Pre-light Experience

The wrapper on the Illusione Gigantes Connecticut is dark tan and has some decently raised veins. The seams are pretty raised and the caps are well applied. The band is white, bronze and brick red and denotes the brand and line. The aroma from the wrapper is a mix of hay and earth while the foot brings a fuller version of the same combination along with a bit of spice. The pre-light draw brings a mellow mix of cedar, hay, floral notes and crushed red pepper on my tongue and lips.

First Third

The cigar begins with toasted cedar, earth and light black pepper. At a quarter inch in, a light mustiness joins the profile. At a half inch in, the cedar gains a bit of dampness to it. The retrohale is toasted cedar, earth and mustiness. At an inch and a quarter, the black pepper is now pretty mellow and the cedar has lost the dampness. As the third comes to a close, the toasted cedar is up front with earth right behind and some mustiness and black pepper a bit further behind. The strength was right at medium.

Second Third

As the second third begins, the black pepper mellows once again, but has a long finish, while the earth picks up a bit. At a half inch in, the black pepper increases a bit. The retrohale is now toasted cedar, earth, mustiness and lightly zingy black pepper. As the third comes to a close, the toasted cedar is just ahead of the earth, with mustiness and black pepper a bit further behind. The strength remained at medium.

Final Third

As the final third begins, the earth is now even with the toasted cedar up front. At a half inch in, the black pepper has mellowed. The retrohale is now toasted cedar, earth and light mustiness. At an inch in, the earth falls back a bit. As the cigar wraps up, the toasted cedar is just ahead of the earth, with mustiness in the middle and black pepper in the background. The strength bumped up to slightly above medium.

Burn

The burn was a bit of a struggle as it was fairly wavy throughout and required two touch-ups and a re-light.

Draw

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

Overall

The cigar began with toasted cedar, earth and light black pepper. Some mustiness joined in fairly quickly. For the rest of the cigar, the flavor components didn’t change other than fluctuating where they were in the profile. The Illusione Gigantes Connecticut had a fairly average profile throughout, with nothing really exciting going on. The price point is attractive for how much cigar you get, but if the burn issues would subside, it might be something to smoke while you’re focused elsewhere.

Aaron Loomis

SCORE

5.35

Cost/Point

$1.74

Scoring System

Personal Cigar Review: Illusione Gigantes Connecticut