Monday, March 1, 2010

El Triunfador No.4



Today's review is of a cigar I have been waiting to get my hands on, and thanks to Craig (the same BOTL who hooked me up with the Boris) I have the opportunity to try the newest line from Pete Johnson of Tatuaje called El Triunfador. A few years ago, Pete released a cigar called El Triunfador in one size, a Lancero. That cigar is still being produced, but is a completely different cigar than the new one I am reviewing today. The new blend of El Triunfador is available in six different sizes, the one I am reviewing is the no.4, measuring in at 5 X 48. This is supposed to be a medium bodied cigar, with leaves from Don Pepin's La Estrella farm in Esteli, Nicaragua. This has an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper around the Nicaraguan filler and binder.

This cigar is very well made. The wrapper is seamless with no blemishes or major veins. The feel and look of the wrapper on this cigar really reminds me of the wrappers I have seen on the Cuban Ramon Allones Specially selected (robusto). A little rough looking, but not really rough to the touch.

The predraw shows a perfect draw, with a musty cinnamon flavor a little bit of cedar. After lighting, there is a touch of peppery spice that Pete likes in his cigars, but it fades back pretty quickly, letting a very nice cedary flavor come up to the front. After getting a little further into this cigar, a really pleasant floral and slightly sweet citrusy flavor join the mix of cedar and background spice. I feel cliche saying it, but this cigar really has a Cubanesque feel to it. The cedar, floral notes, and sweeter citrusy flavor really remind me of some classic Cuban flavors.

What a fantastic cigar. I really like the full bodied spicey cigars that usually come from Pete Johnson, and its nice to see he can really deliver a flavorbomb of a cigar in the mild/medium bodied category. I didn't have to touch up the burn at all on this stick, it was razor sharp all the way down. The flavors in this cigar are so clean and crisp and paired with perfect construction, I don't have a single negative thing to say about this cigar. A box of 25 of this size will be going for about $169, which puts singles around 7 bucks! Not bad at all for a cigar this well made with such clean flavors. While not the most complex, it certainly isn't boring. I can't wait to try this cigar in other sizes. These should start showing up in shops within the next month, and even if you tend to lean more towards full bodied cigars, give this one a try for sure.

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