The one thing I have learned in my travels is that depending where you are in the United States, or the World for that matter is how different the shelves look inside a brick & mortar. When I lived in Florida I missed the diversity of the shelves inside the cigar lounges throughout New York City, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Now that I am up in New England as part of The Cigar Authority team I am getting a new education on cigars I have not seen or heard of before.
The Via Havana is a cigar I first found out from via Cigar Vixen but had never seen until I saw it on the shelves at Two Guys Cigar Shop. Curious about it I picked up this cigar after a few people told me I had to try the Corojo.
Cigar: Via Havana
Size: El Morro (Toro / 6 x 52)
Wrapper: Ecuador Corojo
Binder: Not Disclosed
Filler: Not Disclosed
As a consumer, I did a lot of judging on a cigar based on the band in my early days of smoking. A lot of times there were smokes I wouldn’t pick up because the band had a bundle feel about it. This cigar would of fit the bill back in the day, but as I get older and wiser I realize the band is just a distinction of a product on the shelf. What stands out about this smoke before we get into any of the smoking routine is the gorgeous reddish brown wrapper with a shaggy foot which I love for the ease of lighting. There are some visible veins but none that take away from the oily nature of a cigar that looks promising.
The cold draw of the cigar offers notes of figs and a hint of honey while the foot serves up the slightest hints of mocha. In my opinion a shaggy foot need not be toasted so after a quick light I was treated to some warm spices that are synonymous with a corojo wrapper along with some nuttiness. The retrohale (through the nose) introduced the slightest of honey notes creating a nice yin and yang effect.
In the second third of this incredible smoke the spices remain and there is a note that reminds me of a steak that is a little well done on the surface but cooked to perfection on the inside.
The final third of the smoke continues down the road of the last third with roasted nuts and a slight honey on the finish while the warm spices remain through the nose.
The burn of the cigar is razor sharp with a firm ash that held on for the first half of the cigar and the draw served up the slightest of resistance which is perfect in my good.
Available in close to 200 accounts nationwide, I am surprised that this cigar wasn’t known to me until recently, and I am left wondering where it has been all my life. In short this corojo smoke is worthy of real estate in your humidor and is definitely worth a box purchase or at least a few singles to start.
Price: $8.99
Score: 92
Via Havana Corojo
Via Havana Corojo
Via Havana Corojo
