Last week I took a look at a newer cigar carried only by Silo Cigars in Knoxville and a handful of other shops in the country that have been selected as “My Father Lounges.” This week I wanted to take a look back at an older cigar that Silo commissioned several years ago as their house blend: the Sudeste Cubano. This cigar was blended mostly by Willy Herrera of Titan de Bronze, with a little input from Pepin Garcia. The filler is Nicaraguan, the binder is Ecuadorian and the wrapper for this Maduro version is a Mexican San Andres (it is also available with an Ecuadorian Habano Sungrown wrapper). Paul, the owner of Silo, gave me this review sample when I was in the shop a few weeks ago. If you’re interested in buying some, I recommend getting in touch with him on Twitter, @SiloCigars.
The band is a unique thing, modern-looking maybe 10 years ago, but a little dated looking now. Still...even though it does seem to be stuck in a different time, I like it. Calling the wrapper a little veiny would be an understatement. There were a couple veins running down the side that made me wonder if the leaf had been rolled inside out. Combine that with puckers and stretches as well as slight gaps where the leaf overlaps and I would say this is not the most attractive cigar on the shelf. Getting past that, though, we get to some good stuff: the aroma coming off the wrapper is awesome. I got wave after wave or rich chocolate when I pulled the cellophane off this stogie. Putting the foot of the cigar to my nose, I got more strong cocoa notes along with coffee and earth. After cutting the Sudeste Cubano, I got a very good draw that was rich in chocolate and earthy flavors.
This cigar started out truly medium bodied with a mix of wood, leather, earth and chocolate flavors on the palate...lots of flavors but none of them were strong or dominant. It was almost like they were all somewhat muted and subdued. There was a little pepper spice on the retrohale, too, but just a little. As the first third was reduced to ash I noticed the earthy bitterness of the Mexican wrapper start to come into play. There was enough sweetness in the mix, though, to balance it well. I also got a bit an anise, or black licorice, note.
Before the first third was done I had to correct a fairly major canoe and I noticed that the ash was flaking off all over my lap and iPad...not something I'm a fan of. The draw was good, though. As the second third progressed I noticed more of the Mexican earthiness, along with an increase in cocoa powder and some pepper spice on my palate. The spice in the retrohale diminished; it was more nutty and cedary by this time.
As I smoked my way through the final third, I noticed the bitterness decrease quite a bit, replaced by a more mellow coffee note with an enhanced sweetness. Overall I would call this a very good cigar, surprising to me because of the wrapper variety. The Sudeste Cubano showed a high level of complexity with flavors coming and going, increasing and ebbing through. A very nice way to spend a summer afternoon...provided where you are smoking isn't too hot, that is. The body was medium to full pretty much the entire way and there was a decent amount of nicotine kick, but that may have had as much to do with the vitola as anything else...when you get this much tobacco, the amount of nicotine is bound to increase. At the moment, these are not in production, but I am told Silo Cigars in Knoxville still has quite a few on hand. The price is very good, too.
Body: 7/10
Strength: 7/10
Complexity: 8/10
AFP Scale
Prelight: 1.5/2
Construction: 1.5/2
Flavor: 4/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 8/10
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