Epic Habano

Both samples of this cigar had a little mottling to the wrapper color, but one of the two was far more glossy with surface oil than the other. Both samples were very evenly rolled and demonstrated a good construction in the burn line and ash. The draw on both was pleasing and delivered a very good smoke output. The balance in flavor was my main concern with this blend; It never really reached a totally satisfying flavor strength, with a overarching subtlety in most of the flavors that I picked up. There were some moments of very enjoyable flavor dynamic interspersed throughout the cigar, but it generally lacked any true certainty. The smoke texture likewise left something to be desired, being overly airy to my taste the whole way. A lowland Scotch, iced tea with lemon, vsop cognac or brandy in the afternoon would all pair well with this. A decent enough smoke to its credit, but far from memorable.

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano / Binder: Cameroon / Filler:  Dominican and Nicaraguan 

Vitola: Robusto / Size: 5.5 × 52

 Country of Origin: Dominican Republic

dank earth, almost like compost, with some barnyard

dried fig and apricot, leather

raisin, top soil earth, cedar

Airy notes of florals, tea leaves, touches of white toast, weak vanilla, sweet cedar, soft caramel sweetness, and a barely noticeable lemon citrus
Retrohale: cinnamon, burnt sugar, vanilla extract, light floral sweetness

A somewhat greater presence of vanilla notes, with some tannic, musty and dry woody qualities coming in on the palate, a somewhat gritty baking spice, primarily clove and cinnamon, sweet blanched almond, and more sweet cedar
Retrohale: musty cedar, more florals, light citrus zest and a hint of cardamom

A rebound of the caramel sweetness, more sweet almonds, still getting vanilla and florals, occasional and fleeting touches of cashew, and towards the end there is a sweet peaty flavor that is nice final addition
Retrohale: florals, soft white pepper, cedar

The reviewing process at Cigar Public ensures that each cigar is reviewed blindly. This cigar was sent without any bands and without any information about the cigar. Cigar Public does not attempt to influence or alter any scores given by any of our reviewers.