I was invited to participate in a small group cigar meeting at a local B&M this weekend to smoke and discuss 2 cigars of their choosing. Being a big fan of the Illusione line, and Nicaraguan cigars in general, I was excited when one of the cigars on the ticket was the ~2~ Beli that measures 5.25 x 52. The cigar was well made, firmly packed, and sported a very nice looking reddish brown wrapper. I also appreciate the simple and easy to remove bands that are used on the Illusiones. (Sorry for the picture quality all I had was my phone)
The pre-light draw gave me some leather and sweet spice flaovrs but none of the black pepper I was expecting from this all Nicaraguan cigar. As soon as I lit it up though the pepper blast was immediate and the amount of smoke was second to none. Definitely what I have come to expect from the line. 1/2" in the pepper mellowed and transitioned to a steady leather and earthy profile. The burn however decided to take a path of its own.
Almost 1/2 way through and the burn has corrected itself and I'm enjoying the consistant flavor profile as well the smoke output. The draw on the ~2~ remains perfect to my taste and the ash is med gray and looks flakey but is holding steady.
I put it down just after this picture to move on to the second cigar of the morning.
My overall thoughts on the cigar were good. It had all of the things I personally enjoy in a cigar. It was well constructed & full bodied with smooth flavors, a great draw, and lots of smoke. Total smoking time was just over an hour and probably could have been stretched by 10 or 15 minutes had I not had another to smoke for this event. The only negative to this was the $9 price tag. It seems a bit high for the size of the cigar even for an Illusione but knowing me I would probably buy it anyway.
Thanks for reading.
The pre-light draw gave me some leather and sweet spice flaovrs but none of the black pepper I was expecting from this all Nicaraguan cigar. As soon as I lit it up though the pepper blast was immediate and the amount of smoke was second to none. Definitely what I have come to expect from the line. 1/2" in the pepper mellowed and transitioned to a steady leather and earthy profile. The burn however decided to take a path of its own.
Almost 1/2 way through and the burn has corrected itself and I'm enjoying the consistant flavor profile as well the smoke output. The draw on the ~2~ remains perfect to my taste and the ash is med gray and looks flakey but is holding steady.
I put it down just after this picture to move on to the second cigar of the morning.
My overall thoughts on the cigar were good. It had all of the things I personally enjoy in a cigar. It was well constructed & full bodied with smooth flavors, a great draw, and lots of smoke. Total smoking time was just over an hour and probably could have been stretched by 10 or 15 minutes had I not had another to smoke for this event. The only negative to this was the $9 price tag. It seems a bit high for the size of the cigar even for an Illusione but knowing me I would probably buy it anyway.
Thanks for reading.
