The Essence of Esencia (Esencia Belicoso 2008)

Cigar Name: Esencia 2008 Belicoso (5 1/2 x 52)

Cigar Description: Nicaraguan blend of Criollo, Corojo and Ligero leaves.

Cigar Strength: Medium-Full

Review of the Cigar itself: Ah, Sundays. A day of relaxing and recharging. Well, for most people. Today is actually one of my "work" days. It's probably a good thing since outside sounds like a lot of water and slush, definitely not a day to go out to take pictures (what I sometimes do on a nice Sunday). So, as I puttered through my variety of geeky things I figured I'd enjoy a cigar or two. As I went through my main humidor, it had occurred to me that it was a perhaps time to get a new, larger one so I wouldn't have two humidors (plus a tupperdor) to dig through to find something interesting. I came across this cigar that a SOTL, theonlyjoan, had recently bombed me with (amongst a few others). This is a new cigar that was introduced last year by Palio (Bother of the Leaf, Inc.).

The wrapper is a dark, oily chocolate colour with a few prominent viens and evidently well constructed. The look and feel in my hands of the cigar itself suggested attention had been given to it. I smelled the wrapper and got hints of mocha and spice. As I lit it and took in my first draw, I got a wonderful flavour of pepper and spices, with a mild hint of cedar in the background. It is a bit of smokier cigar than what I'm used to but the aroma that wafted from it was very pleasant to the nose. The ash is almost a black or dark, dark grey and stayed solid throughout the cigar, requiring very little tapping with no flaking for me to worry about. This cigar was so tasty that I went through most of it before I realized it. This is the kind of cigar that is easily enjoyed while watching a game or reading the latest issue of Smoke, letting the day pass on it's own time.

As I got mid-way through the cedar a faint hint of leather began to appear in the background. Removing the band proved a little tricky as it was glued tightly but it eventually released without any damage to the wrapper. As I continued further into the cigar, watched the blue and grey smoke dance in the air. It was almost a magical dance of the different flavours that each of the variety of leaves brought together. I had to relight the cigar once when I got too distracted looking for 300-500 count humidors online. It relit easily and didn't need any further relights. As I got into the nub, the cigar got hot and I let it cool a little before I continued. As I carefully balanced the cigars between my fingers I realized that I will need that new humidor sooner than later thanks to this cigar as I've found another one that I like enough to contemplate buying a box or two of. This is one of the few cigars that I nearly smoked down to the point where only ash remained.

I will say that this is a brand to watch in 2009 as they become more widely known. I have a suspicion that this will become a somewhat popular brand. Only three places sell this online but there are more B&Ms that sell this in store. Get some while you can.

Enjoyed with: water

Smoke time: approximately 75 minutes

Final Review Rating: 9/10

[dunng]

Great review! I picked up a box after my first one...