Olor Del Cibao Cuban Seed Tequila Review

March 25, 2008 at 2:00 am (Cigars, Reviews)

If you think the name of this cigar sounds familiar, but you can’t place it, don’t worry, you haven’t lost your mind. (Or at least this review was not the straw that broke the camels back.) Because a while back I covered the Olor Del Cibao Cuban Seed Churchill in my infamous four-cigar mega review. But this Cuban Seed cigar is different than the churchill I smoked back in September. The first clue is that it’s box-pressed. The second is that it’s infused with Tequila.

And as with the Olor Del Cibao cigar reviews before, the cigars for this review were generously provided buy my friends over at Tex Cigars. While Tex Cigars is flush with all the Olor Del Cibao cigars you could ever need, they have plenty of other cigars, and at great prices. (Rumor has it, they have the best Tatuaje prices anywhere.) So go check ’em out, and tell ’em I sent ya.

Cigar Stats:
Size: 7 x 54
Wrapper: Dominican Republic Cuban seed
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Dominican Republic
Smoking Time:1 3/4 hours
Beverage: Water
Price: ~$4.40 (buy them here)

Nicely packed

The Pre-Smoke
After the standard Olor Del Cibao band, the first thing you noticed about this cigar is the rounded corners of the box press. A closer examination of the cigar reveals a very rustic looking wrapper. Full of light hues of tan intermixed with deeper shades of brown, the cigar has an almost rustic leathery look to it. Much more so than the aforementioned Churchill.

In the hand the cigar feels both substantial and surprisingly smooth. The cigar is pretty firm, but has a good amount of give to it. Looking at the foot, you can tell it’s very nicely packed with tobacco.

The scent of the wrapper does smell like tequila, as you might expect. But also not as pungently or obvious as you would expect from an infused cigar. Out of curiosity, I tasted the cap before cutting it. It tasted like a sweet margarita. Almost like a margarita-flavored candy. This flavor was reinforced and magnified in the cold taste. Man, I’m glad I like margaritas!

The Burn
One thing I looked out for while smoking this cigar was the billowing river of smoke that I got from some Olor Del Cibao cigars in the past. I was very pleased to find that these cigars smoked in a much more tame, reasonable manner. It seems that previous issues with dry cigars due to shipping complications have been nicely resolved.

Generally speaking the burn line was pretty good on this cigar. It strayed a bit at points, but always self corrected. And the ash was both attractive and solid, hanging on for impressive inch and a half before dropping the first two times. And I can’t complain about the draw either. Not too loose, not to tight, just right.

The Flavor
The cigar opened up with a sweet, creamy citrus flavor that was actually pretty pleasant, and the finish seemed to last a rather long time on the palate between puffs. The cigar progressed with a very cool creamy smoke that continued to be flavored like a sweet margarita. As the first third came to a close, the smoke was still cool and creamy, but the sweet margarita flavor had diminished to a slight tangy tingle in the finish.

The second third of this cigar still had the tell tale signs of a flavor-infused smoke, but it was less obvious. The flavor of tobacco was a bit more prominent, and some of the berry sweetness I detected seemed to come from the tobacco. The flavor of tequila was still subtly present in the creamy finish of the cigar.

As the cigar approached the final third the cigar took on a creamy papery sweetness. The tingle of tequila in the finish had all but disappeared at this point. In the final third, I was surprised to start tasting a bit of smooth toffee and cinnamon. As the cigar smoked through it’s final inches, I found it trending toward spiciness with some nutmeg, and the occasional re-appearance of some tequila flavor.

The Price
It’s hard to complain about a cigar priced under five dollars a stick. As is to be expected, the price for this tequila-infused cigar is a little more expensive than the churchill of the same name.

The Verdict
Over all I’d say this was a very pleasant smoke. I didn’t care as much for the initial artificial sweetness of the first third, but the cigar became an enjoyable smoke in the second third. I was actually impressed with the duration of the finish on this cigar. The creaminess and tangy tequila flavor really stays with you a long time after the puff.

I’ve done my share of dabbling with “flavored” or “infused” cigars, and I find this cigar superior to a number that I’ve tried. The three most similar were the ACID Blondie, the Slainte and the Erin Go Braugh, which are flavored like cloves, scotch and irish whiskey, respectively. The Olor Del Cibao is clearly comprised of better tobacco and tastes better than both the Slainte and Erin Go Braugh, and is less sweet and more palatable than the ACID Blondie.

I’d like to thank Tex Cigars for providing the cigars for this review. If you’re interested in trying these out, Jarrod will treat you right! And he happens to be the only retailer I know who carries these cigars! So head on over grab a box. Or if you’re feeling cautions, why not pick up the sampler of the Olor Del Cibao line. (It includes this cigar!)

Liked It: Yes
Buy It Again: Probably (I don’t smoke flavor-infused cigars that often.)
Recommend It: If you enjoy flavored or infused cigars, you should try these.

The Cigar In Action
Here for your viewing pleasure is the cigar slowly becoming ash.

More Cigar Review
If you enjoyed this cigar review, be sure to check out my Cigar Review Index for a complete listing of my reviews.

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