Pyramid, 6" x 53 ring gauge / approx. $8.25
I went through the general background of this cigar in Tuesday's review of the Habano Oscuro version. Pretty much everything is the same for this Rosado version with the exception of the wrapper. The filler and binder are Nicaraguan, this wrapper is a Habano Rosado grown in Ecuador, they were blended by Don Pepin Garcia and assembled at the My Father cigar factory in Nicaragua. Thank you again to my friend, G.C. Puffs who sent me the two samples I smoked for this review.
The banding on this cigar was basically the same as the Oscuro version, except the Habano Rosado uses a burgundy color scheme instead of blue. This does make them easy to tell apart at a glance, but the design keeps them in the same family. This is something I am a fan of, since I might have dozens of different lines of cigars in my humidor at a time and being able to tell them apart quickly is a major plus. The wrapper leaf was lighter, as expected...almost a caramel color with just a hint of red in certain lights. It was oilier to the touch than to the eye and the veins were smaller overall than in the Oscuro version, although there were till a couple larger ones. The wrapper had a pleasant sweet earthiness to it, while I got a stronger barnyard earthiness and notes of chocolate on the foot. Both times I cut the heads of the two samples of the Habano Rosado, I noticed that it caused splits in the wrapper; the first time nearly fatal, the second time smaller, but still concerning. These were kept in the same location as the Oscuro for the same amount of time and I had no trouble with those...or any of the other cigars stored with them for that matter. Bottom line seems to be that this Rosado leaf is very delicate. The cold draw was good and I got mildly earthy flavors along with a grassy natural tobacco note.
Speaking of grass, it did smell a bit like grass (not the type you mow) while I lit up. Once going, I got a mild pepper spice under a mound of earth and hay on the palate, along with a sharp red pepper bite and roasted nuts on the nose. As the first third progressed I noticed a strong cedar flavor developing and it reminded me again of the Nestor Miranda Collection in that the Special Selection, Dominicano, and 1989 are all available in Rosado and Oscuro wrappers and in every case I liked the Oscuro more. The same thing was happening here. Although I can see how some people might gravitate toward the Rosado, it clearly was not hitting my taste buds in as positive a manner as the Oscuro. Halfway through the first third, the ash unceremoniously dropped, narrowly avoiding my lap. That would bear paying attention to the rest of the way.
The weak ash did continue through the second third and I also noticed it being excessively flaky. I was careful and avoided getting an iPad covered with ash. The flavors of the El Tiante Habano Rosado continued to be woody and grassy in the second third, along with a dash of pepper spice.
In the final third, the cigar got more earthy, more of what you usually expect from a mostly Nicaraguan stick, but the cedar on the palate was still dominant...and still the thing that did not work for me. Construction-wise, the split that started when I clipped the cigar became a constant hassle as I tried to keep it from widening and the ash continued to be flaky. If it was just this stick, I would probably mostly given it a pass, but the first sample had serious splitting and burn problems so it makes me wonder if this wrapper is just too fragile. The body was medium but the cigar had a bigger nicotine hit than the Oscuro version, making it hard to recommend for newbies. As with all cigars, your palate is not my palate...you might find the flavor of this one quite to your liking and the only way you will find out is to try it. For myself, I'll stick with the Oscuro version.
Body: 6/10
Strength: 8/10
Complexity: 6/10
AFP Scale
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 1/2
Flavor: 3/5
Value: .5/1
Total: 6.5/10
I went through the general background of this cigar in Tuesday's review of the Habano Oscuro version. Pretty much everything is the same for this Rosado version with the exception of the wrapper. The filler and binder are Nicaraguan, this wrapper is a Habano Rosado grown in Ecuador, they were blended by Don Pepin Garcia and assembled at the My Father cigar factory in Nicaragua. Thank you again to my friend, G.C. Puffs who sent me the two samples I smoked for this review.
The banding on this cigar was basically the same as the Oscuro version, except the Habano Rosado uses a burgundy color scheme instead of blue. This does make them easy to tell apart at a glance, but the design keeps them in the same family. This is something I am a fan of, since I might have dozens of different lines of cigars in my humidor at a time and being able to tell them apart quickly is a major plus. The wrapper leaf was lighter, as expected...almost a caramel color with just a hint of red in certain lights. It was oilier to the touch than to the eye and the veins were smaller overall than in the Oscuro version, although there were till a couple larger ones. The wrapper had a pleasant sweet earthiness to it, while I got a stronger barnyard earthiness and notes of chocolate on the foot. Both times I cut the heads of the two samples of the Habano Rosado, I noticed that it caused splits in the wrapper; the first time nearly fatal, the second time smaller, but still concerning. These were kept in the same location as the Oscuro for the same amount of time and I had no trouble with those...or any of the other cigars stored with them for that matter. Bottom line seems to be that this Rosado leaf is very delicate. The cold draw was good and I got mildly earthy flavors along with a grassy natural tobacco note.
Speaking of grass, it did smell a bit like grass (not the type you mow) while I lit up. Once going, I got a mild pepper spice under a mound of earth and hay on the palate, along with a sharp red pepper bite and roasted nuts on the nose. As the first third progressed I noticed a strong cedar flavor developing and it reminded me again of the Nestor Miranda Collection in that the Special Selection, Dominicano, and 1989 are all available in Rosado and Oscuro wrappers and in every case I liked the Oscuro more. The same thing was happening here. Although I can see how some people might gravitate toward the Rosado, it clearly was not hitting my taste buds in as positive a manner as the Oscuro. Halfway through the first third, the ash unceremoniously dropped, narrowly avoiding my lap. That would bear paying attention to the rest of the way.The weak ash did continue through the second third and I also noticed it being excessively flaky. I was careful and avoided getting an iPad covered with ash. The flavors of the El Tiante Habano Rosado continued to be woody and grassy in the second third, along with a dash of pepper spice.
In the final third, the cigar got more earthy, more of what you usually expect from a mostly Nicaraguan stick, but the cedar on the palate was still dominant...and still the thing that did not work for me. Construction-wise, the split that started when I clipped the cigar became a constant hassle as I tried to keep it from widening and the ash continued to be flaky. If it was just this stick, I would probably mostly given it a pass, but the first sample had serious splitting and burn problems so it makes me wonder if this wrapper is just too fragile. The body was medium but the cigar had a bigger nicotine hit than the Oscuro version, making it hard to recommend for newbies. As with all cigars, your palate is not my palate...you might find the flavor of this one quite to your liking and the only way you will find out is to try it. For myself, I'll stick with the Oscuro version.
Body: 6/10
Strength: 8/10
Complexity: 6/10
AFP Scale
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 1/2
Flavor: 3/5
Value: .5/1
Total: 6.5/10
I already used my Oil Can Boyd joke on Tuesday. Oh, well. Great review. I'd definitely give these a try if I came across them.
ReplyDeleteI'd never heard of this stick up until now. Thanks for the review.
ReplyDeleteI've never seen the El Tiante locally, but will keep them in mind. Absolutely hate those wrapper splits from cutting.
ReplyDeleteNew stick in my book sound interesting maybe I can find these close to home
ReplyDelete