Illuminati Crusade Torpedo
Size: 6-1/2 x 52
Wrapper: Ecuador Habano
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
About:
Brand owner Jack Sanzeri started Illuminati Cigars in February of 2010. The term “Illuminati” is Latin for “Enlightened ones”, and is often associated with a secret society of the rich and powerful whose goal is to create a New World Order and rule the world.
Here is a quote from Illuminaticigars.com about the history of the brand:
“The name Illuminati came from my oldest son Oscar; he has always been fascinated by the name and the movies like Angels and Demons. My second home is the World Famous Cigar Bar located in Ft Myers where Rocky Patel is a regular customer as well. I became friends with Rocky Patel and I started discussing with him about blending cigars and having them made in his new factory in Nicaragua. We reached an agreement and the rest is, as they say “history”.
Pre-light:
The cigar has a nice-looking medium dark wrapper, with no major veins or defects at all. The cap appeared to have been applied hastily as it looked a little sloppy. The cigar seemed to be well-packed, and there were no hard or soft spots that I could detect.
Aroma: I picked up the strong scent of a toasted walnut like bitterness along with a pretty robust hardwood aroma.
Taste: The prelight flavor was dominated by some aromatic straight tobacco flavors, and there was also a distinct mintiness in the profile at this point as well. The draw was absolutely perfect with just the right about of resistance.
1/3:
The cigar started off surprisingly mild and unassuming. I got a little bit of the toasted walnut bitterness – this was not a bad bitterness, and it complimented the wet-leather flavor that I also found. There was a touch of spice on the wrapper, and this gave this initial third of the cigar a little bit of character that made is much more interesting that it would have been without it. The ash was medium-gray and a little bit flaky, and did not hold for much more than a quarter of an inch before falling.
2/3:
As the cigar moved from the first to the second third, the spicy notes in the flavor profile ramped up pretty quickly. The spiciness increased, and I found that a deep woodsiness developed. The leathery notes from the first third fell into the background. The cigar became a solid medium-body as the second third progressed. The profile was still relatively straight forward, and the finish was short enough that I was not able to detect any lingering flavor notes. The retrohale was an unassuming blend of cedar and leather.
3/3:
In the final third, the spiciness became a little bit more subtle, and at the same time the woody flavors became fuller and richer throughout my whole palate. The flavors intensified, and the cigar started to heat up to the point that I had to pitch it prematurely. The fullness that I was experiencing was nice in that it did not have the typical sharpness of pepper that seems to be the rage. It was more of like an overall subtle sensation of fullness that I could feel even after exhaling the smoke.
Overall:
Overall this was not a bad showing at all from Illuminati Cigars. There were some nice deep woody flavors that really shined. My only complaint was that I wish I could have experienced a little more of the last third before I had to leave it. The heating up cased a little bit of sourness and bitterness that took over what was up to that point a decent flavor profile. There are two other lines in the Illuminati Brand – the milder bodied “Mondo Nuovo” and the fuller bodied “Shield”. If you liked how the Crusade sounded, you should check these out as well.
CLICK HERE TO LINK AND LISTEN TO THE PODCAST EPISODE
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Size: 6-1/2 x 52
Wrapper: Ecuador Habano
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
About:
Brand owner Jack Sanzeri started Illuminati Cigars in February of 2010. The term “Illuminati” is Latin for “Enlightened ones”, and is often associated with a secret society of the rich and powerful whose goal is to create a New World Order and rule the world.
Here is a quote from Illuminaticigars.com about the history of the brand:
“The name Illuminati came from my oldest son Oscar; he has always been fascinated by the name and the movies like Angels and Demons. My second home is the World Famous Cigar Bar located in Ft Myers where Rocky Patel is a regular customer as well. I became friends with Rocky Patel and I started discussing with him about blending cigars and having them made in his new factory in Nicaragua. We reached an agreement and the rest is, as they say “history”.
Pre-light:
The cigar has a nice-looking medium dark wrapper, with no major veins or defects at all. The cap appeared to have been applied hastily as it looked a little sloppy. The cigar seemed to be well-packed, and there were no hard or soft spots that I could detect.
Aroma: I picked up the strong scent of a toasted walnut like bitterness along with a pretty robust hardwood aroma.
Taste: The prelight flavor was dominated by some aromatic straight tobacco flavors, and there was also a distinct mintiness in the profile at this point as well. The draw was absolutely perfect with just the right about of resistance.
1/3:
The cigar started off surprisingly mild and unassuming. I got a little bit of the toasted walnut bitterness – this was not a bad bitterness, and it complimented the wet-leather flavor that I also found. There was a touch of spice on the wrapper, and this gave this initial third of the cigar a little bit of character that made is much more interesting that it would have been without it. The ash was medium-gray and a little bit flaky, and did not hold for much more than a quarter of an inch before falling.
2/3:
As the cigar moved from the first to the second third, the spicy notes in the flavor profile ramped up pretty quickly. The spiciness increased, and I found that a deep woodsiness developed. The leathery notes from the first third fell into the background. The cigar became a solid medium-body as the second third progressed. The profile was still relatively straight forward, and the finish was short enough that I was not able to detect any lingering flavor notes. The retrohale was an unassuming blend of cedar and leather.
3/3:
In the final third, the spiciness became a little bit more subtle, and at the same time the woody flavors became fuller and richer throughout my whole palate. The flavors intensified, and the cigar started to heat up to the point that I had to pitch it prematurely. The fullness that I was experiencing was nice in that it did not have the typical sharpness of pepper that seems to be the rage. It was more of like an overall subtle sensation of fullness that I could feel even after exhaling the smoke.
Overall:
Overall this was not a bad showing at all from Illuminati Cigars. There were some nice deep woody flavors that really shined. My only complaint was that I wish I could have experienced a little more of the last third before I had to leave it. The heating up cased a little bit of sourness and bitterness that took over what was up to that point a decent flavor profile. There are two other lines in the Illuminati Brand – the milder bodied “Mondo Nuovo” and the fuller bodied “Shield”. If you liked how the Crusade sounded, you should check these out as well.
CLICK HERE TO LINK AND LISTEN TO THE PODCAST EPISODE
.
