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| INCH Series |
Last Friday I lit up the
Natural version to the
E.P. Carrillo INCH Series, and I can safely say that it was one of the best large ring gauge cigars I have had to date. As I have said countless times; I am not a fan of the big ring gauge cigars, and you will rarely find me smoking one. I believe that with smaller cigars you can get just as many, sometimes more, flavors; and you really get a lot of the wrapper in the flavor as well. Along with that, I have said countless times that I am not a fan of Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper cigars. I am not a fan of the wrapper, and that is partly due to the fact that a lot of Connecticut Broadleaf cigars are blended poorly in my opinion.
E.P. Carrillo was one of the manufacturers responsible for making me enjoying Connecticut Broadleaf maduro wrappers when he released the
Maduro Core Line, and today I am going to see if that enjoyment continues with this cigar.
As I said in my last post, the
No. 64 vitola is one inch in diameter, and the cigar is composed of tons of tobacco. Because the cigar is packed with so much tobacco, the initial release of this smoke is going to be limited, and will be limited to roughly 125,000 cigars this year. The
No. 64 is the largest cigar in the lineup, and measures 6 1/8" with the 64 ring gauge. The wrapper for the Maduro version is Connecticut Broadleaf, and has a binder from Nicaragua underneath that. The filler is blend of three varietals from the Dominican Republic, and composed Criollo '98, Corojo and Piloto Cubano tobacco. Along with the Dominican fillers, there is also some Nicaraguan viso present. The cigar has a lovely dark wrapper, and shows some solid Maduro qualities to it. There is some tooth present in the leaf, and there are few veins present in the leathery touch. There are great aromas of cocoa, damp wood, rich earth, leather and anise at the foot, an it is showing those rich Maduro aromas.
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| Nice CT. Broadleaf |
As I light up the cigar, the first thing I notice is the very easy draw and tons of smoke the cigar is producing. It is burning cool, and the flavors are really balanced and subtle due to the large ring gauge and massive amount of smoke. There is a nice cocoa and coffee flavor profile present with the cigar, and along with that there are some licorice and spice notes. I am getting some earthy and damp wood notes with the cigar as well, and there are some subtle cherry notes as well. It's very enjoyable thus far, very big, but enjoyable; and is smoking around a solid medium body level in terms of strength. There is a great burn line in the first third, and there is a nice light gray ash with the cigar as well.
In the second third of the cigar there is a change in the flavor profile, and the licorice notes are much more prominent than they were before. You can really pick up some great anise and spice notes, and there is some dark and damp wood notes with that. I typically find those flavors with a Connecticut Broadleaf cigar, and that is no surprise why they are present now. There are still some coffee and cocoa flavors present, but they are more subtle and in the background. The cigar is producing tons of smoke, and the burn line is just as perfect as can be. The ash is still that light gray color, and it is holding on to the cigar well. I am trying to make a collection of cigar ashes right now like Jose Blanco, so I am being careful not to drop on the floor and tap the ash in the tray. The strength of the cigar is remaining at a solid medium level, and it is very enjoyable.
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| lovely throughout |
In the final third of the cigar the flavors have made another change, but have kept those core flavors. The cigar is now showing those dominant coffee and cocoa flavors to it, and the licorice notes have really taken a back seat. There are some light spice notes in this third as well, and the damp wood notes are still present but in the background. It's really showing a lot of flavors all at once, very balanced, and very cool at the same time. There is tons of smoke coming off of the cigar, and it is still leaving that lovely light gray ash on a fairly even burn line. It is remaining at a solid medium body throughout the final third, and the finish of the cigar is flavorful and cool.
I am still blown away about how enjoyable this smoke was, and I know that sounds bad, but it is the truth. As I said from the beginning, I am not a gigantic fan of the wrapper type and ring gauge for this cigar, but the cigar really showed the great qualities because of those factors. I found that with a larger ring gauge it balanced off the flavors from the wrapper with the great filler tobacco, and the wrapper really added a nice twist to the filler tobacco in the cigar. With the blending being identical to the
Natural version, this cigar was very different, and that shows you the wonders a wrapper can play on a cigar. While I would prefer the
Natural version over this smoke more often than not, this cigar was still very enjoyable and performed just as well. I give this cigar a solid 90, and would definitely recommend it to smokers looking for a cigar within these parameters.
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| No. 64 Maduro |
*Cigar for this assessment provided to me by E.P. Carrillo for review
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