6" x 54 ring gauge / $13.15, Burns Tobacconist
"Manifesto"...a word fraught with meaning...a "public declaration of principles and intentions, often political in nature." 262 Cigars made public their manifesto when they first burst on the scene about two years ago...now they have applied the word to a special cigar. This is a limited release stick that is reportedly only going to be available in 10 stores nationwide and only 262 boxes of 10 cigars are supposed to be made. That limited availability is reflected in the extra premium price tag. When I looked at the makeup of this cigar, my heart fell a bit...lots of Honduran in there. Not that this is always bad, but I've just found way too many Honduran-heavy cigars that don't do much for me. Not to minimize those folks that really enjoy a good Honduran cigar...it's just not a flavor profile that normally works well for me. But there are exceptions...this has Jalapa and Esteli Nicaraguan as well as Trojes Honduran filler leaf; dual binders, one Indonesian and one Honduran Criollo 98; and a Honduran Criollo 98 wrapper. I'm smoking one for this review...and I was further disheartened to find it had a large crack in the wrapper near the foot. I didn't see this until I got it home and took it out to smoke it. It will not count off on appearance and I will take it into consideration when I evaluate construction. If construction turns out too bad, I will smoke a second for this review.
The band almost has the look of an old document, but the glossy paper kind of ruins the effect. I wonder if it would have been more impressive looking with an actual parchment-like paper for the band. Do most cigar smokers think of these things? Probably not, but I've been in graphic design and printing for about 15 years, so I notice little things. More importantly, the wrapper leaf had a nice amount of oils and mostly small to medium sized veins. The aroma from the leaf was great...a rich earthy, woody scent, while the foot had more chocolate and coffee notes. I elected to use my Xikar XV for this one; the v-cut gave a great draw and...wow, what is that flavor? I detected some sweetness, almost a fruity quality to it. Very, very interesting and not at all what I had expected.
I lit up using a soft flame and got a nice sweet tobacco right up front. There was an earthy base and a decent amount of red pepper flake spiciness on the palate, and cedar and more spice on the retrohale. What I don't like about a lot of Honduran leaf is the tendency for flavors to be dull and muted; this was not a problem here at the beginning of the 262 Manifesto. Midway through the first third, I noticed that sweet fruit flavor I got in the prelight, but mostly the first third was earthy, spicy and cedary. I had to make a few corrections due to the wrapper split, but I got through the area with no major problems and will deduct no points for this issue since I have no idea when or where it happened.
As I moved through the second third, I started hearing little pops and saw that the crack at the bottom wasn't the only one. Unfortunately, about 3 more cracks became evident and started to systematically tear the wrapper apart as it heated up. Did someone drop this cigar before I bought it? Hopefully the whole box didn't get dropped at some point, because that could damage everything in it. What a bummer! The flavor did continue mostly in the same vein...a little less spice, but lots of earth and fruit notes.
In the last third, a dry earthiness was the most prominent flavor, but there were still notes of sweetness from time to time and the pepper spice made a bit of a return. This cigar does prove that there are some very good Honduran-heavy cigars on the market. It is really up to the blender to find the bet ways to use the leaf to get a pleasing result. The Manifesto used Nicaraguan filler to good effect, giving plenty of body and spice. It was medium to full in body with just over a medium amount of strength, making it an easy smoke to enjoy for all but the newest smokers. The only issue I have is the price...like I said before, limited quantity does explain it, though...you make fewer of an item, the factory charges you more per piece. I wish they were going to make this a regular production item in a variety of sizes, but perhaps the appropriate tobaccos just are not available. As it is...enjoy them while they are around.
Body: 7/10
Strength: 6/10
Complexity: 8/10
AFP Scale
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9/10
Update: I did end up buying another Manifesto at the event last Thursday and was planning on smoking it over the weekend so I could add this update to the review...basically relating how it performed when not damaged. So I took the cigar out of the cellophane on Sunday afternoon...and found it cracked in several places. I have no idea what is going on with these...I’m guessing a box or part of a box was dropped on the floor at some point in their lifespan and caused the damage. I would find it hard to believe they would come that way from the factory regularly, but I seem to have been unlucky enough to get two in a row...and the only two I’ve bought. The manager at Burns is letting me bring this one back in for exchange...hopefully there will be enough left that I’ll be able to get another Manifesto and provide a second update to this review in the next couple weeks.
"Manifesto"...a word fraught with meaning...a "public declaration of principles and intentions, often political in nature." 262 Cigars made public their manifesto when they first burst on the scene about two years ago...now they have applied the word to a special cigar. This is a limited release stick that is reportedly only going to be available in 10 stores nationwide and only 262 boxes of 10 cigars are supposed to be made. That limited availability is reflected in the extra premium price tag. When I looked at the makeup of this cigar, my heart fell a bit...lots of Honduran in there. Not that this is always bad, but I've just found way too many Honduran-heavy cigars that don't do much for me. Not to minimize those folks that really enjoy a good Honduran cigar...it's just not a flavor profile that normally works well for me. But there are exceptions...this has Jalapa and Esteli Nicaraguan as well as Trojes Honduran filler leaf; dual binders, one Indonesian and one Honduran Criollo 98; and a Honduran Criollo 98 wrapper. I'm smoking one for this review...and I was further disheartened to find it had a large crack in the wrapper near the foot. I didn't see this until I got it home and took it out to smoke it. It will not count off on appearance and I will take it into consideration when I evaluate construction. If construction turns out too bad, I will smoke a second for this review.
The band almost has the look of an old document, but the glossy paper kind of ruins the effect. I wonder if it would have been more impressive looking with an actual parchment-like paper for the band. Do most cigar smokers think of these things? Probably not, but I've been in graphic design and printing for about 15 years, so I notice little things. More importantly, the wrapper leaf had a nice amount of oils and mostly small to medium sized veins. The aroma from the leaf was great...a rich earthy, woody scent, while the foot had more chocolate and coffee notes. I elected to use my Xikar XV for this one; the v-cut gave a great draw and...wow, what is that flavor? I detected some sweetness, almost a fruity quality to it. Very, very interesting and not at all what I had expected.
I lit up using a soft flame and got a nice sweet tobacco right up front. There was an earthy base and a decent amount of red pepper flake spiciness on the palate, and cedar and more spice on the retrohale. What I don't like about a lot of Honduran leaf is the tendency for flavors to be dull and muted; this was not a problem here at the beginning of the 262 Manifesto. Midway through the first third, I noticed that sweet fruit flavor I got in the prelight, but mostly the first third was earthy, spicy and cedary. I had to make a few corrections due to the wrapper split, but I got through the area with no major problems and will deduct no points for this issue since I have no idea when or where it happened.
As I moved through the second third, I started hearing little pops and saw that the crack at the bottom wasn't the only one. Unfortunately, about 3 more cracks became evident and started to systematically tear the wrapper apart as it heated up. Did someone drop this cigar before I bought it? Hopefully the whole box didn't get dropped at some point, because that could damage everything in it. What a bummer! The flavor did continue mostly in the same vein...a little less spice, but lots of earth and fruit notes.In the last third, a dry earthiness was the most prominent flavor, but there were still notes of sweetness from time to time and the pepper spice made a bit of a return. This cigar does prove that there are some very good Honduran-heavy cigars on the market. It is really up to the blender to find the bet ways to use the leaf to get a pleasing result. The Manifesto used Nicaraguan filler to good effect, giving plenty of body and spice. It was medium to full in body with just over a medium amount of strength, making it an easy smoke to enjoy for all but the newest smokers. The only issue I have is the price...like I said before, limited quantity does explain it, though...you make fewer of an item, the factory charges you more per piece. I wish they were going to make this a regular production item in a variety of sizes, but perhaps the appropriate tobaccos just are not available. As it is...enjoy them while they are around.
Body: 7/10
Strength: 6/10
Complexity: 8/10
AFP Scale
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9/10
Update: I did end up buying another Manifesto at the event last Thursday and was planning on smoking it over the weekend so I could add this update to the review...basically relating how it performed when not damaged. So I took the cigar out of the cellophane on Sunday afternoon...and found it cracked in several places. I have no idea what is going on with these...I’m guessing a box or part of a box was dropped on the floor at some point in their lifespan and caused the damage. I would find it hard to believe they would come that way from the factory regularly, but I seem to have been unlucky enough to get two in a row...and the only two I’ve bought. The manager at Burns is letting me bring this one back in for exchange...hopefully there will be enough left that I’ll be able to get another Manifesto and provide a second update to this review in the next couple weeks.
Looking forward to these. Hope my box is in the mailbox when I get home.
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