Pre-light Experience

Aaron: The wrapper on the Eladio Diaz 71 Aniversario is light brown with some darker marbling and there are some thick, raised veins along with a network of fine veins. The seams are smooth and the caps well applied. There are three bands, with the primary being brown, gold and orangish-yellow and carrying the company and line name. The secondary band is brown and gold and denotes the line name while the foot has a brownish-yellow ribbon. The aroma from the wrapper is lightly musty cedar and earth while the foot brings bread and cedar. The pre-light draw brings cedar, prune sweetness, earth and crushed red pepper along with a mid-level spiciness on my lips.
Seth: The Eladio Diaz 71 Aniversario is finished with a Colorado Maduro wrapper that has veins throughout. It is bumpy, but firm in texture. Oils are present as well on the wrapper, and it has a nice coffee bean coloring. It has a rich aroma of spices, tobacco, earth and leather on the wrapper with aromas of dark cocoa, sweet spices and tobacco on the foot. The interior coloring of the bands is in line with the wrapper, and it makes the gold really pop.
John: The Eladio Diaz 71 Aniversario came in cellophane and had a UPC sticker with the cigar information and an integrated tear space so it remained intact when opened. There is a primary Eladio Diaz LXXI band, along with a secondary LXXI Aniversario band, and lastly a gold ribbon foot band. I weighed the cigar at a 20.2 grams.
Jiunn: The Eladio Diaz 71 Aniversario has a Colorado wrapper shade. The wrapper coloration is a bit inconsistent, but has a lively oiliness to it. Bunch and roll is even, seams tight, veins are well pressed and the head is well wrapped and capped. Pre-light aromas consist of cedar, black tea, mixed nuts and construction paper.

Eladio Diaz 71 Aniversario

First Third

Aaron: The cigar begins with aged, toasted cedar along with light amounts of earth and black pepper. At a quarter inch in, some mustiness joins the profile. At three quarters of an inch in, the earth and black pepper increase a bit. The retrohale is musty, aged, toasted cedar, earth and lightly zingy black pepper. As the third comes to a close, the musty, aged, toasted cedar is up front, with earth in the middle of the profile and the black pepper just behind the earth. The strength was right at medium.
Seth: The first third starts out with some noticeable citrus notes. Lemon zest, and it is paired with some coffee and cedar notes. Bits of cocoa are present as well with damp wood and leather. Tobacco qualities are present on the end. Medium to medium-full in strength and body.
John: My first third experience begins with sweet wood, and mildly dry wood to finish. The retrohale is made up of mild spices, bread and wood. As the first third settles in, some cocoa joins the center of the retrohale. The cigar continues to evolve with wood and spices being the primary flavor component at medium-minus strength.
Jiunn: The first third is well balanced with cashews, pencil lead minerality, sweet and creamy roasted nuts and cedar. The retrohale supports all the flavors but in a more intensified manner. The finish is clean with lingering pencil lead minerality. Strength is medium-full and body is medium.

Eladio Diaz 71 Aniversario

Second Third

Aaron: As the second third begins, a light creaminess joins the profile. At a half inch in, the earth picks up a bit. At three quarters of an inch in, the earth is now right behind the musty, aged, toasted cedar. The retrohale is now just toasted cedar and earth. As the third comes to a close, the musty, aged, toasted cedar is just ahead of the earth, with black pepper now in the middle of the profile and some light creaminess in the background. The strength remained at medium.
Seth: The second third delivers more coffee and citrus notes. Cocoa powder flavors are more present as well, and it has that cedar, damp wood and tobacco flavor profile on the finish. Some mineral spices are present as well, and again, medium to medium-full in strength and body.
John: Wood and spices lead off here at medium strength, with wood taking up the post draw and bringing with it mild dryness. Bread notes on the retrohale combine with wood as the second third settles in. Some musty wood moves into the center of the profile by the time the cigar has reached the halfway point. Near the end of the second third, some earth comes into the finish.
Jiunn: The second third is less complex, focusing primarily on pencil lead minerality and cedar. The condensed flavor experience mixed with head nicotine hits isn’t exactly all that pleasurable. I was ok with the fuller strength on the first third because it was a compliment to the flavor offering. But this is the opposite. Body remains medium.

Eladio Diaz 71 Aniversario

Final Third

Aaron: As the final third begins, the earth is now even with the musty, aged, toasted cedar up front. The retrohale remains just toasted cedar and earth. At an inch in, the cedar and earth both pick up a bit in fullness. As the cigar wraps up, the musty, aged, toasted cedar and earth are even up front, with the black pepper in the middle and some creaminess in the background. The strength remained at medium.
Seth: The final third delivers a flavor profile of leather, tobacco and damp wood. Mineral notes are present in the third along with spices. The profile itself really went downhill in this third, while still smoking between the medium and medium-full level. Musty barnyard notes are present on the finish.
John: Creamy wood takes the cigar into the last third with a tannic leather and wood combination finishing and lingering into the post draw. Some bitter wood joins the finish and intensifies to medium-full strength, lingering on the palate through the post draw. Some medium earth joins the finish as it continues, and sharpness from the wood is dominating the post draw. Light-plus strength chocolate moves into the retrohale as it continues towards the halfway point. Earth and bitterness become unpleasant on the post draw through the bottom half.
Jiunn: The final third mimics the second third such that it’s still fuller in strength with ample minerality and cedar. Body finishes the same medium.

Eladio Diaz 71 Aniversario

Burn

Aaron: The burn was wavy at times and the cigar went out twice, likely from the snug draw, and required re-lights.
Seth: The burn was decent throughout. Not bad or wavy, but not great.
John: The burn had waviness to it through the entire review, but no interventions were required.
Jiunn: Two touch-ups within the second third and loose, flakey ashes throughout the entire smoking experience led to an annoying burn performance.

Eladio Diaz 71 Aniversario

Draw

Aaron: The draw was fairly snug throughout and I feel choked the flavor profile.
Seth: The draw was solid from start to finish.
John: The draw had some resistance to it, roughly 2-1/2 to 3 notches into the resistant spectrum. The cigar didn’t seem to have any knots, it was just firmly packed with tobacco throughout.
Jiunn: The draw was perfect, giving the ideal balance of air flow and resistance.

Overall

Aaron: The cigar began with aged, toasted cedar along with light amounts of earth and black pepper. Some mustiness joined in fairly quickly. The second third saw some light creaminess join in. The final third saw the earth become even with the cedar and then both increased in fullness. Overall, the Eladio Diaz 71 Aniversario had an average flavor profile throughout. I feel like there may be a good blend in hear, but the tight draw choked it out a bit. I’m hoping the other had better drawing offerings and can report on the flavor profile a bit better. We’ll see how the others experience was to see if this might be something I’d want to return to.
Seth: The Eladio Diaz 71 Aniversario lines up with so many other releases from Eladio Diaz since his departure from Davidoff and establishment of his own brand and factory. It’s not a bad release or blend, but it lacks the elements and raw ingredients to take it to the next level. I was fortunate enough to smoke a “private blend” of his when he was at Davidoff, and that cigar had depth, complexity and transitioning. Eladio knows how to blend, and he knows tobacco, I just don’t think he has access to the tobacco that he once did and it shows with his releases. The tobacco is not as refined as it was at Davidoff. At the same time, Davidoff is not releasing blends like it did when they had the assistance of Eladio.
John: Overall, I thought the Eladio Diaz 71 Aniversario had an average flavor profile, with the last third being unbalanced, harsh and increasingly difficult to smoke as it finished. The burn was wavy but otherwise perfect, while the draw had some resistance to it. Given the premium price point on this cigar, I think the overall experience was disappointing. Looking back at the weight of the cigar and the draw issues, I can’t help but wonder if the cigar was overpacked which led to a restricted draw and a flavor profile that didn’t line up with the original intention. Whatever the case is, I wouldn’t smoke this cigar again. Total smoking time was 2 hours and 21 minutes.
Jiunn: Eladio Diaz can and does make some of the best cigars in the world. His flavor profile, especially when using quality Dominican tobacco, is both unique and tasty. So when a new release comes out, it no doubt generates a lot of excitement for me. I struggle with this Eladio Diaz 71 Aniversario because it focuses on strength over flavors for the majority of the cigar. The combination of nicotine hits to my body mixed with a subpar flavor array of minerals and cedar made me want to gut through the cigar as fast as possible. I will not be interested in more of this blend.

Aaron Loomis

SCORE

5.15

Cost/Point

$4.85

Scoring System

Seth Geise

SCORE

5.15

Cost/Point

$4.85

Scoring System

John McTavish

SCORE

5.10

Cost/Point

$4.90

Scoring System

Jiunn Liu

SCORE

5.80

Cost/Point

$4.31

Scoring System

Team Cigar Review: Eladio Diaz 71 Aniversario