Released in the summer of 2007 at the RTDA in Houston, this Nicaraguan "puro" is distributed by Ashton Cigars. Over two years of development went into this cigar until being produced by José "Pepin" Garcia at the Tabacalera Cubana factory in Nicaragua. Packaged in cedar boxes of 22, it was a revolutionary new experience for the cigar smoker. This box was purchased within a month of the first release, and presently has over a year and a half of age on it.

The wrapper on this cigar is a waxy, chocolate-brown Nicaraguan. It is thick to the eye, and leathery to the touch. Light veining is evident along the body, with a slightly larger vein running the length of the cigar. I noted a small repair near the head, but it was expertly concealed. Somewhat "toothy," the cigar gives off an aroma that is, "nuttier than a rat turd in a peanut factory," from the foot and wrapper.

My Palió cutter continues to dominate large, triple-cap cigars, and this cigar was no exception. Slicing through the cap effortlessly, it leaves a nice, clean cut. The pre-light draw is firm, with nuances of cocoa and nuts.

This cigar begins with a medium, earthy flavor with a sweet, nutty nuance in the aftertaste. The retrohale of this cigar produces a "spice hammer" that is not unexpected, but it does get your attention. Once the spice settles down on the palate, a light sweetness begins to emerge, lightly enveloping the taste buds.

The characters appear to remain constant in flavor and body though most of the smoke, with the spiciness in the retrohale not diminishing as it had in previous reviews. As the cigar progressed to the two-thirds point, the flavors rapidly deepened to coffee and dark chocolate, finishing with lingering medium-full flavors and body.

This cigar produced a pearl-gray ash that was slightly loose, but maintained its structure until rolled-off into a clean pellet.

This cigar, with its thick, meaty wrapper burned as expected. It had some light blistering early on, and an occasional scalloped burn-line. On each cigar that I sampled for this review, I experienced a small "canoe" along the wrapper in the last two-thirds. I noticed that this occurred always at a seam, where the wrapper was slightly loose against the binder. In each instance, the cigar corrected itself and returned to normal.

This cigar produces some enjoyable flavors and characters and continues to age well. It appears to be opening-up as it continues to age and is displaying more well defined characters. We'll rate this cigar again after 6 months and assign it an "Aging Potential Score."

~Blake