Halloween has long been associated with the cigar industry due to the fact that some companies over the years have released a cigar in conjunction with the holiday. United Cigar has cornered the market with their seasonal Fourth of the July Firecracker release and now they are ready to enter the Halloween market with the return of the cigar bar. The cigar bar was out many years ago when it looked like a famous candy bar, but a cease and desist letter put that to an end.
Now, United Cigar re-invents the cigar bar where each year it will partner with a manufacturer who makes a traditional round vitola and have them press it, placing 3 inside packaging that resembles a candy bar. The first company tapped for this project is Aladino where their Corojo release gets the pressed treatment.
Cigar Review: United Aladino Cigar Bar
Wrapper: Honduran Corojo
Binder: Honduran Corojo
Filler: Honduran Corojo
Length: 6″
Ring Gauge: 50
Size: Toro
The Look: Packaged in a colorful format resembling a candy part the outside has a swirl of colors including yellow, silver and red with a crest denoting Aladino Cigar Bar Corojo Pressed 6 x 50. In the lower right hand corner sits Series Unidas with the United Cigar Logo. Underneath the cigars are wrapped in foil, and the 3 cigars inside have the tradition Aladino cigar band with a secondary band denoting United Cigars with their logo. Inside, the cigar features a gorgeous milk chocolate brown wrapper with minimal veins and is pressed to perfection with no voids of tobacco. The foot is well packed with a darker swirl of tobacco and in the hand the cigar feels a little lighter than the traditional toro.
The Notes: Once the cap is clipped the cigars serve up a lot of cedar on the cold draw with a very subtle vanilla component while the aroma off the foot has more cedar with a subtle black cherry component. Once the cigar is cut, toasted and lit the cedar notes from the cold draw are easily identifiable.
As we move into the first third the cedar remains dominant with a hint of graham cracker and a touch of sweetness and a touch of caramel making this an optimum choice for the first cigar bar under the United Cigars Series Unidas umbrella. The retrohale of the cigar is smooth added a subtle black cherry alongside more notes of cedar.
As we move into second third the cedar remains dominant but begins to wane by the halfway point where notes of chocolate and caramel take hold of the palate. Some notes of chili pepper begin to emerge creating an interest contrast of spice and sweetness. The retrohale sees he pepper notes intensify.
The final third sees caramel become the focal point with a hint of licorice and increasing notes of pepper that become dominant by the time we reach the primary band. It’s at this point the Corojo shows the spice we’ve come to expect from it, but the pressed nature of the cigar shows off another side as well.
The Finish: The obvious question is how does this compare to the cigar in the round. I find it remarkably more flavorful and smoother. It works for this cigar and it has me intrigued to what cigars would be next in the forthcoming annual release. I think the concept is a winner, as is this particular cigar. Being a limited edition, I like this cigar so much personally that I could see smoking them on the regular and then being bummed out when they aren’t around anymore. That’s one of the knocks on a limited edition, so I am going to make like a fat kid on Halloween and grab a handful of these and then go back for more like we would do to the houses with the best treats.
Score: 95
Price: $29.99 (3-Pack) / $159.99 (18 Cigars)
On Sale Monday, October 18th @ 10am (Eastern)
United Aladino Cigar Bar
United Aladino Cigar Bar Foot
United Aladino Cigar Bar Burn
