Robusto, 5" x 50 ring gauge, $8.25Xikar has long been known for their superb lighters and cutters; I personally have two different cutters and two different lighters from the company and am a committed "Xikar advocate" because of their lifetime warranty and fantastic customer service. In 2008, they teamed with Jesus Fuego to enter the cigar production field with the Defiance. Although it scored high in ratings, that cigar did not make the impact the company hoped for so they returned to the drawing boards to re-vamp the line in 2009. Teaming once again with Fuego, they released the HC Series in mid-year as a cigar that complements their HC Series accessories. There are 3 distinctive blends available, targeting mild, medium, and full-bodied cigar smokers, and denoted by the wrappers used on each cigar. Tomorrow and the next day, reviews of the Criollo (medium) and Habano Colorado (full) will appear on this blog; today's smoke is the Connecticut Shade. This cigar has been 5 years in the making and is meant to be slightly stronger than the average Connecticut stick, while staying true to the wrapper's character. It has filler from Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Mexico; a Sumatran binder; and a Connecticut-seed wrapper, grown in Ecuador.
The wrapper was not smooth in either texture or color on this cigar; there were quite a few lumps and bumps and the color was uneven and quite mottled in places. On the other hand, the dual bands were attractive and colorful. The aroma from the body was hay with a touch of barnyard; from the foot I detected cocoa and hint of coffee. The prelight draw was very good and free flowing; there were flavors of sweet hay and cedar and it left just a little spice on the lips.
Initial puffs were buttery smooth with lots of hay and cedar flavor, along with roasted nuts on the retrohale. While it started out fairly mild, it bumped up to more of a mild-to-medium well into the first third. The flavors were overwhelmingly of cedar and roasted nuts, along with a creamy smoke with a peppery undercurrent. The peppery heat continued to increase and the woody notes were joined by a nice creamy coffee flavor. By the end of the first third, I was completely blown away by the great flavor of this new offering from Xikar. If the rest of the stick was as good as the beginning, it would score very highly.
During the second third, the pepper faded a bit, but did not disappear completely. There were still some cedar and hay notes, but the coffee and roasted nuts increased to become most prevalent.
The HC Connecticut finished with an increase again in black pepper along with a nice mix of autumn spice on top of the brilliant nutty, woody base. It had a perfect burn line and draw the entire way. After years of ever-increasing body and strength in the cigar industry, it seems the trend right now is to produce more full-flavored and interesting mild-to-medium cigars; this stick is a very worthy addition to that trend and a fantastic addition to the Xikar cigar line. The only thing I counted against it was its less-than-attractive wrapper.
Body: 3/10
Strength: 6/10
Complexity: 9/10
AFP Scale:
Prelight: 1.5/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9.5/10
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