La Aroma de Cuba Coronation Noblesse

A few years ago Ashton decided to release Nicaraguan cigars, made by My Father Cigars, under the name La Aroma de Cuba (La Aroma Del Caribe in Europe). The brand was a success and several offsprings were born, the latest is a limited release under the name Noblesse. The original release was called coronation and is a 6 ½x52 double corona made from Nicaraguan tobacco with an Ecuadorean Habano rosado wrapper.

The cigar looks great, a smooth reddish wrapper with one of the most beautiful cigar bands I’ve ever seen. The veins are thin and the wrapper has a nice shine although the flash makes the vein looks bigger on the pictures. The cigar has a nice barnyard aroma. The construction feels good although there is a small dent in the middle. The cold draw is a little tight and gives me hay, pepper and raisin.

The first flavor I get is wood with a really mild pepper. The flavors are quite dry. The pepper slowly disappears, I only taste a nice woody flavor.

Halfway the cigar gets more spicy again with more red pepper to the wood flavor.

The draw is just fine, and the cigar has a nice aroma. The ash is silver gray and reasonable firm. The smoke is medium thick. The cigar is medium to medium full, both in strength and in flavor. The burn is slow and straight. The cigar is one dimensional but tasty. The smoke time is about 2 hours.

Would I buy this cigar again? Yes, once in a while.

Appearance: 9
Construction: 8
Draw: 8
Burn: 9
Smoke & ash: 8
Aroma first part: 8
Aroma second part: 8
Aroma third part: 8

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Royal Danish Cigar Regal Blend Belicoso

Royal Danish Cigars is a brand by a Danish aficionado that celebrates the old connection that Danish royalty has with tobacco and cigars by having his own blends produced in Nicaragua and Costa Rica. I do not know where this particular cigar has been made, I got it in a sampler with a few other Royal Danish cigars, of which I reviewed one before.

The cigar looks beautiful, with the red ribbon and the rhinestone on the band. The wrapper is nice dark brown without any color differences but has one big vein. There is a mild barnyard aroma. The construction feels good but the predraw is somewhat right with a mild raisin flavor.

This cigar has plenty of flavor, wood, pepper and some citrus combined with some spices. The citrus slowly disappears while spices and the peppers grow stronger. After a third the cigar gets a pleasant bitterness, like in a really dark chocolate.

The woody flavors are pushed to the aftertaste and this cigar pairs nice with my sweet ice tea.  Still taste the spices and pepper. After two thirds I taste more spices combined with the bitterness of dark chocolate.

This was a pleasant full flavored medium bodied cigar that lasted me for 75 minutes. The ash is reasonably firm and has the color of salt & pepper. The draw and burn are fine, just like the smoke.

Would I buy this cigar again? No! I liked it but the price that Royal Danish wants for this cigar is crazy.

Appearance: 9
Construction: 8
Draw: 8
Burn: 8
Smoke & ash: 8
Aroma first part: 8
Aroma second part: 8
Aroma third part: 8

Ortega Wild Bunch Island Jim

The second review in a series of Ortega Wild Bunch reviews, but as I said in the previous review, I don’t have all of them so it won’t be a full series of reviews. Island Jim is number 3 out of 12, I’m not smoking them in any particular order. I bought this cigar at one of the Smoke Inn shops in South Florida. This cigar, 6 ½ inch 52 ring, is made by My Father cigars with a rosado wrapper from Ecuador and Nicaraguan fillers and binder.

The wrapper is silky, beautifully colored with a dark chocolate color with a mild reddish glow. I see a few veins. The aroma is quite strong and has a smell that reminds me of horses. The construction feels good and the predraw proves it. The taste is quite peppery.

Right from the start it’s wood with pepper, and the kind of pepper where Don Pepin Garcia got his fame from, bold and strong. The pepper mellows out, the wood is the dominant flavor but the aftertaste is still peppery. After a centimeter I taste a very mild metallic flavor which grows in strength. It disappears after another centimeter, than its just mild wood and a mild pepper in the aftertaste.

Halfway the cigar gets a little bit boring, which is uncommon for a My Father made cigar. It’s the same mild wood with mild pepper although the pepper slowly gains some strength but just a little bit. Near the end the pepper grows back to the original strength.

The draw is wonderful and I get a nice amount of medium thick white smoke. The ash is white and firm, but the burn is slightly off. The cigar is medium full bodied and medium flavored. Halfway the burn corrects itself. The cigar lasted me two hours.

Would I buy this cigar again? That’s not possible, but if I could, I still wouldn’t. It’s a nice smoke but there is better.

Appearance: 8
Construction: 8
Draw: 9
Burn: 7
Smoke & ash: 7
Aroma first part: 7
Aroma second part: 6
Aroma third part: 7

Diesel Grind Robusto

The Diesel Grind is a spin-off from the famous Diesel Unholy Cocktail and comes from the same factory, tabacalera Fernandez in Esteli, Nicaragua. Alex Svensson of Maier & Dutch, the owners of the Diesel brand, gave me this cigar as a sampler. Unlike the Diesel Unholy Cocktail and the Diesel Unlimited, which you only find online, the grind will only be found in brick & mortar locations.

The cigar consists of an Ecuador Habano oscuro sun crown wrapper, a Habano binder from Honduras and filler from Nicaragua and Honduras. The cigar measures 6×50, as a proper toro should be. The dark wrapper has a mild shine to it and not a lot of veins, the cigar has a simple footband with the recognizable Diesel logo. The aroma is quite pungent and reminds me of a barnyard. The construction feels good, no weak spots, consistent. The predraw is very spicy on the lips and I get enough resistance, no complaints at all.

A strong pepper and wood combo straight from the start. But the pepper fades away and changes into a spicy herbal taste. After a centimeter and a half I taste a metallic flavor with herbs and wood, it’s not unpleasant. Soon after its a full oak flavor with a metallic aftertaste and some refined sugar sweetness.

After a third it’s a nice dry wood flavor with pepper and sugar. The pepper fades away again and the wood with sugar combination is very enjoyable. Halfway the cigar gets spicy again, with pepper on the tip of my tongue while I taste sugar in the rest of my mouth. I also taste a little nutmeg. After two thirds the sugar disappeared and its pepper and herbs all along with a woody aftertaste.

The draw is great and I get a lot of beautiful white smoke. The ash is gray with some black flakes and isn’t very firm. After an centimeter and a half the wrapper cracks, but it doesn’t continue to rip over the whole length so it’s not a problem. The burn is great, slow and straight as an arrow. This full flavored, full bodied cigar gave me over two hours of smoking pleasure.

Would I buy this cigar again? Yes, it’s not as bold as the unholy cocktail, which is one of my favorite cigars, and more refined but it’s still worth getting a box, or several boxes.

Appearance: 8
Construction: 8
Draw: 9
Burn: 9
Smoke & ash: 8
Aroma first part: 8
Aroma second part: 8
Aroma third part: 9