Atabey Misticos Cigar Review

As we celebrate Christopher Columbus on Columbus Day we looked for a cigar that has ties to the holiday, and that cigar is Atabey. On October 28th, 1492 Columbus discovered the island nation that at one time was the benchmark for cigars. How does the cigar tie into Cuba? The Tainos Indians would sit in a circle called the Cohiba where they would offer their prayers to the leader of the tribe, the Behike. The Behike then delivered the prayers to the goddess of the Tainos Indians, Atabey.

Atabey comes to us from Selected Tobacco which is owned by Nelson Alfonso the man behind the branding of many Cuban Cigars including the aforementioned Behike.  Today we smoke one of the new sizes that are beginning to see a full release in the United States and today we fire up the Atabey Misticos.

Cigar: Atabey
Wrapper: Not Disclosed
Binder: Not Disclosed
Filler: Not Disclosed
Length: 6.75″
Guage: 56
Size: Misticos (Gigante)

The Look: The original Atabey releases came in humidified jars that were truly unique in the cigar world. However, like the Ritos the Misticos comes packaged in a gorgeous high gloss white box that serves as a functioning humidor. Inside the wood at the lid, are two magnets which help create a super tight seal that assures the humidity stays in the box. You can see Nelson’s relationship with Cohiba in the band of Atabey as it draws some inspiration from the iconic brand name. Atabey stands out on the primary band along with silver foil embossing and the extra colors of gold and black to round things out. The foot is protected by a secondary band that denotes Selected Tobacco. As far as the wrapper, its golden brown hue has a nice oily sheen with only the thinnest network of veins present. In the hand it feels like velvet and the cigar is firm with no soft spots and a well packed foot.

The Notes: The cold draw of the Atabey Misticos offers up and incredible black cherry sweetness that is mimicked on the foot with a subtle caramel alongside the base aroma of earth. Once we light up the cigar the first note reminds of me of unbuttered popcorn that is incredibly enjoyable.

As we smoke the first third of the cigar some subtle spice begins to develop that fades away almost as fast as it developed and we are left with cedar notes along with touches of chocolate and peppermint It is incredibly smooth and rich. We are only one-third into the cigar and it is just firing on all cylinders making it one of the best cigars I have ever smoked if not the best cigar.

Moving into the second third the peppermint and chocolate dominate the palate on this incredible cigar that also has hints of almonds along the lines marzipan. The rich buttery finish is fairly lengthy but not overly so. The finish of the cigar is a little bit earthy with touches of sunflower seeds. It is important to note, this cigar needs to be smoked slow and not rushed.

The last third continues to show cedar notes and while the peppermint has faded away, there is still a subtle chocolate with hints of almonds and a long buttery finish. The cedar continues on the retrohale and I smoked this cigar until there was noting left to hold.

The Finish: If you follow this website or know me in person, I’ve given 2 cigars a 100 rating. One of which was the Atabey Brujos back in 2014 and another was the Padron Principe back in 2008 when I ran another website. Going into this cigar I was worried about the size as it is definitely outside my comfort zone, but those fears never came into play. While it looks like a Connecticut Shade cigar, the similarities end right there. It’s not a cigar to profile based on appearance. This is a true cigar connoisseurs’ cigar. It’s incredibly complex, wonderfully flavorful and it makes me rethink those other century marks I’ve given out as it goes above and beyond that experience. If this was a test I would give it a 105 grade for the extra credit answer.

Score: 100
Price: $34.00 / $849.99