Today’s cigars showed up in the mail at The Cigar Authority, and to be honest I had never heard of them. According the literature that accompanies the Saga Blend No. 7, “Every new blend borrows from the past. Blend No. 7 did just that as it immediately stood out. It is the perfect combination of timeless knowledge of traditional tobaccos and the newer balance that today’s smokers expect and love in a fine cigar.” They are available in 3 sizes and today we review the Toro Gordo.
Cigar: Saga Blend No 7
Wrapper: Brazilian Cubra
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: “Mix of Central & Dominican Tobaccos”
Strength: Full
Source: Corporación Cigar Export (Saga Cigars)
The Look: The band has a familiarity to it especially from the back where it feels like it borrows from the EP Carrillo Inch. The primary band is gold and a rust color font denoting Saga and a secondary blend of blue and gold denoting Blend No 7. As for the cigar itself it features a pretty ugly wrapper, with significant veins and the roll of the cigar shows some color variations. The double cap is kind of sloppy and thankfully looks can be deceiving. In the hand the cigar feels heavy, and the foot appears to be extremely well packed.
The Notes: The cold draw of the Saga Blend No 7 is definitively Dominican with sweet tobacco notes and maybe some notes that remind me of the cookie Social Tea. The foot of the cigar has some sweetness to it as well with some notes of grass and hay.
Once the cigar is lit there is a nice spice present and some pepper through the nose which caused me to sneeze. There is a hearty wood note present that borders on oak the prelight taste that reminded me of a Social Tea cookie is present as well. Progressing further into the cigar there is a lot of flavor going on in the terms of being spices.
The second third of the Saga Blend No. 7 continues to serve up notes of oak and coffee however some of the complexity of the first third gets muted during this segment of the cigar. There is a note that I like to call “Dominican”, it borders on being citric but its a taste that I associate with tobacco from the region.
The final third continues down the road of oak, but the finish is creamy and the aroma is woodsy. If the cigar held on to the notes of the first third, this could of been an epic cigar.
The Burn: The draw of the Saga Blend No 7 is fluid and a bit too loose for my preference. The light color ash is firm and hold on at least a quarter of a stick at a time before dropping off with a slight assistance into the ashtray. The burn line of the cigar isn’t as crisp as I would like to see and the cigar burns a tad uneven but I was never tempted to touch it up.
The Finish: The first third of the cigar was a flavor bomb with a lot of nuances but in the second third the cigar changes dramatically losing a lot of the complexity. The Saga Blend No 7 is a full-bodied Dominican cigar with what felt like a high nicotine content that left my jittery. If you’re looking for a definitive Dominican cigar the Saga fits the bill, but it doesn’t do enough to stand out about others.
Score: 89
Price: $6.69
Saga Blend No 7
Saga Blend No 7 Foot
Saga Blend No 7 Burn
