you purchase this limited production cigar, let it rest…let it sleep.
You can purchase this cigar from Small Batch Cigar in all three sizes. Promo code ‘katman’ will get you 10% off.
I’m now going to shut up and finish this cigar with my brain turned off and let it float downstream.
RATING: 93
Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS
Cigar Reviews by Phil 'Katman' Kohn 
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