Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano Oscuro
Binder: Ecuadorian Sumatra
Filler: U.S.A Connecticut Broadleaf, Nicaraguan
Size: 6 x 52 Toro
Strength: Medium/Full
Price: $15.00
My cigars received 3 months of naked humidor time.
BACKGROUND:
Regular Production.
Factory: Nicaragua American Cigars S.A., Estelí
From Small Batch Cigar:
“Oro de Nicaragua used to be a store exclusive for one of Mo Maali’s favorite lounges. He attributes this cigar as the blend that catapulted him into the world of boutique cigars. It’s in honor of this memory that Patina acquired the rights to the brand to bring it back to life.”
THE WHOLE MEGILLAH:
Titular Trifle Thursday.
There is a delay. A giant air hole… (my industry nickname) …is missing. I toss my PerfecDraw. It lands askew and a tiny ‘ouch’ is heard. But when I suck, it’s not quite the level of airholiness I prefer. I ram the little bastard through the center of the Patina. Perfection is reached.
I reviewed the Patina Habano in 2018. I gave it a respectable 93. Good cigar, but I didn’t love it long time.
I only mention the aroma from the wrapper if it’s good stuff. Waves of caramel and cinnamon make their way to this reviewer’s massive schnoz.
This cigar received a couple middlin’ favorable reviews. This is my fourth stick. I didn’t care for the first three. Totally devoid of character. I waited another month before I began what I figured would be a negative review. Not so sure as this 4th try seems to be a fair representation of interesting leaf stats.
The blend was shockingly devoid of even a shred of natural sweetness. This time, there is a turnaround and I find the right scoche of maple syrup with a background of salted caramel. Just right. It’s your thing.
I can state the obvious and say that burning this effigy before 3 months is a total waste of a good cigar. I skate back to the reviews available online and discover everyone is in agreement. Not a wild group of interpretations. A straight ahead grouping of flavors you’ve read a million times. This begs the question is this a complex cigar with plenty of transitions and supreme richness. Don’t know…just started.
Honeysuckle, vanilla creaminess, slight black pepper, Ritz crackers, milk chocolate, bit of simple lemony tartness, malt, black cherry, and light coffee. How many times you heard this list? I know.
I asked long time Beatles’ publicist Derek Taylor if he could verify the identity of someone who represented himself to me as an ex-member of the band Badfinger…who wanted me to be part of his new project…and claimed that Ringo would be our drummer. Apple Corps managed the defunct Badfinger so who better to confirm this than Derek Taylor. He promised to do some checking and call me back…and he did. Turned out that I’d been had by an impostor who thought dragging me and others around by the dick would be fun.
There is nothing earth shattering about this blend. It feels like déjà vu all over again a thousand times. Been there, done that. A good cigar but that’s all. This is basically a tried-and-true blend of the 2020’s that are finding popularity. I hear from smokers who tell me they are tired of the full blast AJ type blends. Arturo Fuente and Casdagli led this charge years ago. Everyone realized they were on to something.
It burns nicely.
Thick with density that makes this stick an extremely slow roll. For $15, I expect nothing less. And the Commonwealth/Euro smokers laugh.
The cigar morphs with each thought of what flavor I’d like next. An intuitive blend…I like it. Ooh what you want…baby, I got.
I’m looking for a second half boost. The first half is teetering on its axis. Tutti Frutti.
Met surf guitar legend Dick Dale at one of his gigs in the 80’s. I was with a friend who was an L.A. radio DJ and wanted to do an interview. Dick said yes. A few days later, we were at his house and his Tahitian dancer wife Jeannie laid out a spread of intoxicating foods. But Dick laid out lines of blow and our appetites vanished. The man was already manic but adding the white death to the menu made the interview seem like a ride atop an out-of-control double decker bus. In the short space of a couple hours, he managed to tell the most incredible stories about rock n roll legends. I made the mistake of taking some of my experiences for granted. I thought it would last forever. My bad.
The second half. Methinks this cigar would be better in the Robusto or Lancero sizes. The delicate blend of leaves is overwhelmed by too much tobacco stuffed into this tubular vehicle. A common mistake. I realize larger cigars are a popular size for many smokers. But for the more sophisticated folks, intensity and breadth are more important.
This blend is a hit and a miss for me. My original take that this was just a so-so blend is correct. Transitions are minimal. Flavors were canonized in the first inch. The desired richness never developed. If you’re going to snag a Patina, make it the Maduro. A much better blend. And my #1 cigar for 2020.
You can purchase Patina blends from sponsors Small Batch Cigar (10% off with promo code ‘katman’) and Luxury Cigar Club (15% off with promo code ‘katman’).
RATING: 88
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