This cigar is the product of growing genetically pure Cuban seed tobaccos in the rich volcanic soil around Puriscal, Costa Rica. This mountainous area provides the ideal conditions for growing this unique tobacco. Tabacos de la Cordillera (Highland Cigar) is run by John Vogel, a plant geneticist with deep ties to Cuban tobacco, as well as other growers in the region.

This cigar is an attractive Toro that is medium brown or chestnut in color. The wrapper has a slight “toothy” appearance and possesses no obvious blemishes, while light veining is distinct along the body. Gently squeezing, the cigar gives gentle resistance along the barrel with no under-filling noted.

Before cutting the oversized double cap, I take a long, somewhat perverted snort at the foot of the cigar. The rich aroma of ripe tobacco and exotic spice fills my nasal cavity. I was genuinely intrigued and hypnotized by this wonderful aroma emanating from stick. It wasn't heavy, “perfume-y” or even reminiscent of a cattle feed lot, just intoxicating in itself.

I cut a suitable portion of the cap to take a pre-light draw. The draw proved to be firm, but workable, with a light nutty flavor combined with a cocoa and cinnamon nuance. The firm draw I knew would loosen somewhat as the cigar was consumed.

Carefully trying not to char the foot and bring unwanted flavors into this unique cigar, I bide my time with my lighter, using only the heat to ignite foot of the cigar until it can sustain combustion on its own. After allowing an even coal to emerge, I begin the journey on this final review.

I am immediately met with a blast of exotic spice, which settles down as fast as it started into light nutty flavors and a sweet undertone. A light cinnamon-like spiciness can be detected in the retrohale, and continues as a nuance as the cigar progresses. As the cigar burns into the halfway point, the characters deepen somewhat into that of coffee with a creamy sweet aftertaste. For a short moment in the first half, the cigar did give way to a tangy citrus-like flavor that was short-lived.

As the cigar progressed past the halfway point, the coffee flavors lighten, and take on some more woody tones with a sweet aftertaste. I've experienced with this cigar that these characters (coffee and wood) seem to fall back and forth onto each other, and that routinely “purging” the cigar seemed to sway the flavor back onto the woody side, while sweetening up the smoke. Not wanting to destroy my experience with this cigar by smoking it too far, I quit earlier than accustomed, and experience a short, full-flavored, woody finish.

This cigar produced a charcoal colored ash with a slight orange tint to it. I suspect that this “tinting” is due to the minerals in the soil in which it was grown. Some blistering along the burn line was noted in the first inch of the cigar, but soon corrected itself. The ash was firm, with no cracking or feathering, and provided some resistance to being removed.

I believe that this is a unique, one-of-a-kind cigar that every cigar lover should have in his or her humidor. Aging has opened-up the light characters within these unique tobaccos into a full-flavored experience that is both challenging and rewarding to the smoker. Smoking these cigars over time, helps one to develop a relationship with this cigar in order to recognize and expect certain characters within the evolution of the smoke. While many manufacturers claim to use “Cuban seeds,” the major difference in the seeds from Tabacos de la Cordillera is that they are “genetically pure” Cuban seeds that are grown in an equivalent type soil.

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

~Blake