Pre-light Experience

Seth: The Crux Passport Super Selection No. 2 is finished with a silky wrapper that is Colorado Maduro to Maduro in coloring. It has dark raisins to chocolate color qualities. There are medium sized veins present throughout, and they are smaller in size. The aromas on the cigar are that of rich earth, warm spices, tobacco and wood, and the cigar is firm in hand.
John: The Crux Passport Super Selection No. 2 features a Colorado Maduro-colored wrapper. I weighed the cigar at 12.2 grams. Aromas from the wrapper presented fresh-cut cedar, mild barnyard and faint hay, while the foot offered mild sweet tobacco, cedar and hay.
Jiunn: The Crux Passport Super Selection No. 2 has an overall Colorado wrapper with splashes of darker brown throughout. Veins are well pressed, seams tight, bunch and roll even and the head is well wrapped and capped. Pre-light aromas give faint barnyard and hay.

Crux Passport Super Selection No. 2

First Third

Seth: The first third begins with damp earth, barnyard and tobacco notes. There are warm spices present as well, showcasing some pepper and cinnamon qualities. It has a faint mineral aspect with the cigar. Medium-full to full in strength and body.
John: The first third opens with tobacco and tannic, dry wood, accompanied by a vegetal note through the finish. On the retrohale, dark chocolate and wood settle in early, adding some depth. After a few puffs, baking spices and earth move into the center of the retrohale, building complexity. Approaching the halfway point, the green vegetal note shifts into the center and increases to medium strength, while earth joins the post draw.
Jiunn: The first third is a bit of a conundrum. While I love the pastry like sweet creaminess with vanilla and marzipan, the finish really kills my enjoyment. The finish shows a caking of gritty earth, stale dried red pepper spice and construction paper. Strength and body is medium.

Crux Passport Super Selection No. 2

Second Third

Seth: The second third is in line with the first. Mineral notes pick up some in this third. Like before, medium-full to full in strength and body.
John: The second third begins with tobacco and baking spices, with earth and dry cedar forming a cohesive core. As it settles in, dry cedar takes over the post draw. A malty tobacco sweetness develops in the retrohale, adding some contrast. Approaching the midpoint, earth and dry wood combine on the post draw, reinforcing a drier profile.
Jiunn: The key difference between the first and second third is the dried red pepper spice now comes through on the mouth draws. Unfortunately, the finish is still going strong, slathering my palate with the same gritty earth, stale dried red pepper spice and construction paper. Strength and body remains medium.

Crux Passport Super Selection No. 2

Final Third

Seth: The final third delivers more mineral notes with damp earth, barnyard and tobacco note. Mineral and spices present as well. Full in strength and body.
John: The final third opens with earthy wood, with earth immediately defining the post draw. As the cigar progresses, wood becomes the primary flavor driver. Through the bottom half, earth continues to dominate the post draw, keeping the profile firmly grounded and consistent.
Jiunn: The final third is unchanged from the second third. Via mouth draws still loving the dessert like sweet and creaminess, but oh that finish. Man, why did you do this to me. Strength and body finishes the same medium.

Crux Passport Super Selection No. 2

Burn

Seth: The burn is terrible throughout the cigar.
John: The burn was excellent throughout. It was consistently straight, with the ash holding firm and dropping in clean one-inch increments.
Jiunn: Burn performance was great, featuring an even burn, tight ashes, cool burning temperatures and ample smoke production.

Crux Passport Super Selection No. 2

Draw

Seth: The draw is decent.
John: The draw measured 30 inches of water on the Cigar Medics draw tester. Subjectively, it sat right in the ideal range between open and resistant, delivering an effortless smoking experience.
Jiunn: The draw was also great, providing ideal air flow and resistance.

Overall

Seth: The Crux Passport Super Selection No. 2 is not a cigar I would come back to, and my gut feeling is that it is from a factory that has been on the demise for several years. The cigar is mineral forward with a lot of damp earth, tobacco and wood notes. The burn and draw are bad throughout, and the smoking experience is unpleasant.
John: This cigar opens with a fairly engaging combination of flavors, particularly through the retrohale where dark chocolate, baking spices and earth create a layered and slightly richer profile than expected. As the cigar progresses, that early complexity gives way to a more traditional wood-and-earth profile. The vegetal note adds some uniqueness in the first third, but it ultimately transitions into a more dominant dry cedar and earth combination through the second and final thirds. While the malty sweetness provides brief contrast, it doesn’t fully offset the increasing dryness. From a construction standpoint, this cigar performs exceptionally well, with a flawless burn and an ideal draw that make for an effortless experience from start to finish. In the end, the Crux Passport Super Selection No. 2 is a cigar that shows some early intrigue but settles into a more straightforward, wood-driven profile. It’s consistent and well-constructed, but the evolution leans more toward simplification than expansion, resulting in an overall average experience. Total smoking time was 1 hour and 33 minutes.
Jiunn: What a key difference a finish to the cigar can make. If the finish wasn’t so stale and earthy this cigar would have had a high chance of being good as the flavors made it seem like I was having dessert for dinner. This Crux Passport Super Selection No. 2 isn’t for me ultimately.

Seth Geise

SCORE

4.18

Cost/Point

$2.87

Scoring System

John McTavish

SCORE

6.10

Cost/Point

$1.97

Scoring System

Jiunn Liu

SCORE

5.75

Cost/Point

$2.09

Scoring System

Team Cigar Review: Crux Passport Super Selection No. 2