Reinado Cigars
6 1/8 x 52 (Torpedo)
Wrapper: Nicaragua Habano Rosado
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Time in Humi: Two days
Accompanying beverage: Water

Antonio Lam, owner of Reinado Cigars, joined us on CigarChat this week and the first thing I asked him was, “What does Reinado mean?”  I don’t like to do too much research on a cigar before I review it.  I don’t want to go in with any preconceived notions (or as few as possible anyway).  So Antonio explained that it means “to reign” in Spanish.  To reign, as in the reign of an Emperor.  If you’re like me, you’re thinking Star Wars.  To Antonio it means something different.  He is building an empire, a cigar empire to be exact, and the Reinado Nicaraguan Puro is the first step.

Click here to watch the video of Antonio’s appearance on CigarChat.

Prelight:  The Nicaraguan Habano Rosado wrapper on this torpedo had a rustic look to it.  It had a few veins and some marbling of the color.  In other words, it looked tough.  The maroon and gold wrapper has a traditional “cuban” look to it and conjured up images of the USC Trojans or the ASU Sun Devils (yes, there are universities west of the Mississippi).  It had a nice feel to it and had all the looks of excellent construction.  The wrapper gave of some herbal tea notes and the foot was ripe with sweet tobacco.

Beginning:  I clipped the cap with my Xikar Xi1 Cutter and found cedar notes on the cold draw.  The draw was tighter that I would have liked, but it didn’t cause any issues.  I took advantage of the calm weather and used long matches to light up.  In the first few puffs, I was hit with big, round flavors.  Plenty of cedar notes were present along with a subtle black pepper spice (more heat than flavor) on the back of the tongue.

Middle:  Smooth, rich and creamy!  A subtle sweet cream flavor showed up in the background and the spice built in the retrohale.  The balance between the cedar, sweetness and spice was impeccable. 

End:  The cigar got a little hot toward the end.  I ended up putting it out with about an inch and a half to go, which was sooner than I wanted to.  The profile remained consistent and the smoke was thick and creamy throughout.  The spice picked up in the latter half as well.

Construction:  This cigar was built with care and expertise.  The wrapper was clean and the cigar was tightly packed.  The draw started off tight, but it loosed a touch after an inch.  The burn was relatively straight throughout and the fell off about and inch at a time.

Final Thoughts:  This is truly an everyday cigar.  You will want it everyday and you can have it every day.  It has enough flavor and complexity to entertain the aficionado and its medium body allows you to enjoy it at any time of day.  For review purposes, I paired it with water.  However, I paired my second on with my mid morning coffee.  I think I will pair my next Reinado with a nice single malt.

Smoke Time: 98 minutes

 

☆GIVEAWAY☆

The contest is simple.  To enter, simply post a relevant comment below.  By relevant, I mean say something about the cigar, don’t just say “hi.”  Antonio will send out a Reinado Cigars Prize Pack directly to the winner.

Oh, and I can’t say that it will officially help your odds, but it won’t hurt if you tweet this out or post it on your Facebook pages.  You never know, a tweet or FB post may get your name added to the list a second time.

Contest ends at Midnight on Friday, July 20th and the winner will be announced on Saturday, July 21st.

☆And the Winner Is….☆

Congratulations to our Contest Winner JL Marta!

IMPORTANT: By entering in this contest, you are stating that you are of legal age and can legally purchase cigars and tobacco products in your locale/city/state/country.

 

Overall:

9.1 - Great flavors, rich profile and creamy textures. A winner.
  • Flavor:
    9.25 - I loved the balance of this cigar. Tons of full flavor.
  • Draw:
    8 - The draw was my only real complaint.
  • Construction:
    9.5 - This thing was rolled with some real expertise.
  • Appearance:
    9.5 - The look, the wrapper, the feel and the band design are all top notch.
  • Price Point:
    8.75 - $8 ($160 per box of 20) is just about right for this stick.