Cigar Review: Xikar HC Series Habano Colorado

Toro, 6.5" x 52 ring gauge, $9.30
The last of the new Xikar HC Series is the Habano Colorado. This stick was developed by Jesus Fuego and Xikar to fit into the medium-to-full bodied niche. It utilizes a Habano Colorado wrapper from the Jalapa Valley of Nicaragua along with aged filler from Costa Rica and the Jalapa region and a binder from Esteli, Nicaragua. The HC Habano Colorado (HCHC?) is also in the only one of the HC series cigars that is available in 6 sizes; all 3 varieties are available in Lonsdale, Robusto, Belicoso, and Toro vitolas, and the HCHC is also available as Churchill and Petite Corona.

Of the 3 HC cigars, this is definitely the best-looking. The medium-dark brown is evenly-colored and makes the greatest impact visually. There are some largish veins, but probably nothing to worry about. The feel is velvety and oily The aroma from the body was barnyard and compost, while I got some rich chocolate aromas from the foot. The prelight draw was excellent and had flavors of chocolate and a little coffee; it also left a spicy tingle on the lips.

After lighting, I got some initial flavors of leather, sweet tobacco, and roasted nuts. These were joined a couple minutes later with some black pepper. Overall, the first third tasted heavily of leather. There were some pepper and nut notes, but nothing could come close to the flavor you get when chewing on a boot or wallet...okay, a little exaggeration, but just a little. There were also some occasional whiffs of manure from the smoke that came from the lit tip.

During the second third, the leather toned down a bit, allowing more woody and nutty flavors to come through. There was still a good amount of pepper underneath everything, too.

The last third saw the cedar flavor increase while the nuts decreased; the pepper stayed pretty steady. In all, I would say the HCHC hits the mark of being a medium-to-full bodied smoke, but I did not find that it was as full-flavored as the other two HC varieties. It was good, but did not blow me away with complexity and it seemed like there was a rather earthy quality to the whole proceeding that seemed to mute and muddy the flavors. Of the three, I would rate the Connecticut as my favorite, followed closely by the Criollo, with the Habano Corona bringing up the rear. It was not a bad cigar by any means, just not as good as the other two.

Body: 8/10
Strength: 7/10
Complexity: 7/10

AFP Scale:
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4/5
Value: .5/1
Total: 8.5/10