Belicoso, 5.5" x 52 ring gauge / $20.99, Maxamar'sToday I'll be reviewing something that is a little out of the norm for me. I don't smoke that many white label Davidoffs. However Amar, the owner of Maxamar's, gave me one of these to try. These cigars are this year's limited edition run and can be differentiated by the foot band with the year on it and the main band says "White Edition" on the side. They come packed in 10 count white laquered boxes. The cigar is comprised of Dominican San Vicente Ligero, Piloto Ligero, San Vicente Visus fillers, a Peruvian Corojo binder with a Dominican Criollo wrapper. Like I mentioned above this was my first one.
The wrapper on this sample was a very nice medium brown in color with a golden sheen to it. There was a good amount of oils to it along with more tooth than I'm used to seeing on a Davidoff. The wrapper had some medium and fine veins to it however there were more lumps and gathers than I'd like to see on a $20+ cigar. When I gave the cigar a squeeze I wasn't able to detect any soft spots and it was fairly firm. The wrapper gave off the aroma of leather while the foot smelled slightly of barnyard. After clipping the cigar and taking a cold draw on it I got a slight amount of sweetness and a good draw.
Lighting up the cigar brought a good amount of spice to the tongue and retrohale. After taking a couple puffs I got notes of leather, cinnamon, earth and a slightly creamy finish. The cigar was definitely stronger than what I'm used to in a Davidoff to start. A little way in I got a lot of tar on the head and had to recut it. The light grey ash held on for about a half an inch before needing to be tapped off. The draw was perfect and it produced a lot of smoke. Towards the end of the first third I started getting a slight herbal spice as well.
The second third of the cigar saw notes of leather, wood, and earth come through. The spice changed from a red pepper spice to a white pepper spice on the tongue and retrohale. The spice did tone down and a slight amount of sweetness came through. That is until the tar came back and I had to recut it again. The strength built to the bottom end of medium throughout this third.
As I moved into the final third the spice started ramping up especially on the tongue. The draw and burn continued to be pretty much perfect. The flavors changed slightly back to leather, earth, and cinnamon. Unfortunately the tar came back and I had to recut it again. The strength of the cigar built to the bottom end of full and I was getting a slight nicotine hit from it.
Overall I enjoyed the flavors a lot, which is something that I normally don't find in a Davidoff. However the amount of tar really bothered me and made it more difficult for me to relax and enjoy the cigar. The minor blemishes in the construction, while they didn't cause burn issues, shouldn't be there on a $20+ cigar. Because of the construction issue and the cost I don't know if I'd smoke it again. However if you get a chance and you want to give this cigar a try don't let my experience with it deter you from it.
Body: 8/10
Strength: 8/10
Complexity: 7/10
AFP Scale
Prelight: 1.5/2
Construction: 1/2
Flavor: 4/5
Value: .5/1
Total: 7/10
Thats a lot of money for a 7/10 stick nice write up, picture looks great
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