Trinidad Esmeralda Review

Cigar rolled: 2020
Vitola: 5.7×54
Approximate Price (if aged): $60

I bought this stick in 2022 when it was much cheaper.

I have smoked a few different Trinidads in my time. I have never found them
memorable.

The Katman reviewed a Cuban Trinidad in May. He gave it an 87. This inspired me to drag out a Trinidad and try one. I said “Mister Katman, I have never smoked a Trinidad that inspired a score of 87. I think you gave it extra points because you have your Happy Hat on. Maybe your new bass guitar added some extra synaptic activity to your elderly brain cells which influenced your review”.

I don’t know, but I’m about to find out. Right out of the gate I get…. the wrapper cracking.

The cold draw is tight. Like too many Cuban cigars this one is plugged. I pull out the all-to-familiar unplugging device and drill for the troublesome leaf wad. I was going to name the unplugger but Phil never paid me my 8.5¢ commission from last time.

OK. The draw is better so I fire it up. The first half inch is cardboard and dried grass clippings. Seriously? I cleanse my palate with soda water and sally forth. Oak chips and Wheaties. The Cigar of Champions? Probably not.

Into the second third and nothing changes. This thing is flat. Another crack appears and it starts to unravel. I’d be mighty pissed if I actually paid sixty bucks for this torture! Oak sawdust and moth wings.

I’m totally frustrated now. I pull out a $4 Joya de Nicaragua Classio and fire it up. I smoke it. I alternate between the two just to just for laughs. I’m getting more from the Joya. Yikes.

The Trinidad falls apart and I toss it into the abyss of my Big Stinky ashtray. That’s too many Cuban Pesos worth of leaf into the ash pit. Damn.

The Trinidad brand was only released to the public in 1998. Before that it was made as a private brand for Fidel Castro’s personal stash. He loved to pass them out to diplomats and visiting dignitaries. Apparently it was a fabulous smoke in its time and maybe it still is with 10 years of age. Four years certainly isn’t enough.

This Trinidad Esmeralda is about as thrilling as a concert headlining Buck Owens and the Buckaroos at the Bakersfield Civic Auditorium. In 1970 a girl I was dating wanted me to go to that concert. I declined. I’ll do anything for love, but I won’t do that.

I won’t rate this stick. I’m done.

Trinidad Coloniales
Box Date: 6/2023
Price: $47
Vitola: 5.25”x44

I won this cigar (with others in a raffle). I won’t pay this kind of money for a cigar.

Right out of the gate I get a nice grassy note…. annnnd…..another cracking wrapper. Fuck. I slather cigar glue under the peeling leaf and cross my fingers that this will hold together.

I ignore the cracking, determined to dive into this cigar. There is such a creamy texture with hints of nutmeg and a nice fermented grassy note. Fermented grass… that’s a new one for me. It’s quite nice with a slight twang: don’t get that in every cigar of Cuban leaf but this one certainly expresses it.

A lovely buttery croissant note fading into peanut shells, baking spice on the retrohale. I am really digging the flavor profile of this cigar. This baby is smooth and nice into the first third: buttery notes continue, lots of smooth delicate grasses and vanilla.

Another frickin’ crack appears. This one spreads wider than a … I’ll let you finish the sentence. Anyway, if it weren’t for this stick falling apart, it would be damned enjoyable. Honey nut cereal swimming in cream now. I’m glad this cigar isn’t fattening or I’d have to start on GLP-1 agonists.

As a retired 50-year veteran of pharmacy, I confidently speak of these popular weight loss injections (think Ozempic, Wagovy, Zepbound etc). Soon we will have a nation of happy, lean and svelte souls, right? Sorry… ain’t gonna happen. Don’t get me wrong, these drugs work great. They control blood sugar and reduce cravings for everything from food to alcohol. Your brain starts to pick up the “no more food required” signal from the gut and your appetite magically diminishes. The weight falls. You’re digging it. You look in the mirror at your new body and like what you see… then you stop the injections…. and poof: 80-90% of the weight returns. Super secret tip: hit the gym while you are on GLP-1 agonists. Building some muscle and stamina helps put the brakes on this rebound.

Almost to the final third, and the twang is back in the form of fermented, full- cream camel’s milk. Seriously, it’s a subtle and really pleasant note. The retro is still smooth as glass and my crack repair job has managed to hold up. I cross my fingers.

Goddamit… another crack. I glue it up again. I’ll talk to Dr. Rod and see if he’ll make his PerfecRepair glue in a size that will fit a caulking gun. This is ridiculous.

This cigar is getting spicy towards the end. I’m getting a burn on the retrohale now with a little more than an inch to go. Charred peanut shells dominate the flavor profile now. This stick has taken a step back. I’m getting my first wave of the dreaded nicotine. I sip my sparkling water to try and tame the after taste to no avail.

I’m done – an hour and 55 minutes.

The cigar was memorable in so many ways: like the cracks turning into fissures. Ignoring that, this Trinidad was a really good smoke. The profile was pure Cuban. If only I could find one that wasn’t so brittle… and so expensive.

Because of the price and the flimsiness of this cigar, I will not be giving this a proper rating. If you can get one for free that isn’t so fragile, then go for it. This cigar has great potential.

My guess is this would rate high 90’s if it weren’t so flawed.

Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS

Tags: A Tale of Two Cuban Trinidads ~ Guest Review from Charlie Schink (Our Man in Zambia) | Cigar Reviews by the Katman, charlie schink, cigar reviews, cigar reviews by the katman, cigars, cuban cigars, katman, phil kohn