Purchased: 10-pack Box-Pressed Gordo (6 X 60)
Price: $59.99
Store: Atlantic Cigars
Buy Again: Yes
Box Worthy: Yes, but they only come in packs of 10
As many know, I’m a big fan of the Regius brand. My absolute favorite still remains the Sun Grown, but my recent experience with the Small Batch Black and Blue lines has been super-positive. I raved about the Black label the other day, and now it’s the Blue’s turn.
I’m smoking one while I write this. This is my second from the order I got last week. With the way they were shipped, they were ready to smoke when they arrived, but a week in my humidor to let them acclimate a bit has done them good.
The Blue label features a gorgeous Mexican San Andres Oscuro wrapper that gives the cigar a deep brown color bordering on black. As a Gordo, it’s a little fatty at 6 X 60, but the box pressing compacts it down. As with all Regius sticks I’ve smoked, construction is magnificent. The cigar is packed and the wrapper, while a bit veiny, doesn’t have any visible seams. The cold draw was perfect with just a little resistance. However, about a third of the way into the stick, the draw tightened up and I ended up pulling out a fat stem. And once that was out of the way, the draw was perfect. But hey! It’s a natural, hand-rolled product and the stem didn’t bust up the cigar, so no harm, no foul.
As for flavors, this smokes SO much like an LGC. There aren’t a lot of flavors and very few transistions, but what it has to offer is right in my wheelhouse: Chocolate, cream, peppermint, espresso, cedar, black pepper, oak, baking spices, and a slight red pepper finish. There’s not much more than that, with some occasional hints of things like bell pepper, roasted cashew, and malt. The San Andres wrapper carries an ever-so-slight sweetness to it that is quite enjoyable, but this is NOT a sweet stick.
As expected, smoke production is copious. The cigar produces a gorgeously lush, white smoke. The burn has been a little wonky, but I’m smoking outside with a slight breeze and I think that’s having an effect on the burn. I’ve had to make a couple of corrections, but that hasn’t diminished my experience. I’m loving this stick!
Amazingly enough, the cigar kicked into high gear just past the halfway point. And the smoke took on a buttery flavor, accompanied by toasted almonds. Not much chocolate at all. It’s now deep espresso and cacao. And then in the final third, complexity spiked along with intensity. Where the cigar started out medium+, it’s banging on the doorstep of full flavor/full body. This really caught me by surprise.
It’s difficult to describe what’s going on in the final third, and down to the nub. The transitions are coming a mile a minute and every puff reveals a different combination of flavors. They’re not different from the ones I mentioned, they’re just coming at me in varying combinations. Holy shit! It’s like this cigar said, “Give me some time to draw you in, then once I get loaded up, I’m gonna getcha!” This tells me that I need to let the other sticks sit for a few months or even more.
Another Regius that I’m going to enjoy having in my humidor at all times!
Unco B's Stogie Diary 