Illusione ~2~

Size: 52 × 133 (5.25")

Shape: Belicoso

Filler: Nicaragua

Binder: Nicuragua

Wrapper: Nicaragua

Smoking Time: 1 1/2 hours

Beverage: Corona Extra

Illusione is one of the brands that quickly comes to my mind when I think of American-market boutique cigars (the other being Tatuaje). Marketed using unconventional (and sometimes bizarre) names such as "And crowned with thorns" or "The Teaching Machine", I have difficulty imagining that Illusione cigars have become a household name in the American cigar world as a direct result of marketing. Rather, it seems that the consistently glowing reviews and rising market share of Illusione and its related brands has come from the quality and popularity of the smokes themselves. That's why I was excited to try this belicoso and review it.

The Illusione ~2~ was light in the hand with a firm feel when squeezed. Typical of Nicaraguan Colorado tobacco, the wrapper was toothy, dark, and had a rustic look to it. There were absolutely no soft spots, and after clipped the easy draw revealed pre-light notes of tobacco and wood. The first few puffs after lighting tasted medium in body and presented with sweet graham on the draw, a nice vanilla note on the palate and a clean, short finish. Deep, woody flavours appeared soon after, and there was a bread-like finish that appeared near the end of the first third. The second third introduced slightly floral notes behind a predominantly creamy graham profile. However, as the smoke progressed into the final third I could detect a faint but unpleasant chemical taste that became distracting. I soon after put the cigar down to extinguish.


This was an interesting smoke that surprised me by not being an in-your-face pepper and spice Nicaraguan cigar. It was creamy and balanced, but lacked some excitement and depth; this makes it an overall better-than-average cigar in my books. That's why I give it the good rating of three Fidels out of five.

- Carlton

Contest Winner

As promised, the winner of our First Birthday contest has been drawn (by my lovely wife in the wee hours of the morning). The winner is:

herrlaus!

If this is you, please contact us via email with your name and full mailing address to claim your prize. Many, many thanks to all of our readers and to everyone who entered. We'll have a new review up over the next few days.

CONTEST: The Friday Cigar is One Year Old!!

One year ago today, we started this blog as a fun way to keep track of the cigars we'd sampled, and in that time we've learned a lot about the cigars that we smoke. We're surprised to see that over the last year we've reviewed a total of 43 cigars from 22 brands, attracting nearly 1500 readers a month. We've even had a new reviewer join the team. We'd like to think that readers enjoy our tongue-in-cheek approach to ratings and our ever-so-pretentious flavour descriptions, but chances are that readers come here because of the general lack of Cuban cigar reviews on the Interweb and the love Google has for blogs in its rankings.

Either way, we're proud of the work we've done on this site (if you can call it work) and excited for all the new cigars we'll smoke and review in the years to come. To help celebrate the first birthday of The Friday Cigar and to thank you for your support, we're giving away a sampler of some of the best cigars we've smoked over the last 12 months. The sampler includes one of each of the following (box dates are listed in parentheses):

Partagas Lusitanias (2007)

Montecristo No. 2 (2007)

Montecristo Sublimes Edicion Limitada (2008)

Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure No. 2 (2010)

Padron 1964 Diplomatico Natural (2009)

To enter the contest, all you have to do is post a comment below before 11:59 PM, Friday, October 22, 2010. We'll print out the name from each post on pieces of paper and draw them from a hat. The winner will be announced here on Saturday, October 23, so make sure to check back on that day to see if you've won. The winner must send us an email with your mailing address so that we can send you your prize. Please don't enter more than once so that everybody has a fair shot at winning.

Thanks again to you, the reader, for encouraging us to keep this up.


To another year!

- Sean & Carlton

Padrón 1926 Serie No. 6 Natural

Size: 50 × 121 (4.75")

Shape: Robusto

Filler: Nicaragua

Binder: Nicuragua

Wrapper: Nicaragua (Habano)

Smoking Time: 1 hours

Beverage: Crown Royal & Ginger Ale

On a recent vacation in Las Vegas, I was told by some friends to make the trip to Pheasant Cigars, a great shop with a huge selection, great staff, and an excellent smoking lounge. I was also told that they were especially friendly to Canadian visitors and would make an extra effort to help me. I was not disappointed, and among the many cigars that I purchased from them, today's review is of the Padrón 1926 Serie No. 6 Natural.

This firm, box-pressed cigar had a dark and rough-looking wrapper with a poorly applied cap. Also, there appeared to be a rough patch job made with scrap leaf on the wrapper. Nonetheless, the cap clipped easily and gave way to a perfect draw with pre-light notes of chocolate and tobacco. The first few puffs surprised me (I expected leather and spice), with a touch of sweetness immediately apparent, backed by flavours of burnt oak and a very clean finish. Sean and I agreed that the aroma was fantastic, and the first third imparted flavours of nuts, dark wood, and  a great deal of sweetness. As the burn moved into the second third, I couldn't help but notice the abundant volume of smoke this robusto produced, and I detected some faint liquorice and floral notes along with the original flavours. The sweetness took on an almost overwhelming characteristic, but held back just enough to maintain an overall balance. The final third gave way to some bread and coco flavours, still with great balance. The cigar never became harsh or bitter, and I was forced to put the cigar out when it became too short to smoke.

This is one of the rare times that I smoke a cigar and don't want it to end. However, the Padrón 1926 Serie No. 6 Natural lacked some of the changing complexity I have come to expect from Padrón. Nonetheless, this is a great cigar that I would certainly smoke again, and it receives the very good rating of four Fidels out of five.

- Carlton