Wrapper: Broadleaf
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Size: 6 x 56 Figurado
Strength: Medium/Full
Price: $13.00
BACKGROUND:
Factory: AJ Fernandez San Lotano Ocotal, Nicaragua.
5,000 boxes of 10 cigars.
Released in July at PCA 2023.
From Espinosa Cigars:
“What do you get when you wrap a spice bomb like the 601 La Bomba with sweet and dark Broadleaf wrapper? You get a sweet spice bomb! The Warhead is just that, this was Espinosa Cigars first Limited-Edition Cigar, branded with a military theme to accentuate the cigars strength and power.”
THE WHOLE MEGILLAH:
Construction is exceptional. You’re paying for this.
The draw is a tad tight. Like my vagina. I see my PerfecDraw sneakin’ Sally through the alley so I yell out “Hey, Dipshit” It never turns around…but I do.
The bitch starts off in delicious mode: Creaminess, dark chocolate, spicy peppers, malt, caramel, and salted nuts.
Strength is medium/full 30 seconds into the cigar. Uh oh.
Immediate notes of richness and complexity. Good on ya’, AJ. Not fucking around mode.
How do you not like AJ. He is predictable, sure…but so what. Nothing more comforting than knowing what you get.
Amazingly, the construction proves to be top shelf as the burn is implicitly and impossibly impeccable. Got the required alliteration out of the way. Onomatopoeia next.
In 1971, my bandmates and I went to see ZZ Top play at a dive bar in Anaheim. Our guitarist immediately noticed that Billy Gibbons had a Marshall stack but turned it around to face the wall and draped it with a blanket. The sound was killer. From that point forward, our exceedingly talented guitarist did the same. Gibbons regaled us with stories about Hendrix between sets.
Forget the difficult assembly of a figurado. Could AJ have made this cigar blend in a large size for $11. Yep. But the sleekness is fun to watch as it hurtles towards a calamitous end.
The extended ash taunts me. I want your nuts. I want your nutsack to burn. Tapping proves useless.
While powerful, my mind is intact. Parameters for that are fluid.
I look forward to the second half. A flavor bomb ahead. Nope. But the blend knows exactly what buttons to push with what it’s got.
It is the depth of field. The nuances and subtleties. This is a splendid cigar experience. Have we been here before. Yep. It’s AJ. But he did good. The man can explore hundreds of ways to get the most out of Nicaraguan leaves like no one else.
The mysterious sweetness is omnipresent. Or omni-impotent. Or omnivorous. A total sway in balancing the spiciness that kevlar won’t help.
I met Frank Pentangeli 8 years after he killed himself in The Godfather Part II. I had gone to a fancy bar in Westwood for a blind date. I literally bumped into him. So, I gathered myself and we spoke for a couple of minutes. It went swimmingly. On the other hand, the blind date was a disaster on a magnitude of 9.6 on the Richter Scale. The girl sleeps with the fishes.
Sweet release.
2” burned. Strength is full bore. Newbies won’t survive. Seasoned smokers will be forced to knock back shots until they kill the numbness. Which can’t be done. But why not try.
Malty goodness. Slippery eel. Espresso. Bittersweet chocolate. Creamy. Very spicy. Caramel. Big nuts. Buttery. No crazy flavors. Very Nicaraguan-y. And I’m beginning to lose my mind. Wow. Powerful cigar.
The 601 line has certainly evolved. I can barely feel my fingers. Typing is nearly impossible. Lawdy, this is fun. Everyone sing the chorus of “Wish You Were Here” with me.
Moe. Larry. Cheese.
In 1960, I had a Zenith 20” B&W TV in my bedroom. My parents were very generous. I watched the politics of the day as JFK became president. 3 years later, I watched Ruby assassinate Oswald on live television. Godamm, I’m old.
Know where you must go if you visit Lake Tahoe. Not a casino. With Indian casinos everywhere, they are no big deal. Visit the movie home of the Corleone family. That will ring some bells. The house was up for sale in 2020 for $5.5 million. It would make a great mob museum. Or you can rent the place for only $30K a month. We took a power boat up close. I yelled, “Fredo” and everyone ducked.
The chocolate covered caramel is outstanding. A stunning gig line.
You don’t use the good people serving in our military as political pawns.
The second half begins. My first and third eyes are blind.
If I had to write straight, I’d be fucked.
One was a dream. And the other is nasty.
In my next life I want to be a caterpillar. Low stress. No statins.
The cigar enters a new mode. I plan on using that word once more. The strength is either in abeyance or I’m dying. The blend becomes very smooth. Flavors coagulate into one giant creature. Horns play. I can see Bobby Darin.
Extreme complexity. Nice. The sweetness is big time but does not upset the balance. How did he do that.
Oh my. This thing I’m smoking has become a great cigar. This thing of ours.
I met Sammy the Bull when he had a restaurant in Scottsdale. Scary guy.
The haze is lifting. Unicorns, Dorothy, and lug nuts become visible.
“If I was a rich man.” I wouldn’t be doing this.
Construction is normally tough with a figurado. AJ’s rollers did a marvelous job. The burn line has been without incident.
Butch re-routed his royalty checks to me because his mother would cash them. He made an average of $35 for Ironside, Mannix, and Bonanza.
If newbies want a near death experience, this is the cigar. Go for it. Your brain cells will grow back.
In the mid-90’s, I ran a project at La Guardia that had me dealing with traffic, union ironworkers, and the mob. I had no idea that the crime families had a stranglehold on union labor. In retrospect, I realized how naïve I was. Didn’t make my job easy. I was only threatened with being disappeared once. Could have been worse.
I’ll never be able to smoke the other 601 blends again. This version is stupendous.
A crazy 2 hour ride.
These cigars will be gone soon. Looking forward to 601 La Bomba X.
You can purchase these cigars from sponsor Atlantic Cigar.
I forgot to use ‘mode’ again.
RATING: 95
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