Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano Oscuro
Binder: Ecuadorian Habano
Filler: Nicaraguan Corojo Jalapa, Dominican Criollo, Nicaraguan Habano Esteli
Size: 6 x 50 Toro
Strength: Medium/Full
Price: $7.00
Factory: El Titan de Bronze
My cigars received 7 months of naked humidor time.
THE WHOLE MEGILLAH:
I love looking for more cigars I don’t need. It’s an illness. Ask your wife to approve your self-analysis. I’m kidding, never speak of the tubular bushes with your wife. There is no happy ending. And never use the words tubular bush.
I saw ‘Scratch Blends’ in the cigar brand list at Cigar Page sometime in September 2025. I was intrigued. I like most blends that emanate from El Titan de Bronze. And I liked the price points for these sticks which made me wary of their seriousness. But then I dug into the leaf stats and thought this stuff was right up my pantaloons.
The blends offered under this heading vary: San Andres, Arapiraca, Habano, Habano Claro, and Jalapa Corojo. All toros and all at $7 per stick.
I smoked a couple the first week. A smile, a wink, and a waffle…I was impressed. But I then put them away for the long sleep.
The stick is solid if unremarkable looking. This cigar has the right weight without soft pudgy spots or hard as diamonds spots.
Sniffing the wrapper is always odd. We all do it differently. Go to your cigar lounge and watch. The sneeze you hear behind you is the guy that misjudged and pushed it too far up his right nostril. There’s deep chocolate fudge with black walnuts, creamy espresso foam, peppery, vanilla bean, and licorice.
I purge the manhole cover from the cap using my trusty PerfecPunch. I never trusted punches before Dr. Rod came along. They were either not sharp enough, or their predestined extinction came too soon. Kurthy’s design never dulls. I’m still using the one he gave me 4 years ago.
The cold draw is spicy and has an oceanic sea salt touch. Falling in line are the aromas that translate into flavors of dark chocolate, nuts, black pepper, malt, creaminess, and a slight mint.
I smoked a couple of test cigars last week. They are ready to review. The strength ain’t no Shirley Temple, it has punch. So, I’m critiquing this after lunch and not first thing in the morning. This blend is not a coffee and croissant accompaniment.
Once lit, the cigar starts with a bang. I dislike a blend that requires an inch to get going. This one makes my nippular region hard in the first puffs. First the aroma, then the cold draw, and now the ingesting of smoke and the blend is consistent with more chocolate, et al.
I see Stewart Copeland will be on ’60 Minutes’ tonight. He’ll probably mention me a few times as his hero and someone who he’s looked up to his entire life. I forget how big an icon he’s become. The fact that he’s even talking to me now shows he understands his roots. His days in Curved Air are becoming painful as only a finite number of members are still alive. I think that if we hook up in July, during his speaking tour, he’ll be the kid I know, and I’ll be the kid who was only two years his senior. At least, that’s what I hope. I’m the only living member of Curved Air that resides in America.
The blend is smooth. It’s direct. And it’s flavorful. The Ecuadorian wrapper and binder put a lid on the Nic guts. It has a great balance in its early stages.
The strength is medium, but I know what’s coming. I don’t know if it’s my age or just a natural progression, but I can’t handle strong cigars any longer. I don’t like the ligero or nicotine swoon. I saw this contradiction as I finished out my supply of Padrons not long ago.
Construction is good. The char line is behaving. It stays lit no matter how long it rests.
Copeland, or his people, are supposed to reach out to me prior to his stop here in Milwaukee. I have a plan. I have several anecdotes that I believe his audience will enjoy. I’m going to tell some of those stories to his reps and let them pick. I don’t want Stewart to know what I will be rattling off. I’d like him to react in the moment. We’ll see.
The blend is rich and rewarding as the first inch nosedives into oblivion. As inch two begins, there is a subtle lemon twist that’s dunked in sugar. The dark chocolate morphs into mocha java. The black pepper is mild. The strength is holding back. The sweet v. savory is just about 50/50 with the earthiness of the blend tilting it towards the savory.
PCA 2026 is in full swing. I’m often asked if I go to this or other cigar conventions. I do not. How can I hide that I’m the katman? Impossible. An hour into my roving, I’d be taken from behind, Molly-d up, taken into an alley, and beaten to death…all the while the manufacturers stood and cheered. As I know people who go to these things, they’re not as great as you think. Everyone at the booths expect you to try their new wares…in front of them. After your 7th cigar, your palate is as crispy as our president’s hairdo. Plus, I’d get really tired of constantly apologizing for my blog.
An excellent cigar. I’m trying to hone in on the flavors but I don’t care if I do or not. This is one of those blends that keeps you happy because there are no detracting elements. Flavors do not have a wide spectrum. They are comfy right where I’ve previously described. I suppose that the $7 price tag keeps me from being annoyed or diverted. If this was a $20 cigar, I’d be reviewing it differently. And I think this is why I don’t do blind taste tests. Yeah, I get why other reviewers do it. But it narrows your perspective, it doesn’t expand it. To each his own…
It always rains in London. Copeland and I were cruising around in his old VW Beetle. This was before he was rich. The windshield wipers didn’t work, and he couldn’t afford to get them fixed. He used either a rag or his giant paw to move the rain from the windscreen. Meanwhile, I’d use my hand or a rag to remove the fog on the inside. It was a clown car. One day, the traffic lights were down at an intersection and Copeland didn’t see the Bobby as he controlled traffic in the middle of the intersection. As Stewart moved slowly forward from a stop, he hit the cop going about 10mph. All it did was bump into the guy with the funny hat. We stopped while the cop screamed at Stewart. He apologized profusely; we got back in the V Dub and hit the cop again. It didn’t end well for Copeland.
As is usually the case with blends that are given extended rest, the edges are smoothed out beautifully compared to my early stabs after receipt.
The first half was delightful. Took 45 minutes.
Now if I had blind smoked this cigar, I’d use all of my expertise and guess it’s a $15 stick. Maybe this is why I really don’t do this. I have enough embarrassment issues and prefer not to add to the list.
Dark chocolate, salted almonds, malt, espresso, sweet lemon, vanilla nougat, rich earthiness, black tea, and black pepper. Nothing new, keep on walking. But I strained to delineate those picadillies. The cigar stands on its own two feet as a very satisfying experience that doesn’t need to be dissected.
Now and again, Copeland would arrive at band rehearsal with his Fender Strat in hand. He would play us a couple songs that he wrote. But Mr. Darryl Way would laugh. And say things that weren’t very nice. I was just a hired gun and kept my mouth shut, but I felt terrible that Stewart was treated that way. It was disrespectful and he didn’t deserve the arrogance that our band leader foisted upon him.
I’m now on the verge of the last two inches. I feel the strength. My forehead tightens. My eyes are buzzing. My lips flutter. But it’s not overwhelming. I’m a pussy.
The char line is sharp. The progression has been a nice even slow roll.
Is this a Padron? Of course not. But it’s surely better than most of the foo foo and expensive similar blends. While I enjoyed a couple right after receipt, having 6 months of age has made them much better. The blend has a sophisticated soft touch now. At $35 for a fiver, I’m going have my wallet pop a wheelie and buy the other blends in this series.
This was my last cigar. Drat. It’s the perfect afternoon smoke. It has the body that can cut through anything you shoved down your belly while retaining a smooth simmering flavor profile that just cruises beautifully.
You can purchase the entire line of Scratch Blends El Titan de Bronze from my sponsor Cigar Page.
RATING: 94
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Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS
Phil, you said: “I love looking for more cigars I don’t need. It’s an illness”. Amen, brother. I recently bought two additional Boveda Humidor Bags to hold my overflow as my more fancy humidor is already overflowing. But I digress …
Speaking of looking for more cigars, I had one yesterday that unfortunately was not what I was expecting. I think in one of my few replies to you I mentioned my love of Rose of Sharon from Southern Draw. Cigar Page had a connie-wrapped SD they call “Reserva 1836”. I looked on the Southern Draw website and couldn’t find this listed there, so I am assuming it may be a private label just for Cigar Page. So, despite the attractive price of 4-fifty a stick (half of what the Rose of Sharon sells for) this one could’ve been called the “Thorn of Sophie”. But hey, you win some, you lose some, and as you’ve done so many times before, you take one for the team so others don’t have to suffer – and trust me, I am not dissing your sponsor (CP) but you gotta call ’em as you see ’em
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CP has a huge spectrum of cigar smoking customers. Not everyone that puts cigar to mouth is as sophisticated as us few. And most cigar smokers do not read cigar reviews. Just us precious few. The vast majority of cigar smokers base their purchases on price, pretty cigar bands, strength, and advertising. The closest thing most cigar smokers come to cigar critiques is Cigar Aficionado.
The Southern Draw 1836 line is a gateway cigar to their better blends. I see an inflated MAP price of $10 per stick. Well, that’s not realistic. The advertised price of $3-$6 is where they’ve always been; and belong. So, there is a reality check here…it’s one thing to find gems in the rough like this El Titan de Bronze that goes for $7. But it’s another to pretend that mediocre blends are something they are not.
Once a cigar manufacturer becomes popular in the world of boutique blends, they find a way to keep the boat afloat by selling inferior cigars that have their respected brand name tattooed on the cigar bands. Everyone does it. It’s a business model.
I’ve known so many guys that, even after they’ve tasted excellent cigars, prefer to fall back on crap. I’m always fascinated and mystified by it, but I just had to let it go.
Cigar Page has found a niche that almost no one else possesses, at least successfully. They are often able to bypass the manufactured asking price (MAP) by purchasing their cigars from third parties. They are not dealing directly with the manufacturer. This is brilliant. A lot of cigar smokers think CP is buying old cigars. That’s nuts. They wouldn’t last two minutes if that was the case. In the 15 years I’ve been buying from them, I’ve never once had an issue. Yes, I’ve read some complaints, but they are rare. CP is a huge company and trying to pull a fast one is not in their DNA.
Sometimes, CP gets a hold of just released, brand-new cigars and is able to sell them for pennies on the dollar. Obviously, they don’t last long because they never advertise that they have them. You have to hunt under their Cigar Brands category. I do this daily. Often, by the time I think it’s a good idea to publicize it in a post, they’re gone. It’s time consuming to do this every day and most guys don’t have the free time that I do. I love the hunt.
Cigar Page is growing by leaps and bounds. They are the best thing that’s happened to me in a decade. I consider myself very fortunate to have become close friends with these fine folks. I mean that sincerely. I’ve worked with dozens of sponsors over 16 years, and CP is light years above all of them in every way possible. They are honest to the bone and work hard to garner your trust.
I’m in talks with them now to expand my influence and bring special deals for my readers. It’s very exciting and I can’t believe it’s happening with only 8 months until I retire. It’s taken 16 years to get here but now I’m just old, tired, and worn out. I’m 76 and full-time caregiver to my wife who has dementia. Finding the energy to keep writing the way I do has become very difficult. I dread that my writing becomes embarrassing and I wear out my welcome.
But in these 8 months left, I promise to do my very best for my loyal readers as well as my new readers. Some cool stuff is going to happen. I’ve worked very hard at being a cigar blogger.
I would like to show you a quote from Charlie Minato of Halfwheel. It was made while he divebombed the Paul Stulac Blue Lightning Sky Lancero a month ago. It shocked the shit out of me when I read it because it is no secret that other bloggers and industry sites despise me because of my writing style. Here it is:
“Kohn/Katman has announced that he will stop blogging at the end of 2026. As a fellow cigar blogger, I believe the most difficult thing to do is build an organic audience. He’s done that as well as any other cigar blogger. When I first started reading his content, the crazy stories that often followed a cigar were a distraction from how good of a writer he is. It’s a style that I could not replicate and a huge part of his success. He’ll be missed and remembered.”
Thanks for your comment,
Phil
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