Juan Sosa, the creator of this cigar brand, originally produced these cigars in Miami in 1964. In 1974, he moved the production operation to Santiago, in the Dominican Republic. These cigars continue to be manufactured by the Sosa Family in the DR, and are distributed by the JC Newman family of cigars.

This cigar possesses an oily, medium-brown Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper that is leathery to the touch. Some darker mottling, or tortoise shell-ing, is apparent within the wrapper and a golden hue is visible emanating from the vicinity of the leaf veins. The cigar feels adequately packed and has a slight "give" when gently squeezed.

The pre-light aroma from the wrapper is light and woody, but the foot gives off some heavier nuances of pepper spice. The pre-light draw is easy, but not loose and the flavors of wood, leather and pepper spice tantalize the palate.

This cigar begins with large amounts of smoke. Light woodsy flavors dominate the palate at this point, while pepper spice is evident in the retrohale. Sweetness can be detected in the aftertaste but gradually decreases as other flavors become stronger.

By the 1/3rd point, the spiciness in the retrohale diminishes, but begins its shift to the back of your throat, where it settles in for the remainder of the cigar as pepper spice. The wood flavor continues to build and, at the 2/3rd point, a cedar nuance can be detected. These flavors and nuances continue to the finish, which is spicy, medium-full in body, and medium in flavor.

The burn on this cigar had little, or no issues. The burn-line was always consistent, with no scalloping or uneven burn. The ash looked like extruded cement with no cracking or feathering. If left unattended for a short period, the ash would fall off prematurely, but that is not unlike many cigars.

I am pleased on how well these cigars have aged and remained consistent from cigar to cigar for the most part. I did have one that didn't measure-up in the last review, but I have smoked many of them since then in order to obtain this last review. I have even likened these cigars to a Diamond Crown Maximus in both appearance and flavor profile (I've been wrong before). I believe that they will age well for 5 years, or better.

AGING POTENTIAL SCORE: B = This cigar should age well over the next 5 years and is likely to develop further complexity and nuances

~Blake