Wrapper: Ecuadorian Connecticut Desflorado
Binder: Mexican San Andrés
Filler: Nicaraguan (Estelí, Jalapa), Dominican Habano ’92, U.S. Undisclosed
Size: 5.625 x 46 Corona Gorda
Strength: Medium
Price: $11.00
My cigars received 5 months of naked humidor time.
THE WHOLE MEGILLAH:
Information about the quantities released and which years this blend saw daylight is confusing at best. From what I can deduce, today’s cigar was issued in 2023.
Damn thing is plugged. What shall I do. Give it an immediate 85. Click here.
I’ve smoked so many similar variations on this cigar’s theme in the last year that everything has become a blur. The major difference is price point. That’s what my palate detects…Dollars. Will this $10 cigar (after promo codes) be just as good as a similar $25 stick? Dunno. Let’s see.
The aromas from the wrapper are a must. Big floral, caramel, lemon, and honey cashews. Nothing new about these perfumes but how do you not relish it when it’s there right in front of your nose.
Sweet expansive start. Lovelier than I remember from earlier tries. Rich flavors of caramel, floral, BBQ, candied lemon, black pepper, red pepper, white chocolate, and walnuts. Very nice.
It tastes thick. No idea what that means but it was a flash across the screen that my brain caught in this moment. Old guy aneurysm shit.
Half an inch in and hugely complex. Layers unfold like deconstructing baklava on a warm day. I’m in love. Can this blend keep its boner till the end…My fervent wish is yes it does. Who wouldn’t love to find a $25 stick for $10.
I saw George Martin at his London Air Studios many times. We were there for a month in 1975. But I never had the nerve to offer anything other than a hearty hello and handclasp…the man was too intimidating, and I could never think of something intelligent to say…so we just smiled at each other. Things we wish we could go back and fix. But then what if he discovered I was an idiot? Whole different memory.
Salty maple syrup. Roasting coffee beans my palate thinks is an aroma. Honeysuckle rose. And zesty fried apples with butter. Wow. I’ve turned into an idiot with stupid flavor analogies. But this is in the moment and it’s all here for discovery.
I’m listening to Bruce Hornsby. If you are unfamiliar with the man, check him out. Lots of hits and lots of solid tunes. He’s still a kid. Only 70.
Superb construction. It’s taken over 20 minutes to burn an inch of this corona gorda. Using advanced trigonometry, this will be a 90-minute journey (I told you not to use this word).
And then I switch to Ronnie Earl. Gotta loves the blues.
I begin the spellbound ferret portion of my review where I no longer want to report…I want to smoke, stare at the wall, and enjoy the music. Better than a 2-minute BJ.
Due to the level of richness, there aren’t lines on the wall showing height variations. Rather, the blend descends into a fat smoothness with complex corners. I know that’s bullshit writing style but I’m having trouble explaining how nice this cigar is. I don’t want to resort to Cigar Reviewing 101 style the industry uses. I’ll be damned.
Flavors haven’t moved an inch. This is a good thing. Fatter and fatter.
Butter-soaked caramel. Blankies of creaminess. White chocolate. Honey. Floral. Sweet cashews. Sweet lemon. BBQ. I repeat myself under stress. I repeat myself…
My stepbrother sent me digitally converted Super 8 family movies from 60 and 70 years ago. I’m the last one standing. They’re all gone. But so lovely to see flamboyant Philly. How I didn’t become gay is a mystery.
Strength has been the perfect medium from the beginning. The Dapper site says medium/full but everyone else says medium. Who do we believe? Dunno.
The faultless morning cigar with coffee. I’m going to shut up now.
Max Bialystock. Leo Bloom. Other men sail through life.
Cigar bibs. Miraculously, we have found a path to live without them.
The second half is better than the first. Sleek with deep complex notes that are just damn mysterious. Fucking Dapper did the smoking world a solid. No shit.
Delicate. The romanticism this cigar brings just sucks the witty right out of me. I could go on and on, but I won’t. You’re welcome.
For clerical reasons, I feel I should announce the obvious. 90% of the 9 or 10 readers that visit me every day know how my scoring works without the need for a separate post explaining my system. Here it is: 70-80 Oy. 80-85 OK. 85-90 Not bad. 90-95 I like. 96-100 I love. And there it is.
I’m going to do something unusual. This cigar is not perfect in all manners. But there is not a single cigar on the market that checks all the boxes that this cigar does and whose price is insanely reasonable. So, I’m going to give it 100 for the reason you’re not going to find a super boutique New Era $25 blend for $10. I want you to enjoy a ‘treat cigar’ that you can buy over and over and never fear your wife again.
You can buy these cigars from sponsors Small Batch Cigar (10% off with promo code ‘katman’), Luxury Cigar Club (15% off with promo code ‘katman’), and Cigar Page.
Price Matters. So does naked humi aging.
RATING: 100
Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS
Cigar Reviews by the Katman 
Nice. FYI, Cigar page is out of stock.
Franz Liebkind appreciates the reference I am sure.
Loved the habano version- first box I ever bought.
Got 4 Connecticut back in February. Someone told me to let them rest and I am, at times, capable of good decisions, so they hibernate till August.
Luxury Cigar only has 5-packs left. Living in CA I can’t buy from Small Batch. With the sales tax, and the tobacco tax, it costs almost as much as a box.
I find it particularly interesting that Dapper cigars, including the La Madrina Shade are manufactured at the often maligned Nicaraguan American Cigars S.A. (NACSA) factory. NACSA also makes some of Jon Huber’s Crowned Heads, a couple of lines for Steve Saka, and, incredulously, the Edition Limitada series for JR Alternatives.