Wrapper: San Andres
Binder: Mexican Criollo ‘98
Filler: Nicaraguan Criollo ‘98
Vitola: 6.5 x 54
Purchase Link: Casa Turrent 1880
CASA TURRENT 1880 REVIEW – CALIFORNIA
Summary: This cigar feels noticeably heavier than expected, so it must be packed with tobacco. Draw is spot on. Cherry wood, red pepper, brown sugar, and cream. Root beer. This cigar is giving me all the right kinds of sweetness, kind of like bread pudding. It's starting to tunnel ever so slightly so I'm relighting the end of the wrapper and praying it doesn't get out of hand.
The second third begins more savory than sweet. Floral notes are moving in now. Is there anything this cigar doesn't have? There's a subtle "stay fresh packet" flavor, but it's not excessively chemical in taste.
Final third has mainly oak and floral notes. Not too complex at the finish but it's still scrumptious.
If You Like That, You Might Like This: Coming from behind for a fantasy football victory.
Pairing Suggestion: Rye.
Purchase Recommendation to a Friend: Box.
CASA TURRENT 1880 REVIEW – WISCONSIN
Summary: Before I lit this cigar up, it smelled strongly of barnyard. It was pretty impressive just how much barnyard fragrance there was. That flavor didn't translate into the cigar, but what an aroma!
In the flavor department, there was: coffee, spice, leather, cedar, sweet cream, vanilla, cinnamon, earth, black tea, chocolate, yeastiness, and hay. There was also a distinct sour note that pervaded throughout. Many of the flavors were good on their own, but they didn't come together well for my palate.
On the construction front, it had a perfect draw. The burn got a bit wild at times, usually correcting itself but needing some attention.
If You Like That, You Might Like This: If you like sour porters, there might be something here for you.
Pairing Suggestion: Cola.
Purchase Recommendation to a Friend: Single.
CASA TURRENT 1880 REVIEW – OREGON
Summary: The smell from the wrapper of this cigar was really interesting...natural tobacco and dish soap. I was a bit concerned quite honestly. However, once I tried the cold draw, oatmeal cookies with a little bit of molasses set my mind more at ease.
After lighting the cigar, damp cedar, dark fruit notes and over-baked sugar cookies built a enjoyable experience for me. In retro-haled smoke, fresh bread and a touch of pepper spice were evident. Unfortunately, while the cigar was producing a decent amount of smoke, the burn line became erratic before I even had one inch of ash on the stick. All through the first third of the cigar, it required a lot of maintenance and it finally went out right about the end of the first third.
Once relit, the profile took a new turn with warm cedar, gingersnaps cookies and pepper spice creating a great combo of flavors. It began producing more smoke and as I neared the middle of the cigar the profile shifted a bit. Dark fruit notes returned along with a long leather finish on the palate.
The final section of the cigar found natural tobacco notes as the dominant flavor, however, black pepper spices, molasses and baked oatmeal cookie flavors made short appearances as well...along with multiple burn corrections.
If You Like That, You Might Like This: If you like this then you probably dig moderately complex, full bodied cigars.
Pairing Suggestion: Pair this with hot chai in the morning or a spicy ale in the evening.
Purchase Recommendation to a Friend: 5 pack... the burn issues and the relight are really the only thing keeping me from recommending a box of these.
Participants in this blind review were completely unaware of the cigar they were evaluating until all submissions were received and processed. Each participant was asked to answer a summary paragraph, an if/than statement, a pairing suggestion, and a purchase suggestion. Cigars were provided by Small Batch with only the expectations of candid responses. All pictures, information, and formatting were completed by a Coordinator outside of the reviewing process.
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