Pre-light Experience

The wrapper on the rectangle pressed Cavalier Genève Limited Edition 2022 is light brown with some darker spots from the pressing process. There are some decently raised veins present, while the seams are smooth and the head is well finished. There are two bands, with the primary being dark blue, black and gold and carrying the company logo which can barely be seen. The secondary band is brick orange, black, gold and white and denotes it is a limited edition for 2022. There is no gold leaf diamond visible. The aroma from the wrapper is a faint general wood note while the foot brings a nice musty cedar note. The pre-light draw brings cedar, a dried cranberry or pomegranate type sweetness and some mild spice along with a mild spiciness on my lips.

First Third

The cigar begins with toasted oak and light amounts of earth and black pepper. At a quarter inch in, a light creaminess joins the profile. The retrohale is toasted oak, earth and mild black pepper. At an inch in, the earth is now in the middle of the profile. At an inch and a half in, a light minerality joins the profile. As the third comes to a close, the toasted oak is up front with the earth a bit behind and light amounts of black pepper, creaminess and minerality in the background. The strength was right at medium.

Second Third

As the second third begins, the toasted oak and earth are now even up front. At a half inch in, the minerality bumps up a bit. The retrohale is now just toasted oak and earth. Taking off the secondary band reveals that there is a gold leaf diamond under the bands. At an inch and a half in, the creaminess increases a bit. As the third comes to a close, the toasted oak and earth are even up front, the minerality and creaminess even in the middle with light black pepper in the background. The strength remained at medium.

Final Third

As the final third begins, the toast level of the oak picks up a bit and a slight dryness comes to the overall profile. The retrohale is now toasted oak, earth and light minerality. As the cigar wraps up, the toasted oak and earth remain even up front with the minerality and creaminess in the middle and black pepper in the background. The strength bumped up to slightly above medium.

Burn

The burn line was a bit wavy throughout and required one touch-up to keep things burning in unison. The ash held on in inch and a quarter increments.

Draw

The draw was perfect, with just the right amount of resistance that I prefer.

Overall

The cigar began with toasted oak and light amounts of earth and black pepper. Some creaminess joined in fairly quickly and then some minerality a bit later. The second third saw the minerality and creaminess increase and the final third saw the toast level increase. The Cavalier Genève Limited Edition 2022 had a nice start, but dropped a level in the second third as the earth became a bigger player and maintained that level the rest of the way. This was an OK showing for a limited edition, but not something I’d see myself coming back to all that often.

Aaron Loomis

SCORE

5.90

Cost/Point

$2.03

Scoring System

Personal Cigar Review: Cavalier Genève Limited Edition 2022