Wrapper: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan Ligero
Price: $8.00
I originally was going to smoke this cigar for my Halloween review, but that got voted down. But I have had this cigar in mind for some time to review. This cigar has been on my “to try” list for about a year because I am a fan of spicy cigars. Once I got my hands on this cigar, I let it rest for a few weeks until I had a good day to smoke it. So yesterday when I left work, its was 70 degrees outside with no wind. To me that is a perfect day for a cigar.
The dark brown wrapper looks pretty good, but a little rough to the touch. There are a couple thin veins that run the length of the cigar, but they aren’t a worry to me. This stick is solid throughout from the foot to cap. The cap is nicely wrapped and pretty flush. The cigar actually gives off a slightly sweet smell which surprised me quite a bit. The cut was very clean, and there was no effort in lighting it up either.
Upon lighting this cigar, the spice was ridiculous. Not only did the spice overpower my taste buds, but my lips were on fire. It seriously felt as though someone rubbed a sliced jalapeno pepper across my lips. Behind the spice, there were some very mild earthy tones. The earth tones were no competition to the pepper because it was just too strong. Finally about an inch in, the spice started to mellow, but it was still the strongest pepper flavor I have ever had in a cigar. It was seriously like I was smoking a spicy pepper.
Thankfully around the second third of this cigar the flavor profile changed up a bit. Yes, the pepper was still very strong, but it moved over a little to let some other flavors come out. I was finally able to taste a little bit of wood notes. There was actually a very mild sweetness that tried to come out. I got hints of it a few times, but the spice was just too overpowering and continued to burn my lips.
During the last third, the spice wasn’t as spicy, but my lips still hurt. The earthy tones finally got a bit stronger and allowed me to taste something other than pepper for an extended period of time. The woody notes actually picked up a bit as well. There was absolutely no sign of sweetness throughout the last couple of inches. The spice was just overpowering.
The ash on this cigar was quite nice. It was a light to medium shade of gray and nicely layered. The ash was pretty strong and held on until about half way. The burn was even throughout the entire stick as well. The draw was very easy and produced a good amount of thick white smoke. The smoke gave off, as you probably guessed, a very spicy aroma.
This cigar isn’t a “Punisher” is strength, but it certainly punished my lips and taste buds for over an hour. If you are something that loves hot, spicy food as well as strong cigars, then try this one. It actually isn’t bad in that regard. But it was just a bit too much spice for me. I give it a 7.25 out of 10 because it was very well constructed and it produced a ton of flavor. The flavor was just a lot of spice.
Enjoy,
Zack the Stogie Man
Completely agree - pepper is way too strong, burns lips and tongue. Initially thought I was lighting up an Intenso when I pulled the Cu Avana band off the foot, but first puff made me look closer and see the Pvnisher band at head of cigar. Really burns lips and tongue - never experienced that from a cigar before in my 20+ years of cigar smoking. Put it down after 5 puffs. Could have suffered through it, but I smoke cigars for the enjoyment and relaxation. Smoked a ton of cigars over the years, including many cheapos from the bargain bin - but this is the first cigar I've ever put down before getting to the nub (let alone after just 5 puffs).
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