Seth's Humidor

Selectos

JJ Maduro

If I recall correctly, this was Don Pepin's first maduro and also probably one of the only in his brand. Similar to most of his cigars, the JJ Maduro is a Nicaraguan puro. The wrapper is a Corojo wrapper that has undergone the maduro process. The Selectos is the robusto vitola in the line measuring 5" with a 50 ring gauge. The JJ line is noted to be his line that gets the most rare and highest quality tobacco. When these first came out, I remember the debate amongst my cigar friends in which is better, the JJ or the JJ Maduro? It was around 50-50, but I preferred the Maduro. I have been smoking these cigars for a couple of years now, and they are still the same as they were when they first came out. Don Pepin has begun taking on my contracts to make cigars for brand owners, and though some say he is losing quality in his cigars, I wouldn't completely agree.

This is a full body cigar, but because of the wrapper and the blending it is not over powering. The cigar has a perfect wrapper that was very dark and oily and the triple cap was placed perfectly. Upon lighting you are greeted with lots of pepper and other spices, but it is balanced by nice cocoa notes with some sweet cedar characteristics. Although this cigar does not change much dramatically from the get go, it doesn't need to. The cigar had a nice flavor, and it burned very well with no issues. I find these cigars to be a little too pricey for the cigar, but it is still rather enjoyable. I give this cigar an 89, and although it is not mind blowing, it is relaxing.

Don Pepin Serie JJ Maduro - Cigars International    

Signature 1932

Signature 1948 Robusto

Serie '68

Unknown Cigar

So every once in a while I like to have a cigar which I know nothing about. Today, I got my wife to pick a cigar out of one of my humidors, take the band off, and have me smoke that. Sounds like fun right? It is. The beauty about not knowing what you are smoking is that you pay much more attention to the flavor, and the whole time you are trying to guess the tobacco in it.

The cigar she picked out was a robusto in vitola and had a beautiful dark brown wrapper. The wrapper was perfectly placed over the cigar with no stretch marks, and very little veins. At the top of the cigar I noticed the triple cap, which was placed exceptionally. Looking at the leaf and feeling it I had a pretty good idea that it was a habano wrapper, and was either a Criollo seed or Corojo. The cigar was rolled very well, and there were no soft spots on it at all. I am going to go out on a limb and saying this is not a Cuban, but I will be able to tell once I have smoked some of it.

So I have just lit this cigar and right away I am getting tons of pepper, this is a beast. I am going to enjoy this smoke. I have burned my way down some and I am getting lots of pepper, earth, and on the end some coffee. This flavor profile does not narrow it down one bit. This is a habano wrapper, and I am going to say it is probably Ecuadorian or Nicaraguan.

I am about half way through, and this cigar is burning very well, this is not a Cuban. I find that there is a distinct flavor with Cuban cigars, and looking at the burn line by the ash, it has been fermented very well which leads me to think this cigar was made in Honduras or Nicaragua. There is a lot of ligero in this cigar, and I am going to go with Nicaraguan and possibly Honduran tobacco. 

Still smoking this baby, and the pepper is still strong and so is the earth, but I am also getting some nuts now with the coffee on the finish. I am going to go out on a limb and say that this is a habano wrapper from Jalapa, Nicaragua, and that there are fillers in here from Honduras and Nicaragua. The binder is probably from Nicaragua as well, but I am not sure.

I just finished this smoke, and I am going to say it is a habano wrapper from Nicaragua, probably Jalapa, and Nicaraguan fillers. I don't know how my guess is going to be with this, but I'm going to say it is either a Padilla Dominus, Padilla Miami, or an Illusione. I can safely say though that this cigar is made at the Fabrica de Tabacos Raices Cubanas in Honduras. It doesn't have any Pepin characteristics in the smoke, and he is the only other non-Cuban manufacturer who used a triple cap.

I am giving this cigar a 91, what a great smoke. I really want to know what it is now!
 Following Day:

So Katie showed me the band, and it is a Alex Bradly Tempus robusto. I was pretty close with my guesses. The Tempus is covered with a habano wrapper, it is a Honduran Criollo '98 from the Trojes region of Honduras. I guessed Jalapa, but there is a lot of Jalapa tobacco in it. I picked up the Jalapa flavor profile from the filler. There is also filler tobacco from Trojes, Honduras. The binder, I was way off. The binder is an Indonesian Embetunada and a Trojes Criollo '98.

This was a ton of fun, and I look forward to more tests like this. I don't know how close you could say I was, but I was on the right track with the wrapper and the Jalapa tobacco. Great smoke!

Spier Signature Pinotage 2019

My wife picked up this bottle on a whim from our local wine store, and we were a little disappointed. The wine is made from a pinotage grape, which is South Africa's signature variety. The grape is a hybrid between a Pinot Noir and a Cinsaut grape. I have not had many wines with Cinsaut, but I am familiar with Pinot Noir. The wine is from South Africa and is still quite young, only 2019. They recommended drinking before 2012. 

The wine has a plummy red color to it, with a nose of tobacco, plums, cherries, and some mild spice. I have never had this grape before, and I don't know when I will have another wine with the same grape, but it wasn't what I thought it would be like. While it was a grape made with Pinot Noir, it seemed to have a more Merlot characteristic. Before going into the tasting, the wine has a wonderful aroma and color.

The wine had a taste of oak, plums, and some very mild spice. It wasn't a round wine, but a sharp wine with a very long finish. I had about a glass of the wine and called it quits. I was really hoping for a little something more with this wine, but it just didn't deliver it. The wine was not balanced and was somewhat harsh, and as I said earlier, the wine was beautiful in color and had a lovely aroma. I do feel the wine would be better if the finish was better. I give it an 82.

Made with grapes from Monterey County, this wine includes Chardonnay, Riesling, Gewurztraminer, and others they don't mention. The color of it is a golden straw color and is very light. With the Riesling and Gewurztraminer you can definitely pick up the sweetness from the grapes, and in my opinion overpowers the Chardonnay grapes. The nose of wine has aromas of tropical fruit, green apples, bananas, vanilla, oak, and some nice spicy floral characteristics. Once you taste the wine, it is very round in your mouth with lots of mango and pineapple with a long finish. I was not as keen on this wine as others, partially due to the Riesling and Gewurztraminer, but it was still an everyday wine. I have gotten to the point in my life, where unless it is a good Chardonnay, I don't want to bother. To me all Chardonnay's are similar unless they are exceptional, and then they can be great. I give this wine an 85. The nose was pleasant, but was not a big fan of the flavor.

Macanudo Crü Royale Toro

When this cigar was introduced, I was hesitant to even bother getting one. I have smoke Macanudo cigars, but they are not my cup of tea, than I found out that they were made by Benji Menendez. Menendez is such an important figure in General Cigars, and cigars in general, that I thought I should give it a try. The Macanudo Crü Royale comes covered in a dark oily Ecuadorian Habano wrapper, with a Dominican binder, and fillers from the Dominican Republic, Brazil, and Nicaragua.

Decorative Band for Macanudo

The cigar itself is made incredibly well and the aroma is of earth and cedar. From the beginning to the end of the smoke, the flavor profile remains consistent with notes of chocolate, espresso, cedar, and earth, but is really pleasant. When I got done with this cigars, I was actually surprised and felt I should apologize to General Cigars for my lack of faith. I wouldn't ever put this cigar in my humidor, but I am glad I tried it. I give this cigar an 87, and if offered it by someone, I would truly enjoy it. I will say, this is the best new release Macanudo has had since I have been following cigars.

Macanudo Crü Royale - Cigar.com 

Partagás Serie D No. 4

 One of my favorite cigars, and in such a great format. Where to begin with this cigar? Partagás is a great Habanos line, and all the vitola's in it are great. Whether you are smoking the Luisitania, 8-9-8, Culebras, Serie P No. 2, Short, or the Serie D No. 4, you are going to get a ton of flavor and have a great body smoke as well. I got this stick in a tubos 3 pack in Antigua and I have been looking forward to them for sometime. First all the tubo is beautiful. Nice design and coloring, it is awesome. Right when you open the tubo, the first thing you notice is the beautiful triple cap. Perfectly rolled with no veins visible, this cigar is beautiful. I always look forward to lighting one of the sticks up. Whether I am drinking a glass of wine, a mojito, or just rum, it goes well with everything. I have burnt through a box and a half of these, and they have always had great flavor.

Check out that Triple Cap! (3 horizontal lines, if you don't know what I am talking about.)

The aroma of this cigar is wonderful. Right away you have a sweet and spicy aroma and with the draw you get anise, cinnamon, and clove. Upon lighting, I am blessed with cinnamon and sweet characteristics, and it is just teasing me. The cigar is medium in body and so smooth. I am a third of the way in and the burn is perfect and beautiful, the flavors are great, and the aroma in the room is amazing. This is what a cigar should be like. Right now I am giving this a 93.

Heaven

 Well, I have spaced out, and didn't write a second third review of this cigar, because I was enjoying it too much. The flavors have remained wonderful and it has increased in body. This cigar is just loaded with dark cherries, cinnamon, cloves, it's just awesome. Sorry, fuckin awesome! I am about to finish it off and I am pissed, this can't be happening. I am tempted to run inside and grab another one, but I am going to throw those to the bottom of the humidor and get them in a year or so. I have changed my earlier vote from 93 to a 95. I haven't had any issues with this cigar, except for the fact that it all gone. It would get a 100 if by some chance it came back, and I could smoke it again. When you have a cigar like this, you can't smoke another, because it will automatically suck.

On Monday, a smoking ban took effect in Honduras which prohibits individuals to smoke in public places, but also allows and encourages individuals to report smokers who light up inside of their own homes! I know, it is ridiculous. I understand that some people don't want me to light up my cigar around them, but that is my own home! I believe these anti-smoking campaigns are getting a little out of hand. I know tobacco is not as healthy as tofu, but someone's home is their own home. The Honduran government has set up a warning for a first time offenders, but with a second time offense you will be fined the minimum monthly wage, which is $311, and you will be arrested. I find these laws becoming more and more aggressive, and I am fearful of the day where such a law comes to my town.

Available to only six dealers worldwide, this is the most limited of the limited Graycliff collection. The Double Espresso is a short but powerhouse of a cigar. Measuring 4 1/2" with a 54 ring gauge the flavor and power in this cigar tickles your palate during and long after the smoke. Covered in a beautiful milk chocolate Jaltepec Costa Rican maduro wrapper and packed with unique ligero tobacco from Central and South America this cigar hits you from the start.

Right away you are greeted with lots of black pepper just to announce its presence, but it slowly fades and becomes a background flavor. Once the cigar gets going the chocolate, spice, and coffee flavors become more prevalent. The body on this smoke is heavy throughout, but due to the excellent blending skills it never becomes too much.

The cigar remains flavorful and and powerful throughout and you'll find yourself smoking it all the way to the nub. The cigar was rolled perfectly with a great cap, and the ash remained strong and beautiful on the smoke throughout. One of my favorite aspects of this cigar was the draw. It was fairly tight, but because of that you could really control the flavors you got out of it and control the smoke I never had a burn issue throughout, and never had to relight.

The only downsize to this cigar I would say is the pricing. Like most Graycliff cigars, they aren't cheap, but if you can get these when they have a sale on them or a deal, you should take it! I give this cigar a 93, and I hope you all have a chance to smoke this, even if it is just once.

Graycliff Double Espresso - Cigar.com

So I just red a great article in Wine Spectator by Matt Kramer. Matt Kramer is a great writer. I love his work and I tend to find that he writes the truth when it comes to a lot of things as well, whether we want to hear it or not. The article in which I am writing about is called The Dirty Little Secret, and in it he talks about how the greatest issue when drinking wine. He believes that most people think that when they have a nice wine, what should they pair it with? The bigger question is, who should they share it with?

I know it sounds to awful to say that, but he has a fair point. I have plenty of nice wines and wonderful cigars, but I am not going to share my best stuff with everyone. Kramer, goes on his article to reference accounts he has from friends where they serve wonderful bottles, and watch them go to ruins. In one case, someone served a  1986 Mouton-Rothschild and a guest proceeded to add ice cubes to it. (Rotshchild is an estate from Bordeaux, and is recognized for making some of the finest reds in the world.) On my wedding day, I opened up my humidor's to my groomsmen and best man and told them to pick whatever they wanted, and they grabbed some great smokes, and I wanted to share them with them. I don't regret making that decision at all, I don't care. Would I do this at anytime though? No, because I don't even smokes those cigars often, but it was my wedding day! The same goes for wine, my wife and and I keep our nicest wines in our wine cooler, and we don't drink those often. Yes, we would share a nice bottle of wine with someone who would really treasure it, but otherwise I know we wouldn't.

I know I come off as a snob in this article, but I hope you would do the same with your cigars and wine. I would like to clarify that my wife and I would never give you a bad bottle of wine or cigar, but just keep the best stuff for a very special occasion. I would probably even go to say that I don't own a bad cigar, but it might not be to your tasting. I can't say the same for all our wines though, because there are some I have not had. In the end I know it is just a bottle of wine and a cigar. But if those things are your passion, and it is not an object like a movie, which everyone can enjoy over and over again, save that for yourself and treasure it.

Casa Magna, made for Manuel Quesada by Nestor Plasencia, will have a nice vitola in the line. It will be an extra long lancero measuring 8 1/4" with a ring gauge of 40. I look forward to trying it out, it is very long, but with the ring gauge being so thin you should be able to get some great flavor from the wrapper.

Cuba has announced it's limited edition releases for the year as well. The Cohiba line will have a new size, 1966 Edicion Limitada. It will measure 6 1/2" with a 52 ring gauge and be a parejo with a pigtail cap. They will release the Short Hoyo Piramides for Hoyo de Monterrey, which will be a 5 1/3" by 46 ring gauge figurado. Finally they will have the Ramon Allones Allones Extra, which will be 5 1/2" by 44 ring gauge.

New Partagas Smoke

Also, Habanos S.A. has announced two new vitola's within the Partagas brand. The Serie E No. 2 will measure 5 1/2" and have a ring gauge of 54, and the Serie D No. 5 will be 4 3/8" in length and have a ring gauge of 50. Both sizes sound great!

Monte No. 2 Gran Reserva

Habanos S.A. finally announced the Montecristo No. 2 Gran Reserva Cosecha 2015. There will be 5,000 boxes, and will be the most exclusive launch by Habanos S.A. All tobacco is from tobacco harvested in 2015.

So many great smokes, look forward to them all!      

John Huber

Additionally, John Huber, formerly of C.A.O. Cigars, has left the company and plans to start his own brand in Nashville, Tennessee, Crowned Heads. Looking forward to the smokes, it seems everyone is leaving C.A.O. Cigars. rather than move to Richmond, VA.

Crowned Heads

Just when you thought Padilla was boutique, he begins to release boutique boutique cigars. The Single Batch #17RC is a small production cigar, and I mean small production. There will be different batches, with different tobacco, but the #17RC is covered with an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper and has filler tobacco from Nicaragua.

The cigar has lots of cedar, caramel, cream, earth, and coffee notes and is medium in body. This cigar is very enjoyable, especially when you take the price into account. For roughly around $2 a cigar, it is a steal, and I strongly suggest picking a bundle up. I give this cigar an 88, it wasn't exceptional, but still very enjoyable. The wrapper had some veins and didn't burn perfectly, but the flavor was nice.


Padilla Single Batch #17RC - Cigars International

The Saint Luis Rey Serie A is one of the forgotten Corona Gorda's coming out of Cuba, more so than Juan Lopez Seleccion No. 1, and it is a shame. The cigar is great in all aspects, and I find it to always be a reliable smoke. Another great aspect of this cigar is that because it is not a cigar in high demand, it not as expensive as others.

Construction wise, this cigar is made perfectly well. The triple cap is perfect and the wrapper has been placed perfectly, not stretched or in bad condition. There are no veins in this wrapper, and it has a beautiful chocolate brown color. When smoking this cigar, you can see how well it was made, the burn on it was always even and the ash held on strong.

Flavor wise, the cigar isn't overly complex, but has wonderful notes of leather, apricot, and some mild spice. It doesn't change throughout with flavor, but remains rather pleasant and medium in body. The box I have of these is from 2018, and though it has improved since I smoked it last year, I truly think these will reach its peak in  a couple of years. I think that with some more age, the tobacco in this cigar will marry well with one another, and release more flavors.

Overall, this cigar is is made very well and the body and flavor of it are great, but it is overtime that you really begin to notice the greatness of it. Resting your cigars for a long time is hard for a lot of people, including myself, and because of that I don't smoke these often or purchase them. If you are willing to put down a box or two of these and not smoke them for over five years than I would buy them, otherwise I would just get a couple of singles. I give this cigar a 91, and look forward to them in the future. Also in the Saint Luis Rey line is the Double Corona, which is an incredible smoke when it is made well, and in the top 10 coming out of Cuba. Try both if you can.

I know, another cigar by AJ Fernandez, but he is making great cigars. The cigar starts off with an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper with fillers from Nicaragua. Sounds like your usual cigar these days, but it isn't. The line comes with several vitola's, but the Knights Templar is my current favorite.  The band on this cigar is just massive and colorful, and though i don't think the band is important it is still a wonderful sight to the eyes.

I find a lot of AJ's cigars are very full body and full flavor, but he went down the middle road this time with the body. While remaining very full in flavor and still being complex, the cigar is not overpowering. I know there are a lot of medium body smokes on the market today, but I have gotten to the point where I find most cigars being either mild or full.

The cigar begins with lots of leather and wood notes and those flavors remain prevalent throughout the smoke. As you look at the ash, the first thing you will notice is that it stays strong on the cigar through the half way point, and it is very very white. Usually a white ash is a symbol that the tobacco was grown in soil that was very rich in nitrogen, and that is very good. With the cigar becoming more complex as it progresses you begin to pick up some nuts and spice on the finish of each puff, and some more flavors that I couldn't pinpoint.

If you are looking for a full body cigar, the Ave Maria is not it, but it is still truly enjoyable, so don't rule it out because of that. The cigar itself is constructed perfectly and the flavors it contains are very nice and pleasant. I have been enjoying these cigars quite regularly and have been enjoying them at anytime during the day. I give this smoke a 93, and love sharing these with my friends who haven't had them. This is a perfect cigar to sit around with friends and just talk or even watch a hockey game. Another great thing about this smoke is that you can have a coke, any type of wine, beer, or anything with it. It is perfect with anything, anytime.


Ave Maria - Cigar.com

I love this cigar, or should I say loved, since it is no longer in production. Guillermo and George Rico, father and son, have a very small production in Honduras, but make great smokes. I have around four of these sticks left in my humidor, and they are going to remain there for sometime. Looking at this cigar, it is just spell bounding. You can see the oils shine on this beautiful reddish brown habano leaf that was shade grown in Nicaragua. I love cigars that have a wrapper that has red in the color, it is a sign of a great wrapper and great flavors. They get the name for this line, 3 Siglos, from the three country filler tobacco, that is all ligero. They of course use Nicaraguan tobacco in the filler, but also use Colombian and Costa Rican. There aren't a lot of manufacturers who use Colombian tobacco, but Guillermo and George Rico do, and often.

The cigar starts off with a lot of wood, cream, coffee, and walnut notes. The notes stay with the cigar throughout but it is after the first third where it begins to get very complicated. Throughout the rest of the smoke you begin to pick up pepper and spice flavors that come and go teasing your pallet and never knowing if the cigar is medium or full. This cigar truly is wonderful, and I believe is forgotten by many. Now I know you can not get this cigar again, but Cigars International has such a positive relationship with Gran Habano Cigars, that they were able to get almost the exact blend made for them, but called 3 SLS. I give this cigar a 90, and would recommend it as an everyday smoke.

Give it a try, Gran Habano 3 Siglos

Epernay is a town in France that is built upon chalk rock in the heart of the Champagne region, and this is where the line gets its name. The whole line is meant to be lighter and sweeter than the original Illusiones, and there is no ligero tobacco in the cigars at all. Out of the five vitolas I smoked my favorite, Le Matin. The cigar is 6 1/2" long and has a ring gauge of 46, and has a wonderful draw. To me the cigar is very mild-medium in body, and is blended beautifully. Like all of his cigars, it has a wonderful triple cap and the wrapper on this cigar, a cafe rosado, is beautiful. Another great this about this line, is that all of the vitolas have ring gauges in the 40's. I hate large ring gauge cigars, and I think Giolito does as well. I love Giolito's smokes and I think he is right on with what he is making, but let's get to the flavor profile of this beauty.

The cigar smokes very smoothly, giving off lots of floral, honey, and café au lait notes. This cigar truly is great, and deserves to be in the top 10 of 2022, since it was just released last year. Looking at Cigar Aficionado's Top 10 however, I would move it up to third place, I think it is a better smoke than the four ahead of it. I have read from interviews that this cigar is meant to be paired with champagne, and I can see the reason for that. This would be fabulous with prosecco, cava, or champagne, but would even go great with a coffee! I for one praise my favorite prosecco and cava over most champagnes, just because of the flavors I have gotten. I am still smoking this cigar right now, and I can't begin to tell you how much I love it. 


I would strongly recommend this cigar to anyone out there, and it could be enjoyed anytime of the day. I think in my next wine tasting with Red Dog I will bring one of these sticks over. I can honestly say that this is one of the best smokes I have had all week, and would give it a 96.  If you don't believe me in my opinion, check out other critics, they will say the same.

I feel like a guy on Wall Street with this cigar.  "Buy! Buy! Buy!"
Empire Cigars
W. Curtis Draper

Third Wheel and Goats Do Roam

1. "Don't make fun of Lancers Rose Seth, it is a very reliable Rose." (How Red Dog knows it is reliable scares me.)
2. "Don't make fun of Lancers unless you drink Lancers!" (He has a fair point with that.)
3. "It's got frosting on the bottle, it's great!" (Most valid argument on behalf of Lancers)

Note: We actually decided not to rate it, but it was very crisp and we loved  the carbonation.

After Lancers, we got back on track. Actually, I don't think we were ever on track, but we dove right into Third Wheel. Third Wheel was a great wine, we really enjoyed the flavors it gave off and the nose. We felt that it was medium in tannins as opposed to the Goats Do Roam which was lacking, and produced great flavors. We picked up lots of dark berries, dark cherries, coffee, and some chocolate. This was so far the best wine we had drunk, and I gave it a 91.    

Naughty Cellars - Racy (2004)

After going through Third Wheel, Red Dog pulled out the big guns and insisted we taste this new bottle he had. He had picked up a couple bottles of these earlier in the week or last week, and was loving it. I had noticed the wine when picking out some music, and thought this is awesome. Naughty Racy is predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon, but it had some Cabernet Fran and Zinfandel in it as well. This wine was teasing out pallets all night, we could never pin point one flavor in it. I got lots of black pepper, Bing cherry, plum,  dark Raspberries, and some Blackberries. This was really an incredible wine, and we gave it a 94. We kept sipping on this wine the rest of the night, and I was constantly bombarded with, "oh my god man, oh my god!" It was after the Racy, that we began speeding up downward spiral. After doing some serious damage on those bottles of wine, Red Dog decided to hit up his cellar and get something "uber special."

Ridge Vineyards - Zinfandel Nervo (2005)

We went through every bottle on the rack, but we decided that the wine that was appropriate to drink, due to it's number of years aged was the Ridge Zinfandel Nervo. The color on the Nervo was not your typical Zinfandel, but had a nice purple-hue from the Petite Sirah, but it still had the notes of a great Zinfandel. We got a nice jammy flavor to it, dark cherry, raspberry, and blackberry; but had tons of anise, cloves, and pepper on top of that. The Nervo had a great flavor profile and once it really opened up was a treat. We planned on saving some for the ladies we were going to be seeing late, but that plan vaporized within minutes. I gave it a 94. The age had been nice on this bottle, and I think it had reached its peak.    
     

The Tasting Table

At the end of the evening I lit up a Rocky Patel Olde World Reserve maduro, and Red Dog and I began the discussion on which was the best wine of the evening, Nervo or Racy? We both came to the conclusion that Racy took it. We thought that Racy was just more complicated and it kept us guessing. The Nervo was great, but it took you down that Zinfandel road everyone knows. I love that road by the way, but Racy just took us by surprise. If I were to compare the two, the Nervo would be you getting in a Porsche and driving around the country. The Racy, would be as if you were about to go walk in the woods on a rainy day, but instead decided to take out the Hummer and do some serious damage.  If you are looking for a nice red blend, try out Naughty Racy, you won't be disapointed. I look forward to the next wine tasting with Red Dog, that is if our wives allow it though, and I am thinking Prosecco.

Red Dog celebrating the decided winner!

Tasting some wine tonight, be prepared for some wine reviews tomorrow. I will be tasting these wines non-blind with my associate Red Dog!

The Illusione Cigars are slowly finding their way into my humidor, and also becoming a favorite smoke of mine. Made at the Raices Cubanas Factory in Honduras for Don Giolito of Illusione Cigars, all of his cigars are Nicaraguan puros. He specifically uses Corojo '99 and Criollo '98 seed tobacco from the Esteli and Jalapa growing areas of Nicaragua. When creating the Illusione cigar brand, Don Giolito wanted to create great Nicaraguan cigars that were similar to cigars prior to the Sandinistas Revolution in 1979. Whether or not he has achieved that, since I have never smoked a Nicraguan cigar from the 70's, I do not know; but he has made great cigars.

When naming the vitolas within the Illusione line, he used his religious beliefs as a reference. The 888 got it's name from the Hebrew numerology of Jesus, IhsouV, called Gematria. In gematria each letter is assigned the corresponding number. I find it very interesting, and when looking up the names of the vitola and how gematria all works I got distracted for some time.  Either way, the name of the vitola's are creative and the brand itself is wonderful. The cigar measures 6 3/4" with a 48 ring gauge and because of the length, I find it hard to call it a Corona Gorda or a Churchill. No matter what the proper vitola name is I love the size, and look forward to it.

The cigar itself is beautiful, a Colorado Cafe color wrapper, and the triple cap on it is great. I have found this cigar to be medium in body and I could smoke it anytime of the day, though others might prefer it as an evening smoke. The prelight aroma is of chocolate and barnyard. The first third of this cigar started off very nice, with lots of earth, coffee, and some chocolate notes. I tend to really like those flavors in a cigar, I think they play off of each other very well, and lead to great smokes. From the end of the first third, I begin to get a lot more spice and the cigar became fuller in body, but it remained very earthy and chocolaty still. One of the best things about this smoke is the draw, some cigar draws are very loose, and it is overwhelming. I like cigars that are a little bit tighter because with that, you can control where the smoke goes and pick up more flavors. These smokes I tend to burn my fingers on, because I get them right down to the nub, if only there were a couple more inches!

Overall the cigar is great, along with the others in the line, and I strongly recommend it to all out there. I would give this cigar a 91, and look forward to picking up a box in the future, but there is not enough room in my humidors anyways. Give it a try, I know you can get these cigars at Empire Cigars or W. Curtis Draper. Enjoy.