2007 Illusione MK
Back at last years IPCPR, Ben was talking to Dion for a little while and got the inside scoop on some epic news: Dion was going to send boxes of MKs from 2007 to select retailers. These cigars, which have been resting for four years, would be discreetly shipped out instead of fresh MKs (were not sure if its random or a premier account holder thing). While we were down at Good Karma Cigar in Amarillo, Ben noticed that the box Todd had sitting out was sporting a 2007 date stamp. Needless to say, we picked a bunch up and put them in our review queue. We couldnt wait any longer to smoke these beauties, so here is our review:
Pre-Light: A mild cedar and a nice, sweet hay. Ben picks up some hazelnut in his along with the flavors I got.
First Third: Harsh black pepper dominates the first few puffs. As this mellows out, we pick up a sweeter pepper with some cedar and clove. Bens has the hazelnut that he smelled in the pre-light, and I got some sort of mild nut a short while later. Like most of the Illusiones, this MK is very complex and soon becomes full of a sweet, salty, dark cocoa.
Second Third: The cocoa remains prominent, and the cedar gets a bit sharper. There is a noticeable increase in the black pepper, too, along with some light floral notes. Bens cocoa gets richer, and his clove becomes heavier as well.
Final Third: Cocoa, cedar and floral flavors are still heavy, and the hazelnut rejoins them for the final third. At this point there are almost too many flavors to pick apart. The nut really comes out toward the end, and is joined by a floral graham cracker taste that is incredibly Cubanesque. The finish is phenomenal not bitter at all, and extremely floral. Final smoking time was 1 hour and 25 minutes.
We are astounded as to what a few years down time does to these cigars! Ben and I are both huge fans of the regular MKs, but this cigar was something else altogether! It has turned into a completely different animal, and one of the better medium-bodied cigars we have ever bought off the shelf. These are floating around out there, so keep an eye out for them! Many premier account holders will probably get some, so be sure and check for the 2007 box codes! Ben would happily pay $15 apiece for more of these, and I would snatch up all I could at $13 per cigar.
where to find: More or less a crapshoot as far as we know, but check your local retailers!
expect to pay: $7-9, depending on taxes in your area.
Back at last years IPCPR, Ben was talking to Dion for a little while and got the inside scoop on some epic news: Dion was going to send boxes of MKs from 2007 to select retailers. These cigars, which have been resting for four years, would be discreetly shipped out instead of fresh MKs (were not sure if its random or a premier account holder thing). While we were down at Good Karma Cigar in Amarillo, Ben noticed that the box Todd had sitting out was sporting a 2007 date stamp. Needless to say, we picked a bunch up and put them in our review queue. We couldnt wait any longer to smoke these beauties, so here is our review:
Pre-Light: A mild cedar and a nice, sweet hay. Ben picks up some hazelnut in his along with the flavors I got.
First Third: Harsh black pepper dominates the first few puffs. As this mellows out, we pick up a sweeter pepper with some cedar and clove. Bens has the hazelnut that he smelled in the pre-light, and I got some sort of mild nut a short while later. Like most of the Illusiones, this MK is very complex and soon becomes full of a sweet, salty, dark cocoa.
Second Third: The cocoa remains prominent, and the cedar gets a bit sharper. There is a noticeable increase in the black pepper, too, along with some light floral notes. Bens cocoa gets richer, and his clove becomes heavier as well.
Final Third: Cocoa, cedar and floral flavors are still heavy, and the hazelnut rejoins them for the final third. At this point there are almost too many flavors to pick apart. The nut really comes out toward the end, and is joined by a floral graham cracker taste that is incredibly Cubanesque. The finish is phenomenal not bitter at all, and extremely floral. Final smoking time was 1 hour and 25 minutes.
We are astounded as to what a few years down time does to these cigars! Ben and I are both huge fans of the regular MKs, but this cigar was something else altogether! It has turned into a completely different animal, and one of the better medium-bodied cigars we have ever bought off the shelf. These are floating around out there, so keep an eye out for them! Many premier account holders will probably get some, so be sure and check for the 2007 box codes! Ben would happily pay $15 apiece for more of these, and I would snatch up all I could at $13 per cigar.
where to find: More or less a crapshoot as far as we know, but check your local retailers!
expect to pay: $7-9, depending on taxes in your area.
