I bought this cigar at a local store that sells almost everything. I was far away from my humidor, was craving a smoke and overpaid for it. I knew nothing of the stick except it was a Bolivar and had the logo of Simon Bolivar. I had to do some research on what the name of this cigar really was because I had bought it solely knowing it was a Bolivar. I could only find the Non-Cuban Bolivar ones with the golden band of a shield and medallions. I had to dig to reference this Non-Cuban because the Cuban version has the same band only with Habana below Simon Bolivar's image. This one has Since 1895 below Simon Bolivar's image.
Cuban Bolivar band: "Habana" text below the image of Simon Bolivar
Non-Cuban Bolivar band (blended by Estelo Padron): Image of Simon Bolivar, no Habana text, instead shows "Since 1895"
Non-Cuban Bolivar band (blended by Daniel Nunez): Golden shield with medallions below
Above Source in Bold: NCRadioMan from www.cigarasylum.com for this clarification.
Vitola: Parejo (Closes to a Robusto though slightly larger in length=5" and ring gauge=54)
Price: $4+/- stick
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sumatra
Binder: Connecticut
Filler: Honduran, Nicaragua
Aged in Humidor: N/A
You look at this stick and to put it bluntly and potty mouthed: it looks like a big piece of molded turd with a band around it. It reminded me of a bigger, uglier version of the Cohiba Red Dot I smoked last month. The wrapper appears more Maduro than Sumatra, it's deep brown. The veins do show themselves to present the wrapper as a leaf but not heavily. The cigar is symmetrically proportioned, the cap smooth and bonds with the body. It is solid, heavy and big. The filler has a lighter tone of light brown. The draw is good, it burns at a moderate pace and ash stays at a cone shape with bits disappearing but holds from one inch to two inches.
Tasting Notes:
I smell it before lighting, the wrapper is giving off a light scent of spicy caramelized fermented tobacco leaves. The filler from the foot where you light gives off a slightly different scent: tobacco leaves mixed in with a rawer version of warm bread. The first draw gives off flavors of tea and toast. I begin to think this might be an okay cigar based on the first draw. However, the first inch and a half showed to be terrible, there was no flavor aspect except notes of tobacco. The first phase was almost pungent, made me want to give up and toss the whole thing out. But I decided to hang in there and let it burn for a while.
With now two inches burnt out, remember this is only a five inch stick, I am beginning to get leathery and spicy notes. The tobacco flavor is hitting hard and this is where I can call it meaty in terms of smoke, remember 54RG, and charcoal burnt meaty. This is the point where it becomes good, it now gives off aromas of roasted cashew and hints of a very light floral aroma, rose like, rotating in with pepper on my tongue and hints of cinnamon without any sweet notes to it. The cigar is still very meaty at this point.
I take it to the nub until it begins to get bitter and dump it. I was curious to find it's complete flavor spectrum. This is a strong cigar, with bold flavors, subtle in complexity and you will have to be patient and hunt for the flavors. It gave me a light headed spell and made me walk a little wobbly after smoking it for a bit over an hour. Luckily, I was close to home and when I went home, that 30 minute nap was so nice. This cigar is terrible, on the good side. I am going to give it two ratings: a 77 for enjoyability, complexity and flavor. It gets a 84 for being harsh, abrasive, subtle and strong.
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