Wrapper: Ecuadorian Corojo
Binder: San Vicente
Filler: Dominican Criollo 98, Pelo de Oro, and Piloto Mejorado
Size: 7.7 x 44 Lonsdale Grande
Price: $24.00
From King’s Cigar Club:
“Created to celebrate the partnership between King’s Cigar Club and Casdagli Cigars, Ruyi is among the very first cigars produced at the new factory in Navarrete, located within Leo Reyes’s renowned tobacco plantations in the Dominican Republic. Every cigar has undergone a minimum of 18 months post-roll aging, allowing the flavors to fully marry and develop into a smooth, harmonious experience right out of the box.”
I bumped into this cigar while perusing the King’s Cigar Club website. It took me by surprise. I hadn’t heard of it. I looked for some reviews and came up with nada. It’s no secret that I’m a Casdagli fan. Casdagli sticks shouldn’t fly under the radar, so I’ll review it.
This cigar is loooong, nearly 8 inches. I won’t show it to my wife, or I’ll have to suffer through endless jokes. Again. This is a nice-looking cigar. There are a few prominent veins, but otherwise it’s smooth and solid. The cold draw is a bit tight for my liking, so I whip out my PerfecDraw. I locate the tobacco knot near the foot, which is fortunate because the business end of the implement is only four inches long. (Heaven help me if my wife reads this.)
Time for a cut and a light.
This stick starts whispering to me right out of the gate. It’s subtle but intriguing. I can’t put my finger on any particular flavor note. Saffron? Cardamom? Cinnamon? They all visit my tongue briefly, then disappear. If you’ve ever had your olfactory senses tickled at a spice seller’s market in the Middle East, you’ll understand.
As I burn through the first couple of inches, there’s a light gingerbread note with an interesting ginger-spice burn on the retrohale. There’s that floral note. Honeysuckle? Like some of the other Casdagli blends, this King’s Cigar Club exclusive just whispers a seductive, ever-changing message. Fleeting ginger, and now honey and cardamom again. It’s beautiful, like Omar Khayyam: subtle but deep.
This cigar is like that intriguing woman at the bar trying to catch your eye, mouthing silent words you can’t quite decipher. It’s exciting. That happened to me once. I strolled over, trying to look casual.
“Can I buy you a drink?”
“Uh, no, sorry. It’s just that you were blocking my view of the TV.”
Fuck.
Into the second third. I’m at a loss for descriptive words. A subtle complexity and fleeting transitions call for words my brain can’t formulate. I asked ChatGPT, “How would Omar describe this?”
“A breath of spice, a shadow of fruit, a sweetness no sooner found than lost, like perfume carried past on the night wind.”
Perfect.
A blue dragonfly lands on my cigar rest and stares at me with massive compound eyes. Its prismatic wings create a light show worthy of a ’70s Grateful Dead concert. It’s trying to tell me something. “You’re old and out of touch”? That’s probably it.
Deep into the second third, I’m getting a complex, dark Zambian honey note spread over buttered sourdough toast. Lovely. Honey from Zambia is unlike the tepid grocery-store crap that comes in bear-shaped squeeze bottles. The African killer bees pollinate the wild flora of the veldt, creating much stronger, darker, more complex honey than our grocery-store bees. Supermarkets favor bees that pollinate wild flora consisting of suburban grasses and parking-lot weeds. Alas.
This cigar is no flavor bomb. It’s not something a noob might enjoy. This is a complex cigar full of transitions that can be better appreciated by an advanced palate. I smoke it slowly. Each puff is a surprise, and the flavors are fleeting.
This stick clocks in at medium now, with very little nicotine interference, but I fasten my seat belt just in case. I sally forth into unknown territory.
Honey granola with cream and roasted, salty cashews mixed with unknown spices marks the beginning of the final third. The burn remains razor-sharp.
The sun has gone down behind the trees. The temperature is 70°F. I’m chillin’.
This ain’t no AM radio Top 40 hit cigar for the masses. It’s way beyond that.
“Larks’ Tongues in Aspic.” No, not a flavor note. It’s Robert Fripp and Tony Levin and King Crimson. It’s the complexity of this blend put to music.
I’m well into the final third now. Dying notes of cardamom. Hickory is starting to dominate, then, toward the end of the final third, it takes a dip. Wood chips.
My dragonfly companion takes off and hovers for a few seconds. It looks me in the eye and flies off.
I take the hint. I’m calling it.
Total smoking time: 2hr 10min
Vince at King’s Cigar Club has generously offered you a 15% discount. Use promo code KAT15. Visit King’s Cigar Club HERE.
**RATING: 96**
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Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS
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