Wrapper: Ecuadorian Corojo ‘99
Binder: Mexican San Andrés
Filler: Dominican Corojo, Dominican Habano ‘92, Dominican Barrel Aged HVA.
Size: 6 x 54 Toro
Strength: Medium/Full
Price: $25.00
Released: November 2024
Quantity Released: 2000 boxes of 10
Factory: Tabacalera Díaz Cabrera

My cigars received 3 months of naked humidor time.

THE WHOLE MEGILLAH:
Just look at the cigar. The adornments perfectly pair up with its golden rod wrapper. It glistens like the sweat on Patrick Mahomes’ forehead when he discovered his yearly $45M might be in danger after that poor showing in the big game. How will he support his family. Imagine his Wi-Fi bill.

There is an instant in time when we put nose to wrapper. Our experienced brain knows how a cigar should smell. We snort like a wild pig ferreting out truffles. And yet we are often startled by a variety of aromas we didn’t expect. It’s a nice little detail we often ignore…except for that moment.

The wrapper drips with gingerbread. Followed by milk chocolate, cedar, caramel, and marmotte fentanyl cologne.

The stick is very heavy. The draw is dead on arrival. My PerfecDraw removes its trunks and does gonadian deep knee bends and then goes chin deep into this thick lumbery thing. 7 seconds later, the issue is resolved. I did it in 5 sentences and instead of committing to a paragraph like those without the PD tool.

The cold draw brings up nothing new and is simpatico with the wrapper aromas. Caramel leads the pack.

Very creamy. Nuttiness normally takes a bit to flourish, but not here. Whether the creaminess cobbles…and the cigar falls from my mouth, bouncing off my chest, nearly finding an industrial landfill in my lap, and then does a swan dive on to my Boss Dual Cube Bass XL practice amp. Even my lips are becoming senile.

And then a lovely tartless citrus begins. Flavors are piling up like flaky Ciavattoni pastry. Milk chocolate, aged cedar, and simple fruitiness. Richness and lavishness wastes no time raising its hands and saying we are here. Sometimes shit in my head sounds good.

Oh man, the fall cracked the wrapper. Fortunately, it is only an inch shy of the cherry and doesn’t travel. My PerfecRepair glue comes to the rescue. Takes 5 minutes to let it dry. 30 seconds if you are an impatient man. 15 seconds if you are me.

I see so many of my old musician friends that made music their careers and now advertise private lessons on their websites. Man, the bell tolls for thee. Unless you are in the microcosm of successful players, you have no pension or savings. I’ve spoken to several successful players, and they are struggling to find a path of solvency as they hit the elder statesmen/women chapters of their lives. My mother was right.

My previous two sticks were twinsicals. Same early refinement. Same early flavor qualities. You probably know where this is going…or do you? This is why God invented proactive scrolling.

I spool upwards to remind myself of the price. Damn, $25. Damn. I’d love to have a box. $250 for ten cigars. Ha. Please forward your grandma’s jewelry box to Katman is Satan c/o 10 Downing Street, London, SW1.

The stick is copious with tobacco. 15 minutes in and I’ve only burned 3/8”. Looks like my review will be the length of the Bible, New Testament, 14th draft, no punctuation.
The cigar is climbing the long road to priesthood The creaminess is outstanding The nuttiness is devastatingly tasty Lemony vanilla custard dripping from a dead beetle’s eye Mocha java is the last witness to greatness A slight black pepper spiciness The fruitiness is akin to a crisp tart Bosc pear Nougat enters So does the memory of my English teacher Mrs Broaddus

Complexity hasn’t kicked in. The rich quality shoulders the burden. The cigar refuses to burn in accordance with the Geneva Convention. It takes no prisoners. Twist and Shout.

I had never seen so much cocaine in my life. It was 4 ounces. Now maybe you thugs out there have seen much more, but I hadn’t. Rick and I sat in his converted walk-in closet while he explained how he took grade A blow, which looked like only white powder, and turned it into something beautiful. The look everyone wanted was a shimmering pearlescence. Like opals on high. As he was showing me the process, his elbow hit the mirror. The entire cache of cocaine exploded into the air covering us both, covering the 4-drawer dresser and the clothes inside, covering the carpet, and lingering in the air like a cloud. I began to stammer. I was breathing heavily. I suddenly felt pretty good. Rick didn’t lose a beat. He continued with his lesson in drug dealing like nothing had happened. He said he could recover most of it. It was then that he became my hero.

I gotta show restraint. I review in real time…on the fly. The cigar is moving like the Late Cenozoic Ice Age. It might take 34 million years to finish.

Strength is an easy going medium. But will it last…nope. The cordial thing about this cigar is that it works beautifully as a morning coffee accompaniment. And then 3” later, after lunch, the belly full of food admonishes the medium/full strength. An inch later, after dinner, the full tilt strength sings ‘Come Mister tally man, tally me banana Daylight come and we want go home.’ By bedtime, you finish the cigar and are kept up all night from the nicotine. This is what I call a great $25 cigar. Yap.

Using my Costco abacus, this will be a 3-1/2 hour cigar. My previous cigars lasted only 2-1/2 hours. I must be doing something wrong…oh wait, I’m fucking typing. I better stop.

Once I became a weekend warrior, I made it a point to always join a working band. I didn’t have the time or patience to put my own band together from scratch. Nothing cooler than walking into an existing situation and start making dough immediately. I speak with musicians now and the pay is abysmal. In mostly 5 pieces, I made an average of $100 per gig. Now, players are lucky to make $25. The serious glut of bands must be the answer to the question I didn’t ask.

Unless notified otherwise, the flavor points are creaminess, lemon crème pie, almonds, chocolate nougat, creamed coffee, vanilla puddin, black pepper, and fresh pear.

The crack repair caused some burn inefficiency but it has now corrected itself:

The blend reminds me of the Sobremesa Brûlée Blue. Both have Ecuadorian wrappers (albeit Corojo for the Eladio and Connecticut for the Blue) and both have Mexican binders. The Blue has Nic guts while the Eladio has a laundry list of fancy Dominican fillers. The first half of the Blue is a mellow smooth ride with a few bumps. The Eladio is even smoother…with no bumps. The Blue: 7 on the flavor profile. Eladio: 8 on the flavor profile.

The first half reaches its demise at 1-1/2 hours. An anathema to a man on the go.

My 4-piece blues band entered the Phoenix Blues Society contest. We came in third against a very impressive line up of accomplished bands. I’m sure that our version of ‘Flip, Flop, & Fly’ cinched it. I’m like a Mississippi bullfrog, sittin’ on a hollow stump. There was a small cash award. And bragging rights. As well as jealousy. Yeah baby…that’s what being a musician is all about. Making people feel small.

Transitionally, the Eladio is doing fine. No sudden jerks. Smooth and blessed with aplomb rather than apear. The blend will overcome food in the gut. The balance of Sweet v. Savory leans towards the sweet.

As if to say I’m stupid, savory issues kick in moments later: buttermilk, charred oak, mushroom, lavender, and pine nuts. Nice. Now the balance is 50/50. It’s how I like my women.

The complexity girds its loins. In fact, the entire cigar makes its move. A much richer and refined smoke than its earlier life in the first half. Always a good sign.

Strength is medium/full but on the cusp of going full tilt.

The blend now reminds me of the Cuban Romeo y Julieta Wide Churchill I reviewed last week. Every RyJ quality is in place. My first two sticks a month ago were good, but not this good.

Much richer and honed to a higher level for my constantly evolving palate.

What’s happening here is typical of any big cigar. An entertaining first half but the gold lay in the second half.

The Blue: Great cigar. One of my favorite. Eladio: Incredible cigar. If it was affordable, it would be my go-to for this style of blend: Flavorful, smooth, refined, and complex…and a little kick ass. In comparison, which I did, the Blue is smooth in a slightly rougher sort of way. The Eladio has a finely honed point. My palate sees the Eladio as a more polished version. I admit that my tastebuds change from day to day and mood to mood. But if I had to choose one over the other, I’d choose the Eladio. Inside the mind of a madman.

The cigar finishes at 2-1/2 hours. I rushed it a little so I could get up and stretch. Not a lick of harshness. Complex, refined, rich, transitional, serious depth, and multiple layers of flavors. I highly recommend this cigar. Its price might keep it on the shelves a while. Longevity makes it opportune for those that count their shekels. Definitely a fiver. This cigar is a bona fide puppy upper.

You can purchase the Eladio Díaz 71 Aniversario from sponsor Small Batch Cigar. Take 10% off with promo code KATMAN. Note: SBC does smokers a solid by offering the Eladio in pairs, so it is an affordable purchase. If you have Dr. Rod’s money, I recommend a 10 count box purchase.

RATING: 99

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Tags: cigar reviews by the katman, cigars, Eladio Díaz 71 Aniversario | Cigar Reviews by the Katman, eladio diaz, katman, phil kohn