Wrapper: Nicaraguan Corojo
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Size: 6.5 x 48 Short Churchill (Box Pressed)
Strength: Medium/Full
Price: $18.00
My cigars received 4 months of naked humidor time.
THE WHOLE MEGILLAH:
This is scarred up cigar review Saturday. The Las 6 ZDT looks trashed in the photo. I must be sleepwalking and roughing up my cigars. This is tantamount to second degree Cigar Abandonment. A misdemeanor in Milwaukee. Death by hanging in Miami. And the ultimate punishment…Clockwork Orange taped eyelids while viewing six hours of Congress on CSPAN.
The damn thing is plugged. A fiery horse with the speed of light, a cloud of dust and a hearty, ‘Hi Yo Silver!’ It is a strange looking white guy in a costume ball mask…not my PerfecDraw. My PD is hanging with Tonto smoking shrooms while waiting for the peyote to kick in. I knew it…my PD is a total head. I grab its sister, Purty Do-Good. Two virginal thrusts later, we have the Oregon Trail.
The Corojo wastes no time…spicy meatball. Even with extended humi time, I’ve found that a speecy spicy corojo doesn’t mellow that much. Which is just fine if you love the feeling of your lips bursting into flames.
In its favor, there is an immediate deep richness that swarms the night like a mad dog and Englishman seeking out revenge by the knife and other means. Hey. I’m just getting started…leave me alone…I’ll get there.
A wealth of flavorful notes pushes the spiciness aside: Caramel, malt, salty peanuts, creaminess, poached marmot, and café au lait.
The burn ain’t so hot. The curse of the box press.
I’m not being stunned into submission quite yet. Not a bad cigar. Just not influential.
I took a gander at other opinions. No one was thrilled. In fact, most of the descriptions could be the same as reviewing an $8 Camacho Corojo. Which this ain’t. It is an expensive $18 stick. Price matters. My expectations are high.
There is a nice mouth feel but I want more than that. It is early. I shall procure patience.
Music is math. Intervals. Learning to read music at a very young age helped me slog through boring math classes. Musicians that stayed with their passion into adulthood have a better understanding of timed pauses and hiatuses. True dat.
These cigars are produced at AJ Fernandez’s San Lotano Factory in Nicaragua. My reaction is I’m smoking a fancy shmancy AJ blend.
The Las 6 Provincias CMW blend is Nic Habano over Nic guts. The LV blend is Nic Maduro over Nic guts. The LHB is Ecuadorian Habano over Nic guts. Are you detecting a pattern.
The char line has calmed way the fuck down. Steig ab du ganz! Watch out you silly goose! I am fluent in German…marry a kraut and jump back.
In the late 70’s, me and my buddies ran into David Carradine on Catalina Island. We shared a joint in the underbrush. Mr. Carradine never once masturbated in front of us…or tried to hang himself.
1-1/2’ into the carrot cake…30 minutes. Getting better all the time. Maybe it’s worth the dough…maybe not.
If you spent $18 on a Casdagli instead, you’d have gotten a swift kick in the arse from the get-go because Jeremy blends better than Espinosa. And yes, the result is there for all to see after just 3-4 months.
We were in Zurich doing sound check. The roadie, Pedro, approached to show the band his new underwear. He smiled and told us that he shat himself and this was the reason for the new undies. I wasn’t that high. It happened.
OK. At the 2” border, the cigar improves exponentially. Deep and sustaining richness that we all love so much but mostly fail to describe adequately. Mystical and supernatural. If I were a super achiever, I’d nail it.
When the tongue waggles in its confined space, this means the cigar ain’t bad. Waggle away my dear.
Flavors are super concentrated. There are slight deviations as creamy caramel is in the forefront. Mocha java right behind. The spiciness moves to the background. I like that. Sweet raw cashews enter stage left. A highly salassie moment as complexity slams it home at last. I’d love to think that with an additional 6 months of humi time, the cigar will perform better. I’m a believer.
My Aunt Gussie and Uncle Harry owned an original Bullet the Dog used in the Roy Rogers films and tv shows. A 70 year old memory of riding the huge dog. He sat for years in Apple Valley stuffed just like Trigger the Horse.
The blend gives up all hope of being a flavor bomb, but instead, chooses to find a satisfying pose as a rich and complex blend. I have a couple sticks left. I shall allow them to settle in for the long sleep before I revisit.
This is my third stab at this cigar. No bullshit when I tell you that the friggin cigar band is a removal impossibility. The cigar looks like it was in a fight with a pit bull.
Strength is medium/full. My hands are shaking. No food in the belly.
Temps are supposed to reach the 30’s this week…a welcome respite.
A little Ramon Allones by AJ. A little Aganorsa Corojo. A little Illusione Epernay 10th. A little Warped La Hacienda. A little Don Pepin Vegas Cubanas. If any of these blends cough up fond memories, this is the cigar for you.
A solid smoke. But nothing earth shattering. Honestly, you can find any number of blends for $6-$10 less that fit the bill. Pretty much the cigars I just listed.
Ever regret spending $90 for a fiver. Me sometimes matey. Argghhh.
I’m not sure if another year of humi time will make this cigar a cunning stunt.
The last third does not progress as its earlier incarnation seemed to promise.
Espinosa is a constant in the field of blending cigars. The man has a long list of more than decent cigar blends. And some that are just OK. I like that he keeps expanding the edge of the envelope. But he is no Jeremy Casdagli.
If Espinosa would take a few steps back from AJ and really explore the opportunities afforded a man of his stature, his catalog might be less pedantic.
Always knowing what to expect can be tiresome, especially from a gifted and talented blender.
Final assessment is that this is a good cigar. I’d like to expect more and get it. Dealer’s choice.
You can purchase this cigar, and other Espinosa blends, from sponsors Small Batch Cigar (10% off with promo code ‘katman’) and Cigar Page.
RATING: 93
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