Churchill, 7.5” x 50 ring gauge, approx. $9
Yesterday, I looked at the DiFazio Connecticut and one day, hopefully soon, I’ll be able to get my hands on a Maduro and be able to present a review of that cigar. Today, I will look at the most unique cigar in their initial lineup: the Picoso. The company’s website calls this a full-bodied smoking experience with strong flavors. It was made in Honduras using all Honduran tobaccos and debuted in 2009. Other than the fact that this is reputed to be the strongest of the 3 wrapper varieties, there really is no much information floating around about DiFazio in general or the Picoso in particular. In some ways, that makes this almost a “blind” smoking experience as I have nothing in the way of background information to give me preconceived notions.
Yesterday, I looked at the DiFazio Connecticut and one day, hopefully soon, I’ll be able to get my hands on a Maduro and be able to present a review of that cigar. Today, I will look at the most unique cigar in their initial lineup: the Picoso. The company’s website calls this a full-bodied smoking experience with strong flavors. It was made in Honduras using all Honduran tobaccos and debuted in 2009. Other than the fact that this is reputed to be the strongest of the 3 wrapper varieties, there really is no much information floating around about DiFazio in general or the Picoso in particular. In some ways, that makes this almost a “blind” smoking experience as I have nothing in the way of background information to give me preconceived notions.
The Picoso wrapper was a nice medium-brown with a reddish tinge to it. There was a minimal amount of mottling and a fairly light vein structure. Even though it had been in my humidor sans cello for 2 months the leaf still looked and felt fairly oily. The aroma from the wrapper was faint, but there was a touch of hay and barnyard. The foot was just as faint in aroma as the body--I really could not smell much of anything besides a very, very faint barnyard. The prelight draw was excellent; i got flavors of dried berries with a little mild cofee and autumn spice.
The Picoso lit easily and soon was giving up huge, billowing clouds of smoking along with flavors that I could not immediately identify, but I really enjoyed. What was that flavor? There was definitely a little black pepper, but also something sweet that was eluding me. The first third shaped up to be a spicy delight. There were definitely mild coffee flavors and some autumn spice that I tasted in prelight but also a sweetness that was either dried berries or raisins. Part of the problem may have been the Pepsi One I was enjoying with the cigar. Normally I drink water when reviewing in order to avoid this kind of interplay but it just sounded good today. It ended up working out very well.
There was more coffee in the second third and a slight reduction of the sweetness. The pepper spice took on a nice omnipresent supporting role. The smoke continued to be voluminous with a medium-to-fully body. The draw was great and the burn line was very even if not perfectly straight. The ash held on for close to an inch most of the time.
In the final third the spice went away completely but the sweetness of dried fruit came back a bit. overall, the Picoso was an excellent cigar that provided a steady stream of good flavor along with a decent body and a not insignificant amount of nicotine power. I am definitely glad I ate lunch before smoking this one and would not recommend it as a morning cigar or on an empty stomach. I would recommend it highly, though, to cigar enthusiasts looking for a smooth, flavorful, elegant smoke that is not quite like anything else on the market.
Body: 7/10
Strength: 8/10
Complexity: 7/10
AFP Scale
Prelight 2/2
Construction: /2
Flavor: 4.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9.5/10
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