Espinosa

Laranja Reserva

The draw on this one was much smoother than ones I've had in the past. Flavor notes proved of cedar, citrus, and solid spice. Turned out to be a pretty decent smoke.

Started off with a tight draw but settled down quickly. Flavor notes proved of cedar, citrus, and solid spice. Turned out to be a great cigar!

Well made, medium bodied, box-pressed toro. The unique attribute is an oily Brazilian Laranja wrapper over Nicaraguan binder and filler. The wrapper is much lighter color for those whose primary exposure to Brazilian leaf is Arapiraca. Citrus, cedar up front. Leather remained in the background throughout, a unifying theme in a surprisingly complex flavor profile. Light pepper in the middle but never dominant as in some Nicaraguan offerings. Strength builds in the final third, but it retains a nice, clean finish. Nice summer cigar. Burn was decent. Held an edge, no touchups. Ash unstable over an inch. Paired with Mount Gay Eclipse, tonic and lime wedge.

Bad construction at the cap. Came apart at the cut and unraveled more during smoke.

Confession. Completely forgot about these 3 cigars sitting at the bottom of a 100 cigar humidor until a couple weeks ago. Pulled them up to the top and my brother and I each nailed one after Sunday dinner this afternoon. Flavor: linear, mild to medium. We drink red wine at Sunday dinner (roast beef), and sometimes that can be a hard pair with a cigar. Not in this case. No displeasing cross sensations on the palate. Well constructed, zero problems with burn, draw is excellent, ash holds to over two inches. Thinking back to why I bought these, it was to compare them with Gisbert. I like these better, but they have been taking a fairly long, completely undisturbed, nap. There is a piece of ribbon wrapped along the bottom. I cannot express how much I dislike this. It makes me wonder what theyre hiding. Nothing in this case, but it always gives me pause. It detracts from a well made cigar, like lingerie ftom a woman who requires no assistance-- a sign of insecurity.

Long skinny version does not draw well at all. Better off with toro or something similar in size. Those are perfect.

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