Cigar Extra: 1502 Ruby

Robusto, 5” x 50 ring gauge / MSRP ~$6.50

One of the late signers to be a sponsor of the 2012 Chattanooga Tweet-Up was a brand I had never heard of: 1502 Cigars, also known under the parent company name of Global Premium Cigars. They sent samples of all three of their inaugural lines to us for the event and I was able to get one of each for sampling. With the very full reviewing schedule in front of me, I decided to give these a Cigar Extra treatment on consecutive Fridays at this point...then Keith or I might revisit one or more of them down the road. First a bit of history:

Christopher Columbus discovered Nicaragua in 1502, which is where the name of the brand comes from. GPC is uniting the precious metals and stones of European currency with the agricultural products--tobacco in this case--used for currency in the New World. They are “Proudly Nicaraguan” in production and flavor profile. The Ruby is composed of tobaccos from Jalapa and Esteli, with a dark Ecuadorian wrapper. The cigar was box-pressed fairly sharply and had a fairly papery texture to the leaf, with just a little bit of oiliness. The aroma from the wrapper was rich earthiness, while the foot had a more pungent barnyard note.

Lighting up, the 1502 Ruby gave me tons of the Nicaraguan earth and spice I have come to expect, but also a sweet fruit note that is more rare from Nicaraguan leaf. Was that imparted by the Ecuadorian wrapper? Could be...all the leaf brings something to the party. Whatever the case, though, I really loved how this cigar started out. I experienced the same thing on the first Ruby I had at the Tweet-Up and it’s even better on a cleaner palate. By the halfway mark, I was getting a pronounced citrus note, too, adding a little unexpected complexity to the profile.

The 1502 Ruby continued to serve up a nice mix of flavors, with cedar, earth and cocoa powder coming and going, but always keeping that citrus zing from the time it showed up until the very end. Overall, I enjoyed this one quite a bit and could see keeping it around on a regular basis. It was medium to full in body most of the way but ramped up a bit toward the end. If others in their line are more full bodied, it’s hard to know what to think of those. Next Friday I’ll take a look at the Emerald.

You can find out more about 1502 Cigars at the Global Premium Cigars Website and by following them on Twitter (@1502Cigars).