Pre-light Experience

Aaron: The wrapper on the Illusione Group of Five RB is light brown and has some decently raised veins present. The seams are smooth and the caps pretty well applied. There are two bands, with the primary carrying the company name and the number 5, while the secondary band denotes the line name. The aroma from the wrapper is a mellow mix of cedar, hay and earth while the foot brings cedar, stone fruit sweetness and cardboard. The pre-light draw brings cedar, stone fruit sweetness and anise, along with a mild spiciness on my lips.
Seth: The Illusione Group of Five RB is average in appearance. The cigar is finished with a Colorado wrapper and medium sized veins throughout. There are some oils present and it is slightly firm with a fine gritty texture. It has a faded brown coloring. Aromas of earth, tobacco, spices and wood.
John: The Illusione Group of Five RB 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 Illusione 5 band which says ‘Whispering Tongues Are Treachery’ and then repeated in Latin ‘Susurratio Linguarum Est Proditio’. There is also a thin secondary band underneath indicating ‘THE GROUP of FIVE’. I weighed the cigar at 14.3 grams and measured the humidity to 54.7% with the HumidiMeter Pro. Aromas from the wrapper included bread, sweet tobacco, wood and faint barnyard. Out of the foot, I was getting rich tobacco, faint raisin, earth and wood.

Illusione Group of Five RB

First Third

Aaron: The cigar begins with toasted cedar and slightly sharp, bold black pepper. At a quarter inch in, the pepper loses the sharpness while the toasted cedar gains a dampness to it. The retrohale is damp, toasted cedar and zingy black pepper. At an inch in, some earth joins the profile. As the third comes to a close, the damp, toasted cedar that now carries a light bitterness is up front, with black pepper in the middle and some earth in the background. The strength was right at medium.
Seth: The first third begins with some pepper notes that are accompanied by tobacco, earth and wood. It is medium in strength and body, and it has a rustic and mineral flavor profile on the finish.
John: Creamy bread gets the first third started and is followed by mildly sharp wood and a dry, light wood into the post draw. Some mild spices follow in the post draw after a short delay. Baking spices and earth move into the center of the retrohale as the first third settles in. Earth and tannic wood join the post draw some time later, at a combined strength of medium-minus. Creamy, medium strength spices are leading each puff, with sweet wood in the center as it approaches the halfway point.

Illusione Group of Five RB

Second Third

Aaron: As the second third begins, the earth picks up a bit while the bitterness has departed. At a half inch in, a light mustiness joins the profile while the dampness departs from the toasted cedar. The retrohale is now toasted cedar and mustiness with light earth and black pepper. At an inch in, the earth is now right behind the toasted cedar. As the third comes to a close, the toasted cedar is just ahead of the earth, with some mustiness in the middle and mild black pepper in the background. The strength remained at medium.
Seth: The second third is a continuation of the first with some noticeable black pepper qualities. Lots of wood and tobacco with some mineral notes on the finish. The cigar remains at medium in terms of strength and body.
John: The second third opens with creamy baking spices, a sharp wood center and a tannic wood finish. As the second third settles in, earth pairs up with the wood through the post draw. The post draw continues to evolve approaching the halfway point, as the tannic wood on the post draw moves down in strength to light-plus.

Illusione Group of Five RB

Final Third

Aaron: As the final third begins, a light vegetal note joins the profile. The retrohale is now toasted cedar, earth, vegetal note and light mustiness. At three quarters of an inch in, the vegetal note gains some bitterness. As the cigar wraps up, the toasted cedar is just ahead of the earth, with some vegetal mintiness and mustiness in the middle and mild black pepper in the background. The strength remained at medium.
Seth: The final third delivers more mineral notes than the second third and they are paired with some black pepper, wood and tobacco. Medium in strength and body. The cigar is not harsh on the finish, but a little rough.
John: My initial impressions in the last third are creamy earth that is followed by wood, and a combination of wood and mild, bitter earth to finish. That earth moves up to a lingering medium strength on the post draw. The profile remains consistent for some time, and as it approaches the halfway point, sweet wood makes up the center of the retrohale. At the halfway point, the post draw earth moves down in strength to medium-minus.

Illusione Group of Five RB

Burn

Aaron: The burn was a bit wavy at times, but never needed any intervention. The ash held on in inch and a quarter increments.
Seth: Burn was average throughout.
John: The burn was straight through the first third, with some unevenness at times in the second third. The burn became uneven in the last third, almost forming a canoe, at which point I performed a touch-up.

Illusione Group of Five RB

Draw

Aaron: The draw was slightly tighter than I prefer, but didn’t cause any issues with the smoking experience.
Seth: Draw was slightly average from beginning to end.
John: The draw had some resistance to it, roughly 2-1/2 to 3 notches towards the resistant spectrum.

Overall

Aaron: The cigar began with toasted cedar and slightly sharp, bold black pepper. The cedar gained a dampness to it fairly quickly. Some earth joined a bit later and some bitterness joined the cedar. The second third saw the bitterness and dampness depart and some mustiness joined in. The final third saw a vegetal note join in which later gained some bitterness. The Illusione Group of Five RB had an average flavor profile throughout that was a bit muddled from some of the supporting notes. The cigar never really provided a profile that was very exciting and I wouldn’t really see myself coming back to this cigar, but I’m interested in what the future offerings in the series provide.
Seth: I wouldn’t come back to the Illusione Group of Five RB, and it is a bummer to see a follow up release from illusione smoke like this after the OneOff Black. AGANORSA is just not there, and it is impacting every company and every blend. Draw and construction were not great, and there was no flavor profile to really take this cigar to the finish line.
John: The Illusione Group of Five RB had some interesting and engaging flavor combinations in the first third. As it progressed, it was still pleasant, but not as complex for me as the first third. I performed a touch-up in the last third and the draw had resistance to it. My overall takeaway is that I might return to this cigar, but that’s balanced against the fact Illusione has a diverse portfolio of cigars that are less expensive and have a more enjoyable profile for me. Total smoking time was 2 hours and 2 minutes.

Aaron Loomis

SCORE

5.50

Cost/Point

$2.91

Scoring System

Seth Geise

SCORE

5.00

Cost/Point

$3.20

Scoring System

John McTavish

SCORE

5.70

Cost/Point

$2.81

Scoring System

Team Cigar Review: Illusione Group of Five RB