The Joya de Nicaragua Cinco Decadas Fundador was an enjoyable cigar from start to finish. The flavor profile was well balanced with varied flavor notes of bread, spices, cocoa, citrus, clover, cedar and earth. Each third presented its own take on the flavor combination which kept my interest the entire time.
In the case of the Illusione Singularé 2019 Seven Horns, it has the baseline of what a Diademas ought to be. The cigar starts off with namely soft/white flavors, soon building up to plenty of spice and minerality, but never abandoning the soft/white flavors. This is all packaged by a building strength from medium to medium plus.
It is great to see the Don Lino Africa Duma back, and it is a solid cigar, but I would have loved to see more Cameroon in the blend. I would love to get a little bit more Africa in a cigar that revolves around the continent. With that being said, solid and enjoyable flavors in the first and second third with a slight bit of harshness in the end.
The Bombay Tobak M.Esteli Torpedo is a pleasant smoking experience, with the most complex portion of the profile coming through in the first third. The second and last third had moments of complexity but didn't reach the levels that it demonstrated at the start. Construction was impeccable with a perfect burn and draw experience.
The first third of the Room101 FARCE Maduro Robusto had a nice dark profile with impressive depth and matching strength. The burning cardboard that joined in, knocked the enjoyment level down a notch and the cigar could never shake it. If you're a fan of a dark profile with matching strength, it's worth your time to give this a try to see what you think.
There was depth, complexity and transitioning, and that took place from start to finish. It was balanced and simply a beautiful cigar. Yes, the burn was far from beautiful, but when you have a cigar that smokes like this and tastes great, who cares. The Illusione ~eccj~ 25th is a great release from 2019 and I am not surprised that Illusione delivers another gem to the market.
The Foundation Tabernacle CT Havana Seed #142 Lancero is complex from start to finish and while there may not be a lot of transitioning, what is delivered has tons of depth. The Tabernacle CT Havana Seed #142 line in general is great, but it smokes wonderfully in the Lancero format.
These lists are meant to represent the cigars with the best value (bang for the buck), not the best low cost cigars.
We talk with other top cigar media sites about the 2019 cigar year.
The profile of the Illusione Epernay 10th Anniversary d'Aosta kept with my experience of a smooth and flavorful profile for the line. While I wish the profile from the first half had lasted longer, it still provided a good overall experience. I would have no problem mixing this vitola in with smoking the other vitolas in the line. If you're a fan of Illusione, this is a definite must try.
