Pre-light Experience

Aaron: The wrapper on the El Septimo Culinary Art Collection Nigori is medium tan and has some lightly raised veins. The seams are smooth and the caps well applied. There are two bands, both in a white and silver color combination. The primary denotes the company, it’s logo and the line name. The secondary has the flag of Japan and the name of the vitola. The aroma from the wrapper is a faint mix of hay and earth while the foot brings a mellow mix of cedar and earth. The pre-light draw brings an airy cedar.
Seth: The El Septimo Culinary Art Collection Nigori is a good looking cigar. It has a clean presentation which I find fitting with the Japanese theme, and the bands look nice against the Connecticut wrapper. There is enough color to make them pop and show some of the reddish hues in the wrapper. Small veins throughout, the cigar is silky and Natural to light Colorado in color. Aromas of earth, spices, barnyard and cream.
John: The El Septimo Culinary Art Collection Nigori came in cellophane and had a UPC sticker with the cigar information attached to the main body of the cellophane, and additionally a UPC on the cellophane which tears when opened. The cigar is double banded, with the primary band indicating El Septimo Culinary Art Collection Limited Edition and the secondary band indicating Nigori. I weighed the cigar at 12.6 grams and measured the humidity at 60.7% with the HumidiMeter Pro. Aromas from the wrapper included sweet hay, honey and barnyard. Out of the foot, I could detect dry hay and wood.

El Septimo Culinary Art Collection Nigori

First Third

Aaron: The cigar begins with toasted cedar and hay, along with a light amount of earth. At a half inch in, the earth picks up a bit. At an inch in, a mild black pepper joins the profile. The retrohale is toasted cedar, hay and earth. As the third comes to a close, the toasted cedar and hay are even up front, with earth in the middle of the profile and some black pepper in the background. The strength was slightly below medium.
Seth: The first third began with a flavor profile of cedar and hay. There was some earth, cocoa and spice qualities, and it had this creamy, coffee and lemongrass finish. Medium in strength and body. Nice start with great construction. Beautiful wrapper contrasts with the ash.
John: The first third starts with medium minus strength spices, sweet tobacco and wood as wood and spices combine on the finish and faint leather and tannins join on the post draw. After a few puffs, bread joins the finish as well, and mild spices begin to linger into the post draw. A generous amount of tobacco sweetness joins the finish as the first third continues. Sweet tobacco and wood leads the profile through the bottom half, as medium strength spices take up the center and mildly dry wood makes up the finish and post draw.

El Septimo Culinary Art Collection Nigori

Second Third

Aaron: As the second third begins, some creaminess joins the profile, but even with the creaminess, the overall profile is becoming a bit dry. The retrohale is now toasted cedar, hay, earth and mild baking spice. At an inch in, the earth bumps up a bit. At an inch and a half in, the earth is now even with the toasted cedar and hay up front. As the third comes to a close, the toasted cedar, hay and earth are even up front, with the black pepper and creaminess in the back half of the profile. The strength remained at slightly below medium.
Seth: The second third delivered a flavor profile of spicy cream qualities with some burnt cedar. There were some hay and earth notes as well. The cigar was still medium, but it really lost some and plateaued.
John: Spices lead off with medium strength wood to follow and some dryness and sweet tobacco on the finish. Dry wood defines the post draw and gains medium minus strength spices as it settles. Wood drives the post draw as the cigar continues to the halfway point. At the halfway point, sweet and spicy tobacco makes up the retrohale with the spices at medium-full. Strong tannins are present on the post draw here.

El Septimo Culinary Art Collection Nigori

Final Third

Aaron: As the final third begins, the earth now has a slight lead over the toasted cedar and hay. At three quarters of an inch in, the toast level increases a fair amount. The retrohale is now earth, toasted cedar, hay, and mild black pepper. At an inch and a quarter, the toast transitions to light char. As the cigar wraps up, the earth is just ahead of the lightly charred cedar and hay, with black pepper in the middle and creaminess in the background. The strength bumped up to medium.
Seth: The final third was right in line with the second. Maybe a little bit below because I picked up on some faint burnt paper notes. Cedar, pepper spice, cream and earth. Medium in strength and body to the end.
John: Sweet wood starts the last third with mild tobacco in the center and dry, tannic wood on the finish. A light plus baking spice joins the finish as it settles, lingering into the post draw over time. By the bottom half, sweet wood drives each puff with medium-full strength tannic wood and earth accents on the post draw.

El Septimo Culinary Art Collection Nigori

Burn

Aaron: The burn was straight throughout, with the ash holding on in inch and a half increments. The cigar did seem to burn a bit fast.
Seth: The burn was great from beginning to end.
John: The burn was straight through the entire review process.

El Septimo Culinary Art Collection Nigori

Draw

Aaron: The draw was perfect, with just the right amount of resistance that I prefer.
Seth: Perfect draw throughout.
John: The draw was perfect, right in the ideal zone between open and resistant for an amazing draw score.

Overall

Aaron: The cigar began with toasted cedar and hay, along with a light amount of earth. Some black pepper joined in a bit later. The second third saw some creaminess join in and the profile became a bit dry. The earth moved up to become even with the toasted cedar and hay. As the final third began, the earth took a slight lead and the toast level creeped up until it became a light char. The construction was absolutely perfect. The El Septimo Culinary Art Collection Nigori had an average flavor profile throughout, focused around the toasted cedar and hay, earth and black pepper. A fairly typical Ecuadorian Connecticut offering that didn’t provide anything exciting. Even though this is an “affordable” offering from the brand, I still don’t see it as a cigar I’d come back to or recommend.
Seth: The El Septimo Culinary Art Collection Nigori started off with the potential of being this really nice larger Lonsdale Connecticut release but plateaued out fairly quickly. It started out with some nice base flavors for a Connecticut release, really focused on the lovely wrapper, but then it got flat. It remained medium in strength and body from beginning to end, nice construction, but a flat cigar.
John: The El Septimo Culinary Art Collection Nigori was an interesting cigar to review. I thought the first third was good with engaging flavors, the second third almost hit the same mark but lost a bit in the bottom half, and the final third was fairly linear. The draw and burn were both perfect. This is without a doubt the best El Septimo I’ve smoked to date, and the price point is quite reasonable for the 2024 market. I could see myself smoking this cigar again, even if my take way for the overall flavor delivery was above average. Total smoking time was 2 hours and 8 minutes.

Aaron Loomis

SCORE

5.75

Cost/Point

$2.09

Scoring System

Seth Geise

SCORE

5.75

Cost/Point

$2.09

Scoring System

John McTavish

SCORE

6.10

Cost/Point

$1.97

Scoring System

Team Cigar Review: El Septimo Culinary Art Collection Nigori