The E.P. Carrillo La Historia Doña Elena started nicely with a good combination of flavors and transitioned nicely going into the second third. The enjoyment level dropped a bit in the final third as some char joined in. This is a cigar I would easily come back to and is a bright spot in the brands portfolio. I also think the price point fits the enjoyment level nicely.
Black Works Studio (BLK WKS) is pleased to announce the release of Hyena: Hand crafted in Esteli, Nicaragua at Fabrica Oveja Negra. HYENA is a Limited Edition that will be shipping to select BLK WKS retailers at the beginning of March.
The Southern Draw Firethorn Augusta was overall an enjoyable cigar, with the tannins in the last third serving as a distraction from an otherwise balanced profile. Construction was good, with one re-light required during the review, and a perfect draw. Like almost everything from Southern Draw, I would smoke another Firethorn Augusta if I saw it on the shelf.
Jas Sum Kral is releasing Nuggless, a CBD-free version of the Jas Sum Kral Nuggs, the first and only premium handmade cigar with CBD-oil. The Nuggs was released in 2019 and has been a huge success since. Soon there will be a CBD-free version available for Jas Sum Kral fans worldwide.
The Pichardo Reserva Familiar San Andrés provided a fairly consistent San Andres experience for most of the cigar review. A balanced medley of flavors that included cedar, baking spices, chocolate, cream, citrus and earth. I look forward to reviewing more cigars from Pichardo in the future.
The Foundation Charter Oak Habano Torpedo is a great example of a cigar that punches above its price point and delivers flavor complexity that is still restrained enough for the light bodied cigar smoker. I will happily return to the Charter Oak Habano.
To celebrate this year’s St. Patrick’s Day festivities why not pour a green beer and light up the Irish Car Bomb Firecracker that features a candela and maduro barber pole, finished with the unmistakable wick that Firecracker is known for.
DTT-EX-38 is a sample liga Steve Saka has been working on since 2016. It incorporates a seldom grown leaf of Costa Rican Morron, which is a derivative of a Negro leaf seed strain grown primarily as wrapper. His goal behind the blend was to incorporate the smaller corona leaves as a unique ligero into the tripa recipe due to its chocolate and softer pepper notes.
The Illusione PCA 2020 Exclusive is the first Illusione cigar released in the last few years in which I did not enjoy. There was no balance and complexities to the cigar. Being heavily charred red pepper spice and dry cedar oriented, it's not the typical DNA of Dion's masterful blending style that I'm accustomed to. I guess you can't win them all.
A solid short smoke. I loved the sweet and creamy pastry-like vanilla wafers note. The backing of baking spices, cedar and minerals was just enough to tie the profile together. The VegaFina 1998 VF 50 is not a complex cigar, but one of those cigar experiences where it makes you nod your head a couple times and say, "man, that was good."
