Cigars International Superstore Hamburg

E.P. Carrillo

Rocky Patel

Rocky Patel - Disciple. 6 x 52 Toro. Wrapper -Mexican San Andres. Binder - Nicaraguan. Filler - Nicaraguan. Strength - Medium bodied throughout. Construction - Nice wrapping, beautiful color, not super oily but held together nicely. Band - Elegant banding, prestigious foot band, elegant with copper/burnt sienna and black coloring. It almost looks like lacing, which draws the eye. Draw - Good draw early through the first 1/3 into the second 1/3, but tightened up a bit in the back end of the second 1/3, and was a hard pull from there. Burn line - Really consistent line that needed very little touch ups at all. The ash was white/light grey, and held up like a steel beam. Good amount of smoke, but would have liked more. 1st 1/3 - From the light up, and straight into the fist retrohale, this cigar let me know the tone and taste it was aiming for throughout. That taste was mocha! Added into the the mix was a slight nuttiness, I’d say creamy cashew. On the back end of my pallet there was a slight earthiness, but it was more sweet than vegetation. I’m thinking the flavor profile was more or less dried fruits, like prune or plum. I get a little bit of a peppery mix of red and black peppers in the retrohale, but nothing too overwhelming. 2nd 1/3 - I’m going with mocha on this because there isn’t enough coffee to say coffee, and it also isn’t vibrantly chocolate. I feel like mocha is a combination of chocolate and coffee without being either one. Some subtle notes of cedar are starting to creep in with any hint of cashew ushering its way out. Final 1/3 - Cedar, dried prune, and some earthy root veggies are starting to slightly creep their way in. The smoke was less abundant, and the draw was tighter to pull going into this final 1/3. The Verdict - This was a nice looking stick, smooth smoke, but not silky. It was consistent throughout in flavor profile, so there is a lot to say about that. However, this cigar was just lacking that certain jenesaisquoi and I couldn’t place my finger on it. I just wanted more… I needed more, and it left me wanting. It had a lot of good underlying flavors, but it just didn’t pop! It was nice, but I was hoping for more wow factor. It also didn’t help that I smoked it outdoors in a frosty 20 degree December night in the Northeast, US. I’d like to try this again indoors or in the Spring. Not a bad smoke by any means, but I can’t get a hold on whether it was the cigar that was missing something, or if the conditions/elements didn’t allow me to enjoy it as much.

Nica Libre

5 Vegas

Full bodied, lots of smoke, draw is too easy, not my flavor preference

Punch

Mark Twain

Torano