Being an avid Espinosa fan, I had to check out this cigar.
As I sat down with this cigar to review it, I couldn't help but notice how almost velvet-like in appearance and touch the wrapper leaf was. The band is simple, clean and elegantly designed.
To commemorate 10 years of making cigars, Espinosa Cigars released the "Ten Years" cigar and enlisted the support of AJ Fernandez's San Lotano Factory in Ocotal, Nicaragua.
Getting Started: First Impressions
When looking at this 6x52 Toro sized cigar, I was wondering how strong it would be, seeing as how Erik Espinosa likes to make cigars that pack a punch. The aroma along the body and foot of the cigar was like musty wood with a noticeable red pepper on the foot specifically. The cigar had a medium-firm pack feel along the body with no soft or overly firm areas to note.
When you look at the foot carefully, there is a very evident chunk of darker ligero in this blend to the right and just above the center of the cigar. The blend on this cigar is: hybrid-habano Nicaraguan wrapper, and Nicaraguan binder and filler, therefore, it is a Nicaraguan puro.
Initial Light-up:
After cutting my cigar with the Cigarmedics "The Baller", I gently toasted the foot with the Vertigo Spark lighter then took a few decent puffs on the cigar. Initially, there was a lot of cocoa, dark coffee/espresso, which quickly transitioned to a peanut skin/shell and woody note.
First Third:
The first third of this cigar began to burn wonky and I did touch it up since it didn't correct itself. Immediately after the initial light-up, the cigar began to transition quickly with the introduction of black pepper spice leaving its mark all over my palate after just an inch into the cigar. This strong black pepper note made me wonder how much stronger the pepper would get, but then a really nice wood note came to the forefront mixed with a little bit of a bran muffin. As the first third wrapped up, a metallic note like pencil-lead came into the mix, but it wasn't off-putting at all. The strength of this cigar was at a solid medium strength with a draw that was just a bit snug for me, but not restrictive at all.
Second Third:
With all of the Espinosa cigars I've smoked over the years, this cigar had flavor notes that I haven't picked up in any other cigar they've released. Jumping into the second third, one of my absolute favorite flavor notes came into play which was a nice solid nuttiness accompanied by a toned-down pepper like white pepper.
One note I am not a fan of is star anise or black licorice, and I picked up a faint hint of it, but fortunately it left the party after just a few draws. On the long finish there was a nice cinnamon spice note that complimented the nuttiness very well. The burn at the end of this third was nice and straight with no burn issues at all.
Final Third:
As this cigar came into the final third, the pepper note came back with a vengeance and ramped way up to a spicy red pepper. This black and spicy red pepper combination left my whole palate feeling the spicery, and even left my lips a little tingly.
There was a prominent nutty note through the end of the cigar, but it was accompanied by a minerality note, thyme seasoning and a little bitterness as well. As the cigar finished, there was a noticeable warm squishiness to the remainder of the cigar. The overall smoking time on this cigar was 1 hour and 30 minutes, which seemed quick for a Toro vitola and may have contributed to a little bitterness as the cigar wrapped up. This cigar is "Nub-worthy" and deserves a shot.
If you'd like to check out this cigar for yourself, go to Little Guy Cigar Shop and get yours using discount code, "CST10" at checkout.
Please feel free to leave a comment, and share your experience if you've had this cigar.
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