Size: 5 X 52
Shape: Robusto
Origin: Dominican Republic
Body: Medium
Wrapper: Dominican Republic Habano Oscuro
Binder: Dominican Republic Habano
Filler: Dominican Republic (Corojo, Habano, Criollo 98)
Smoke Clock: 1 hr 10 mins
With the recent chilly resurgence, I was forced inside in order to enjoy my evening smoke. Fortunately for me, my local shop didn’t mind a bit. The smoke for the evening: PDR 1878 Capa Oscura.
The first thing I noticed about this stick was how attractive it was. A beautiful and rich color covered the wrapper and the pig tail and closed foot helped to make this a delightful stick to behold. Once I was done ogling it, I cut and dove in.
A pre-light sniff revealed notes of sugar, spice, and earthen undertones which had me raising my lighter quicker than a hound chasing a hare. As soon as fire struck tobacco, I tasted sugar cane with a hint of butter. What a start!
Progressing into the first quarter, the note of butter became more dominant. When the profile became overall creamy and the flavors began to mingle I tasted vanilla bean ice cream. Delicious!
As the stick progressed, I intermittently tasted hints of coffee and earth, while the profile remained dominantly vanilla bean in nature.
Advancing into the third quarter, the flavor profile remained much the same. The vanilla bean ice cream accompanied by coffee and earth notes, which served to enhance the delicious vanilla bean flavor, continued through the end of the cigar.
Even though this stick seemed relatively one-noted, it was extremely tasty and never became bitter. I only set this guy down because it was starting to burn my fingers. The only drawback was the burn. From start to finish, if the burn wasn’t wavy it was in a full out sprint. I had to touch it up two or three times. Despite the unfortunate burn, this stick provided this smoker with an excellent experience, one that I highly recommend you try yourself.
Rating:
Presentation: 9/10 – Now this, ladies and gents, is what I call a well presented cigar. The band is simple, well designed, attractive, and bold. If I walked into any B & M and glanced around the room I would immediately be able to spot this stick(if it was in plain sight, of course).
Appearance: 8/10 – As I stated earlier, this is one pretty stick. The wrapper is dark and oily with a well executed pig tail at the head and closed foot. However, two thick veins stood out and even though the seams were nearly invisible, they weren’t quite.
Construction: 31/35 – This stick was firm throughout but had a few soft spots, which indicated slightly inconsistent density. This may have accounted for the poor burn that I experienced with this stick. However, the draw was great, providing just a little bit of resistance.
Flavor: 43/45 – This blend was extremely well executed, providing me with a lot of delicious and consistent flavor throughout the entirety of the smoke. No bitterness was detected even down to the nub.
Overall: 91/100 – This cigar is masterfully blended, very attractive, and beautifully presented. This is a veritable home run in my book. If you haven’t tried this stick yet you are missing out.
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