Cigar Extra: Ezra Zion Inception

Gran Robusto, 5.25" x 50 ring gauge / approx. $9, Cigar Man
Keith published a full review of the Inception a few months ago, before they became a distribution partner of Emilio Cigars; you can read his take on it HERE. I heard about Ezra Zion from Keith during the weeks after the IPCPR show last August. He had mentioned them to me and then he published that review. I didn't think too much else about them until the announcement of the Reagan cigar...then I knew I was going to have to sample their lines. Of course, when they signed on with Emilio, it also became an issue of being able to intelligently talk about when the company offers. I was able to pick up an Inception and a couple Reagans a few weeks ago.

My hat's off to the designers for Ezra Zion...they've done a great job of making an attractive and interesting logo with a minimum of colors: literally I think I'm seeing black ink, metallic silver ink and silver foil...and that's it. The wrapper looks great, light in color, but not as light as a Connecticut Shade and slightly oily to the touch. It had a sweet molassesy aroma to it, while the foot had a strong cedar and aged tobacco aroma. The Inception has all Nicaraguan leaf in the makeup: Corojo 99 from the 2007 crop for the wrapper and first binder, Criollo 98 from the 2006 crop for the second binder, and 2007 crop (Corojo 99 again?) Medio Tiempo, Viso, and Ligero for the filler. The straight cut gave an excellent draw that had flavors of cedar and well-aged tobacco along with a slight pepper spice.

Once lit, the Inception had (surprise!) a lot of cedar flavor, along with plenty of spice, but there was something else there, too. The aged tobacco was rich and flavorful, but not nearly as earthy as I normally expect from Nicaraguan puros. Instead there was a mild citrus taste and a bit of molasses sweetness. The body seemed around medium at the start and the spiciness seemed like it might just be getting rolling.

The pepper spice and the great flavors of rich, natural tobacco and cedar continued throughout the Inception, along with a great balancing sweetness. Truly a great cigar that I will enjoying smoking plenty of for a very long time.