Quite unexpectedly I came home from work and found a giant care package sitting on my doorstep from Chris Kelly of Ezra Zion Cigar Co. Inside was a pile of The Collective along with some great stickers. Ive since handed out quite a few of them on my recent trip to Nicaragua, but not before I had a chance to sit down and review it.
Nose:
The cigar smells very similar to the pungent tobacco from a fermentation house. Im also picking up nuts but everything else is almost completely overpowered by the sweet tobacco smell.
Construction:
The Collective measures 6 1/4 x 52 ring gauge in a prensado box pressed vitola. The cigar sports a regular band with the Cigar Federation logo, as well as a foot band identifying the Collective. In addition the band features a QR code that you can scan for additional content.
The Collective was blended exclusively for Cigar Federation by Ezra Zion Cigars and rolled at the Casa Fernandez factory in Miami. The blend features a San Andrés Café Claro which has not been used before. It also contains medio tiempo tobacco in the blend. This cigar is limited to 250 boxes of 20.
Flavor:
First Third
The Collective opens up with medium to medium-full spicy notes with black pepper coming through at the end. My initial impressions are that this cigar tastes fresh rolled off the table. The intense spice falls off and the pepper picks up in intensity to a medium level. Im really tasting a lot of pepper on my lips after each draw.
There is some earthiness about 20 minutes in but it is balanced.
Overall I found the first third to have a really clean and defined flavor profile.
Middle Third
The middle third starts with sweet tobacco at the same level of flavor strength as the earth. Im really feeling the tobacco strength of this cigar hit home here. As the middle third settles I detect some light leather notes and the earth begins to fall off in intensity but lingers post draw.
Last Third
The earthiness picks up to a medium-full level in the last third. Shortly after it falls off to light levels with the leather picking up to medium level along with the absent spice flavors from the first third. An interesting combination to finish out here.
Burn/Draw:
I used a scissor cut on the cap which produced an excellent draw. Good smoke production here. Total smoking time was a relaxed 2 hours and 35 minutes.
Value:
The Collective is exclusively offered through the Cigar Federation Store. Available in 5 packs for $54.95 or 20 count boxes for $219.80. Pricing works out to $10.99 which might be a bit high for the average aficionado but is about right for a boutique cigar. The price is no doubt due to the more expensive medium tiempo filler leaf used in the blend. The Collective was also featured as a part of the February Cigar of the Month Club.
Final Word:
After smoking the Collective you may not have a palate left for another cigar. The flavors here are to the absolutely right side of full bodied without being overpowered in tobacco strength. I thoroughly enjoyed the smoking experience, although I was left with the impression that this cigar would be even better after a few months of rest. Ill definitely have to revisit my experience some time in late May. The production run on these is extremely limited so unless youre hitting me up for one of these in May while Im in the US, youll want to order soon.
Link to Review with Gallery: http://cigarfederation.com/profiles/blogs/review-cigar-federation-the-collective
Nose:
The cigar smells very similar to the pungent tobacco from a fermentation house. Im also picking up nuts but everything else is almost completely overpowered by the sweet tobacco smell.
Construction:
The Collective measures 6 1/4 x 52 ring gauge in a prensado box pressed vitola. The cigar sports a regular band with the Cigar Federation logo, as well as a foot band identifying the Collective. In addition the band features a QR code that you can scan for additional content.
The Collective was blended exclusively for Cigar Federation by Ezra Zion Cigars and rolled at the Casa Fernandez factory in Miami. The blend features a San Andrés Café Claro which has not been used before. It also contains medio tiempo tobacco in the blend. This cigar is limited to 250 boxes of 20.
Flavor:
First Third
The Collective opens up with medium to medium-full spicy notes with black pepper coming through at the end. My initial impressions are that this cigar tastes fresh rolled off the table. The intense spice falls off and the pepper picks up in intensity to a medium level. Im really tasting a lot of pepper on my lips after each draw.
There is some earthiness about 20 minutes in but it is balanced.
Overall I found the first third to have a really clean and defined flavor profile.
Middle Third
The middle third starts with sweet tobacco at the same level of flavor strength as the earth. Im really feeling the tobacco strength of this cigar hit home here. As the middle third settles I detect some light leather notes and the earth begins to fall off in intensity but lingers post draw.
Last Third
The earthiness picks up to a medium-full level in the last third. Shortly after it falls off to light levels with the leather picking up to medium level along with the absent spice flavors from the first third. An interesting combination to finish out here.
Burn/Draw:
I used a scissor cut on the cap which produced an excellent draw. Good smoke production here. Total smoking time was a relaxed 2 hours and 35 minutes.
Value:
The Collective is exclusively offered through the Cigar Federation Store. Available in 5 packs for $54.95 or 20 count boxes for $219.80. Pricing works out to $10.99 which might be a bit high for the average aficionado but is about right for a boutique cigar. The price is no doubt due to the more expensive medium tiempo filler leaf used in the blend. The Collective was also featured as a part of the February Cigar of the Month Club.
Final Word:
After smoking the Collective you may not have a palate left for another cigar. The flavors here are to the absolutely right side of full bodied without being overpowered in tobacco strength. I thoroughly enjoyed the smoking experience, although I was left with the impression that this cigar would be even better after a few months of rest. Ill definitely have to revisit my experience some time in late May. The production run on these is extremely limited so unless youre hitting me up for one of these in May while Im in the US, youll want to order soon.
Link to Review with Gallery: http://cigarfederation.com/profiles/blogs/review-cigar-federation-the-collective
