CigarPointe
age quod agis
Wrapper: Nicaragua
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler:Nicaragua
Price: $9.75
Vitola: 5 3/8 x 52 Belicoso
Drink: Coca-Cola
Appearance & Construction: Wrapper is smooth to the touch. It’s splotchy, not terribly veiny, and has a few sun spots. Construction leaves something to be desired. The draw is ok, on the tighter side if anything. I wouldn’t say there is a lot of smoke on each draw, but all-in-all it’s still satisfactory. My main problem is the burn. This bastard is tunneling like a mole on crystal meth. After ashing for the first time, the burn seems to be evening out, and the cigar is becoming more hassle-free overall. I never evened it out with a lighter, and seems to have fixed the problem on it’s own. To it’s credit, the cigar is ending while still burning cool, which I find to be rare.
Pre-Light: Nice draw. Really not getting any flavor notes except for a mild natural tobacco flavor. No apparent aroma either.
Flavor & Notes: Very mild natural tobacco taste right off the bat. I’m not getting a whole lot of flavor so far, but to be fair I just lit it.
First Third – Cinnamon, Nutmeg, allspice. Dried bananas chips with cracked pepper through the nose. Strange, I know… but it’s really interesting. Really nothing too complex, but it’s a nice blend.
Second Third – Pepper is starting to dominate, complimented by a lot of nutmeg. Through the nose mainly pepper now.
Final Third – Pepper is just about all I taste right now. There is a hint of leather that keeps the overall profile from being monotone. The flavor change is pleasant as it starts off mild, building up to something much stronger. It seems to be smoothing out as it comes to a finish, pepper is smoldering out, and smooth leather is starting to come to the front of the flavors. It’s a nice relaxing end to this cigar. Honestly, the last third was by far the best part of this cigar as the flavors become more concentrated.
Body: Starts off as a very smooth medium. Through the nose the body is felt more, but even then it’s medium at it’s strongest. Body begins to build after you reach the half way mark, and the pepper taste kicks it up a notch to medium-full. Approaching the end, blowing the smoke through your nose is quite spicy. Hefty pepper flavors.
Overall Smoking Experience: Let me start by saying that this cigar has been hyped to me by quite a number of people. I’ve always heard it’s the best of the Curivari line (I’ll let you be the judge of that). As with just about anything, inflated expectations aren’t normally a good thing, and for me this cigar started off rather drab, with nothing exciting or unique. After smoking through half the cigar everything changed. I started enjoying it a lot more, and with the burn issue fixed, I was no longer fussing with it. There are few flavors in this cigar that are unique (many of them unique to the Curivari line in general). I do have to say that I’ve never tasted a banana flavor in a cigar, so I have to give it extra points for that (granted that it’s only a hint of). Do withhold judgement until you are at least half way in. That seems to be the sweet spot.
Rating: 7.3, but I strongly encourage you to try one for yourself. I’ve heard a ton of great reviews on this cigar and maybe I got an “off” one or it’s just not my cup of tea. Go get yourself one and prove me wrong.
Buy Again: I will definitely be giving this a second shot. Next time with lower expectations, which I assume will help.
Chooch Rating: 0/5
http://www.cigarpointe.com/cigars/curivari-el-gran-rey-review/
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