Illusione OneOff Cartuchos Review

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Illusione OneOff Cartuchos Review 2

Illusione is a cigar brand that stands out as a frontrunner in the high end boutique cigar market. The brand produces some of my earliest boutique favorites, including Rothchildes, Epernay Serie 2009, Ultra, and the 88. Illusione cigars have also won more than their share of awards, including five Top 10 placements in Cigar Aficionado’s Top 25. So it was with some interest that I picked up a few Illusione OneOffs after hearing about the cigar being re-introduced at IPCPR 2018.

Now, let’s get to the review of the Illusione OneOff Cartuchos.

Product Specifics

  • Cigar Reviewed: Illusione OneOff Cartuchos
  • Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano
  • Binder: Nicaragua
  • Filler: Nicaragua
  • Size: 3 7/8 x 52

For those readers unfamiliar with the company, I highly recommend learning more about the brand in an excellent Cigar Aficionado article titled Master of Illusione which takes a look at brand owner Dion Giolito and the company’s fascinating journey.

Illusione OneOff Cartuchos Review Closeup2

Illusione OneOff Cartuchos Review Closeup

Appearance & Construction

OneOff is a cool cigar. It’s got a minimalist, trend-bucking band, which is no surprise given the company’s penchant for wacky branding. More importantly, the outer habano wrapper of the OneOff is a milk chocolate brown, with minimal veins. The cigar is packed firmly. The draw is about a 7/10 in terms of amount of restrictiveness (i.e. just right), and the cold draw is very flavorful, with sweet graham cracker, wood, and a lingering spice that hits the tongue and lips.

Flavor & Smoke Characteristics

OneOff opens with nicely balanced smoke. The profile leans creamy, with cinnamon, milk and dark chocolate (unusual to have both), warm bread, and some light minerals .  Smoke production is great. There are times in the first third where some bitterness overpowers the other elements, but it’s still very enjoyable. A half inch in, pepper is evident in the retrohale, with nuts and freshly baked bread in the aroma. Quite nice. At this point the cigar is medium to full bodied but very balanced. The cigar performs mostly the same as it burns into the second third, though a fleeting black pepper note pops in here and there and adding a nice bit of complexity on the palate. The burn remains straight and smoke production excellent.

Unfortunately, it’s right at halfway where this cigar really begins to flounder. It seems like over the course of just a few puffs the complexity dials down and the palate is dominated by wet wood and molasses. It lacks the complexity and balance of the first half, and is sadly a bit bland. In the final third, it’s mostly the same, though some pepperiness finds its way back into the profile. But by then it’s too late: the smoke is already heating up and I put the cigar down with about half an inch left.

Conclusion

The first 25 minutes of the Illusione OneOff Cartuchos was what I expect from Illusione: lots of flavor, great balance, and solid construction. But then the cigar fell short in a big way, with flavors becoming both undeniably bland and simultaneously overpowered by wet woods, molasses, and pepper. I’m going to chalk this one up to the size not being right – it is after all an extremely short vitola. I’d recommend sticking with a longer format like the robusto or corona size.

Final Score: 85

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Aging Room Launches Aging Room Quattro Nicaragua at Straight Up & Toasted

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Eddy Guerra, Sr. Brand Manager at Altadis USA, introduces Aging Room Quattro Nicaragua to a New York crowd.

On Thursday, September 27th, 80+ NYC cigar and whiskey enthusiasts converged on The Carnegie Club for the New York launch of the Aging Room Quattro Nicaragua, the newest extension in Aging Room’s expanding lineup. The Aging Room Quattro Nicaragua is all Nicaraguan and produced at A.J. Fernandez’s factory in Nicaragua. Our spirits pairing for the evening featured two standout ryes from WhistlePig: WhistlePig 10 Year Old and WhistlePig 15 Year Vermont Oak Estate Rye.

Both the cigars and whiskies received positive receptions. A big thank you to everyone who came out for the event, and to The Carnegie Club for graciously hosting! Photos below, courtesy of John DeMato.

Join us at our next event featuring Oliva Cigars & Port Charlotte Scotch at The Carnegie Club. Click here for more info.

Vega Magna Toro Review

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Vega Magna Toro Review

Today we review the highly anticipated Vega Magna from Quesada Cigars. Announced at IPCPR 2018, Vega Magna is Quesada’s follow up to its award winning Casa Magna series. The cigar is offered in robusto, toro, and belicoso sizes. It utilizes an Ecuadorian Sun Grown wrapper, as well as “traditionally aged tobaccos.”

In a press release, Manuel “Manolo” Quesada Jr., the company’s president said of Vega Magna:

“The use of Dominican Tercio-aged tobaccos from as early as 2001, sorted and fermented with the extreme care, makes this blend extremely unique. The tercio aging, over long periods of time bring out wonderful complexity, that help create a sweet, rich full-bodied blend with notes of cocoa, dried fruits and cedar.”

The Casa Magna Colorado was one of the first cigars to ever “wow” me (and interestingly one of the first I ever reviewed). So it goes almost without saying that this is a cigar I was extremely excited to smoke.

Product Specifics

  • Cigar Reviewed: Quesada Vega Magna Toro
  • Factory: Quesada
  • Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sun Grown
  • Binder: Dominican
  • Filler: Dominican
  • Size: 6 x 50 (Toro)

Quesada Vega Magna Review

Appearance & Construction

The Vega Magna features gorgeous branding and has a worthy look following up on the legendary Casa Magna line. The cigar is packed tightly, with very little give when squeezed and no soft spots. The outer sun grown wrapper is a rich brown with slight reddish hues and has an amazingly textured, leathery feel. A whiff off of the foot reveals savory woodiness, spices, cured meat, and slightly sweet tobacco. The cold draw on the other hand is heavy on grilling spices and wood.

It’s the kind of pre-light experience that gets me excited to light up.

Flavor & Smoke Characteristics

The Vega Magna opens with plumes of soft, toasty, mild to medium smoke. The flavors are delicious and very complex, hitting sweet, salty, savory and bitter all at once (this is a great foundation for a complex smoking experience). Specifically, there’s that salty minerality that I associate strongly with Quesada, alongside a milky chocolate and slightly bitter leather. The texture of the smoke reminds me a lot of what I encounter with the Davidoff Millennium Blend: very smooth but with an almost musky, dusty old attic character. Smoke production is excellent, as is the draw.

Vega Magna Toro Review 3

By an inch in, the salt and leather has subsided, giving center stage to milk chocolate, savory spices, and dry sliced apricot. On the retrohale is dry wood, toasted bread, and black pepper. My only complaint is that the burn has begun to falter, requiring a minor touch up.

As the ember burns into the second third, the balance of flavor shifts again, favoring toasted cedar, tangy fruit, and a spice that lingers on the tip of the tongue. Body and strength have both inched slowly into medium territory. The burn now is perfectly straight and smoke production is voluminous.

A bit past halfway, the chocolate note, still evident in the palate, moves into the retrohale, complementing notes of wood and mushroom.

The final third of the Quesada Vega Magna is characterized at first by increased strength and body (just above medium). Flavors are mostly balanced between savory spice, wood, mushroom, and light milk chocolate, and I’m beginning to really feel the nicotine. There’s some more trouble with the burn near the end, but a few purges corrects that quickly, allowing a nice conclusion to the smoke.

Conclusion

The Quesadas have knocked it out of the park with Vega Magna. Minor construction issues aside, it’s the kind of cigar that packs in so much flavor, complexity, and harmony that I’m almost tricked into believing in eating a second dinner. I honestly question whether I’d want to smoke this cigar in a social setting because the development of flavors requires so much attention.

It’s the kind of cigar you just get lost in.

Absolutely worth the higher price point. A joy to smoke.

Final Score: 94

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Black Works Studios S&R Review

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Black Works Studios S&R Review Main

The Black Works Studios S&R is a 2018 release from Black Label Trading Co., the company behind blends like NBK, Killer Bee, and Rorschack. I’ll admit upfront I don’t know much about this company, nor have I experienced any of their products. So when BWS S&R hit my radar, I was intrigued. Some brief background on this blend, courtesy of Tobacco Business:

“S&R is an elegant smoke with complex flavors and a rich, refined finish. This cigar represents a lot of firsts for us. It is the first BLK WKS cigar to use Dominican tobacco, the first to be a softer medium profile and the first production cigar we have made with a Sumatra wrapper. I find the result to be a perfect combination,” said James Brown, creator of BLK WKS and partner at Fabrica Oveja Negra.

Product Specifics

  • Cigar Reviewed: Black Works Studios S&R
  • Wrapper: Sumatra
  • Binder: Nicaraguan Habano
  • Filler: Nicaragua & Dominican
  • Size: 6 3/4 x 42 Lancero

Appearance & Construction

The Blackworks Studios S&R comes wrapped in a light brown Sumatra wrapper that is silky smooth to the touch. Veins are minimal. After using a straight cut, I test the draw and it’s about 7/10 in terms of restrictiveness. The cold draw is fairly faint, with earth, granola, floral, and some spices that aren’t discernible. It really is a beautiful cigar, with the black and silver band adding a nice touch.

Black Works Studios S&R Review

Flavor & Smoke Characteristics

The Blackworks Studios S&R opens surprisingly mild, with salt, cedar, brown sugar composing the flavor profile. The smoke is mild in body and mild to medium strength. Smoke product is good.

An inch in, a floral note develops along with sweet caramel note. It’s quite nice, and the ash is still holding tight with a perfect burn.

In the second third, the strength increases markedly, with notes of black pepper, anise, and dry cedar. The flavors are mostly in balance, though the cedar note is often overpowered compared to the rest of the profile. On the construction end, there’s no need to touch the burn up. By the end of the second third, the cigar is now in full strength territory, with dry wood and black pepper dominant, still out of balance with the sweeter notes.

The final third of Blackworks Studios S&R clocks in at full strength, medium bodied. The flavors by this point are clearly out of balance, dominated by cedar and dry pepper with touches of sweetness on the side. Construction is great, though the smoke heats up considerably in the final inches, providing a good stopping point.

Conclusion

The BLS S&R delivers some solid flavors and the construction never wavers. But for a good half of the cigar the flavors were out of balance with the wood and pepper dominating the profile. For that reason, it can’t climb out of the mid 80’s on the ratings scale, and it won’t be a cigar that I return to. Still, this blend demonstrates significant complexity at times, making Black Label Trading Co. a manufacturer I’ll be paying more attention to going forward.

Final Score: 86

Aging Room Pura Cepa Mezzo Review

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Aging Room Pura Cepa Review 2

2018 has been a big year for Rafael Nodal and Aging Room Cigars. First, 2018 was Nodal’s first full year as Head of Product Capability for Tabacalera USA, which owns Altadis, JR Cigar, and Casa de Montecristo cigars. Second, Aging Room has rebranded their famous Quattro line, introduced the Quattro Nicaragua (which we’re debuting for New York on Sept. 27th at The Carnegie Club), and also introduced the Aging Room Pura Cepa (“Pure Bred”), which features a Nicaraguan Maduro wrapper and Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos.

We were lucky enough to debut the Aging Room Pura Cepa in New York City with Rafael Nodal at The Carnegie Club, with the event being picked up by Cigar Aficionado. At the event, I heard great feedback about the Pura Cepa, but didn’t have the chance myself to really sit down and experience the cigar. Thankfully, Nodal provided me with a few for review, and I’ve had the chance to sit down in quiet time to evaluate the cigar. See below the Final Score for photos from our event (courtesy of John DeMato photography).

Product Specifics

  • Cigar Reviewed: Aging Room Pura Cepa
  • Producer: Aging Room Cigars
  • Wrapper: Nicaraguan Maduro
  • Binder: Nicaragua
  • Filler: Nicaragua
  • Size: 6 x 54 Mezza

Appearance and Construction

The Aging Room Pura Cepa features solid, sturdy construction. It’s packed fairly tightly and the pack seems consistent down the length of the cigar. The branding on the cigar is nice, but the Aging room logo doesn’t really pop at all which won’t help it stand out on the shelves. What does stand out is the outer maduro wrapper, which has a leathery feel.

After cutting the cigar using a straight cut, I test the draw. It’s decently restrictive, probably about a 7.5/10 in terms of amount of restrictiveness. The cold draw is wood forward, with some natural tobacco, caramel, light spice and leather as supporting characters. The smell off of the foot is quite unique. It has a variation on dry wood that I’ve never smelled before and light sweetness.

Aging Room Pura Cepa Review

Flavor and Smoke Characteristics

First light and I can already tell… this is gonna be a good one.

The Aging Room Pura Cepa opens with medium bodied, complex smoke. Seriously, there’s a lot going on. The cigar is hitting all sorts of flavor categories, notably sweet, bitter, salty, and savory. That’s the definition of a complex flavor profile. On the palate, a smoked wood is dominant. An array of secondary flavors augments it well, including light chocolate, creaminess, floral, leather, and something salty akin to pinto beans. The retrohale is full but not overly aggressive, with lots of spice, sweet grass, and some earth. Thankfully, smoke production is generous, and the draw almost immediately opens up a bit.

At about half an inch into the cigar, the profile shifts dramatically, with the wood moving to back seat, letting cream, sweet chocolate, and slight white pepper take the fore. Body and strength are now settled just below medium. Not quite as much complexity as the kickoff, but delicious nonetheless, with a nice, full pepper on the retro. One quick side note: just beautiful construction on this cigar. It’s got a nice, solid white ash that holds for over an inch and a half.

The Pura Cepa remains mostly unchanged until about halfway, when a few additional flavors edge their way into the profile. It’s still mostly sweet, but adds an intreresting mushroom and cafe au lait note. Strength is now in mild territory, though body remains at medium, providing for a smoking experience that is opulent but not overwhelming at all.

The final third sees the flavor profile from the beginning come roaring back, with dry wood and spice at the fore. What makes the ending great though is that the subtleties from the middle thirds remain, bringing the whole smoke together. A great ending.

Conclusion

The Aging Room Pura Cepa smokes a bit like the Pelo de Oro (one of my favorites from Aging Room) but with a bit more finesse and elegance. It has solid complexity and the flavors interweave expertly. It doesn’t matter if you’re an Aging Room fan or not, this is a smoke to pursue. As a side note, I’ve found Pura Cepa pairs quite well with rum – I’d suggest either Diplomatico or John Drew Dove Tale Florida Rum.

Final Score: 91

And as promised, some photos from the New York launch of Aging Room Pura Cepa which we were lucky enough to host with Mr. Nodal.

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