Wrapper: Mexican San Andrés Negro “Cultivo Tonto”
Binder: Brazilian Mata Fina
Filler: Nicaraguan Four-Leaf Blend
Size: 6 x 52 Toro Semi-Box Pressed
Strength: Medium
Price: $19.45
Date to be Released: 2026
THE WHOLE MEGILLAH:
Charlie Schink, our man in Zambia, provided the cigars.
While still short of being in an iconic stage in life, Steve Saka does not stand in the shadows of Fuente and Padron.
The cigar looks like a chocolate candy bar. The wrapper has a light musky aroma along with mild notes of barnyard, peanut shells, and floral honey.
Dr. Rod invented the PerfecPunch in collaboration with Popeil. Few smokers know that Kurthy invented the Pocket Rutabaga Shredder, Pocket Crypto Blockchain Assayer, and the Pocket Prostate Tester. The middle (14mm) punch takes an easy swish (Rod demonstrated that move, with additional sashays, to the draft board in 1969. While it kept him out of Vietnam, he was sent to dental school as punishment). The pigtail is removed easily freeing up a nice airhole.
The cold draw is extremely sweet with a further résumé of hay, cedar, and black pepper.
The first puffs are gorgeous showing off fat chocolate, creaminess, and honey. Just like the press release states. The flavor notes aren’t arbitrary; they will be noticeable to the faintest of palates.
Strength is medium as advertised. Speaking of advertising, Phil Yeh, the owner of Uncle Jam, contacted me. Phil is an extraordinary cartoonist who is also the publisher and art director of the paper. This was the hippest of hip free newspapers in SoCal from the mid 70’s to modern day. I was associate music editor for the paper for a couple of years. He sent me several copies that contained my articles from the early 80’s. The big kahuna music editor hated my writing style. He wouldn’t speak to me. But I was wildly popular which pissed him off. Rings a bell.
Cream and honey laden. Looking at the dark wrapper, you’d never thunk it. The perfect morning cigar? Maybe now and again. Twenty-dollar cigars are out of my class. If it was my only cigar of the day, I could talk myself into it. My favorite morning cigar is the Casdagli Daughters of the Wind Pony. Only $10 before promo codes. It comes in 5 x 52 which is perfect as it requires a mere 60-90 minutes of my time as I ready for my dailies of scouring the stock market, leveraging my finances, opening the mail, recording videos on the application of face, hand, and nearly natural orifices cream, and spying on my neighbors as an undercover agent for Bohners Lake Animal Control Racine County.
The blend is velvety smooth. A slight hint of red and black pepper alternate and sooth my sagging, savage breast. Construction is spot on with a sharp burn line and slow roll. 500 words so far to describe the first inch. I will tighten up as I know you have endless cigar podcasts to endure.
A sip of water. There is a rush of cream and sweet honey. These are clearly the leading-edge flavors. Behind these two are malt, cocoa, cinnamon, cedar, hazelnuts, and orange zest. Very common cigar flavors. There is an overall-ness to the blend that creates a nice vibe of flavors that touch my tongue. The blend is richly developed as inch two begins.
In 1979, after my first skydiving successes, I met a beautiful Australian girl. We hung out for several months. I put up with her attitude that sex was an Olympic sport. I put up with her constant ‘put a shrimp on the barbie’ jibes. I put up with her adoring me. But I couldn’t put up with her insisting that her teacup poodle be an active participant in the boudoir. I have scruples. Send me $5 and I’ll send you a fuzzy B&W pic of said twosome.
The first half showed off the delicate nature of the blend. It is exactly what I want from the first cigar of the day. The leaf stats might indicate a stronger cigar, but the LecheBurra maintains a light airiness in its medium vigor. Construction continues to be on the nose.
For me to consider additional purchases, I need the cigar to bear down and feed me the essential sweet spot. If the cigar had less of a haughty price tag, I’d be all in. If I were a rich man…biddy biddy bum.
My first escapade was a static line jump. There were no such things as tandem jumps in the 70’s. I stood with my right foot on the Cessna’s tire and the left foot on the step. I held on to the wing strut for dear life. I didn’t push off hard enough and slammed my head into the tire. I did a loopty loop, head over keester, several times before my chute opened. The straps around my thighs kicked up into my balls which then forced my nutsack into my mouth. I floated with tears in my eyes but a song in my heart and the taste of liverwurst in my mouth. I remembered to wear a cup from that point forward.
The transitional quality of the blend has stalled. I continue to wait for a sweet spot. A pleasant cigar that stopped evolving.
A few jumps later, I was 100 feet from the ground when I got hit with an upsweep of wind that turned me sideways and then a few seconds later, I crashed hard into the ground. My foot suffered from a hairline crack. I wore a cast for 6 weeks. My boss was pissed off about my skydiving and punished me with bringing paperwork back and forth between the construction trailer and the main office several times per day. He sat me down and told me a car accident is understandable but throwing myself out of a perfectly good airplane was unacceptable. I’ve heard that analogy a million times since. If you’ve ever seen the interior of a jump plane, you would laugh. It takes 15 minutes to get to 10,000 feet and you can’t wait to get out of that death trap.
The last inch and half gets a very tart sassafras flavor. It is almost bitter. It stuffs the light flavor profile into a gunnysack. Nowhere to go. Such a great start and then disappointment in the second half.
Not a bad cigar but it’s not a great example of Saka’s finest. For $20, you can get two Casdagli Daughters of the Wind Pony.
RATING: 89
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