The Curivari Gran Reserva Edición 2025 552 is an average cigar. It has a good start, but the second and final third don’t deliver the qualities in the first. The flavors don’t completely fall off, but they go down just enough to take away from this cigar being good. I am not sure if this is a cigar I would seek out, but depending on the blend, I can see myself picking one up to try again down the road.
The Buenaventura Favoritos Connecticut 50 had a promising start with flavors that grouped well and engaged me. The second third was still pleasant but the complexity took a bit of a step back. Overall, this was a pleasant cigar to smoke and review, and I think when you factor in the price point, this is something that could be in a regular rotation for Connecticut smokers. I would smoke this again.
The Buenaventura Favoritos Natural 56 is a solid cigar. The pricing on this is incredible, and it’s wild to say that after smoking the Connecticut. I loved the vitola on the cigar as well, and the larger ring gauge just worked out well. I don’t think I would have liked this as much in a smaller vitola. Would possibly be too much for me and destroy my palate. I still can’t believe this is under $6.00.
Up until this review, Buenaventura made some of the most easy going (yet flavorful) blends in the market. But this Buenaventura Maduro BV 500 turned that entirely upside down and the company decided to go balls to the wall on not just the strength, but a bold flavor profile. Unfortunately, the flavor profile wasn't pleasant so this is one of the few Buenaventuras that I can't recommend.
The Buenaventura BV554 Limited Edition 2021 was the first cigar that I have smoked in 2022 that is truly complete. Good from beginning to end. The flavors were not overly complex, but they were enjoyable from start to finish. The coffee, cocoa and licorice notes were fantastic, and they were balanced out with some earth and spice notes. Really nice cigar.
This was an enjoyable cigar, and while not overly complex, it did have a bit of transitioning throughout. In some ways, the simplest aspects of the Curivari Selección Privada Lancero made it so enjoyable. With the cigar being just a little bit larger than your standard lancero, it seemed less fragile and more of a lancero you could smoke throughout the day while handling other items.