Size: 5.7″ x 52 was measured (supposed to be 5.7″ x 52, Belicoso)
Strength: Full
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Corojo
Filler: Nicaraguan Corojo and Criollo long-leaf

Appearance:
This is a pretty good looking stick. The wrapper has a few minor veins, no major ones, and you have to look pretty damn hard to see where the wrapper was rolled. I like the double rings – classy, not overdone. And I wasn’t so sure about the two flags on the side of the ring, but now I like them quite a bit.

Construction:
This stick came in spot on for length and ring gauge. That’s always impressive. And while the foot looks slightly box pressed, this stick is definitely not box pressed. I’ve always liked belicosos and this one is nicely rolled. It’s even and density is consistent, but at the foot there was an odd bit of tobacco sticking out, which I did remove, so it loses half a point there. The rings removed without incident. Approaching the last third, the wrapper cracked for no apparent reason and came slightly undone (docks it another half point).

Aroma:
The aroma is spicy and typical of a full flavored stick. It has a spice to it but lacks the dried fruit or sweetness of a maduro. It’s also not as intense as some other sticks, making it a little more bearable to non-cigar smokers, but the spice without the sweetness may be a bit of a turn off.

Burn/Ash:
Burn so far is sharp, but not razor sharp. It’s had a wave or two, but again, I lit with a match, which I’m not used to doing, thanks to my lighter refilling mishap a few days ago. The first ash did something different, it was 1″ long and about .5″ fell off as I was setting it down. It’s usually all or nothing. The burn has managed to straighten itself out each time it’s begun to stray though. The second and third ashes both fell at an inch. Despite the wrapper unraveling a bit at the last third (see Construction above) it didn’t affect the burn. It’s been a little wavy, but always corrected itself.

Draw/Smoke:
Draw is a perfect medium and I always love the feel of a torpedo or belicoso in my mouth, the ability with which you can slightly compress the head with your teeth. Smoke is super plentiful and very creamy. About a third of the way into the stick the draw has become a little lighter and the smoke has decreased to about average. The draw and smoke are better now, sort of. It benefits from two consecutive draws, the first being light, and the second perfect with plenty of smoke. Most sticks are too hot for two consecutive draws, but oddly that is what suits this stick best. Can’t quite figure out why that is.

Flavor:
The flavors are definitely a complex mix, so they’re sort of hard to pick out on this one. I definitely taste some cedar, earth, and leather with pepper and spice towards the end of the draw and into the aftertaste. Actually more spice on the back of the throat than pepper taste on the tongue. As you let the flavor of the cigar linger in your mouth, I pick up a walnut taste with a hint of bitter (in a good way) on that after aftertaste. Getting past the beginning and towards the first third, the flavors are a bit more toasty and the spice and pepper have mellowed some. Arriving at about the third and there is definite toastiness with spice and earth. Between the first third and the half, the spice and pepper have mellowed and it’s mostly a toasty earthiness with some earth and leather. This stick definitely has a long aftertaste – it’s not overly strong, just right, but it sticks around for quite some time… and I love good aftertastes. I read somewhere that this stick is “buttery smooth” and just past the half way point I’m definitely getting a buttery smoothness feeling left behind in my mouth as I exhale the creamy smoke. It may sound a little weird, but I like it. A definite cedar taste on the tongue with a bunch of leather and a hint of spice now. Those flavors continued throughout the remainder of the stick with the buttery smoothness and long aftertaste.

Overall/Value:
Retail price for this stick is almost $10 and that’s most definitely steep. Luckily the ones I picked up were part of samplers and were more in the $2.50 – 3.00 range. If I want to make these a serious addition to the regular rotation I’m going to have to find them on sale somewhere – and that somewhere isn’t CI (at least I haven’t seem then on sale yet). The bid site currently has a special running, but I have no clue where the price will end…. Anyways, at retail, it’s steep. At under $3, it’s a steal. This is a complex stick with lots of flavors – they change throughout the smoke and they’re always well balanced. If you like cedar, spice, leather and buttery smoothness with creamy smoke, this stick is for you.

Retail Price: $9.75

Appearance: (4.75/5)
Construction: (4/5)
Aroma: (7.75/10)
Burn/Ash: (7.5/10)
Draw/Smoke: (17/20)
Flavor: (32.75/35)
Overall/Value: (13/15)
Final Score: (86.75/100)