Originally published at Tiki Bar Online
One of the joys I have found as a cigar smoker is in trying new and different blends. As many different cigars as I have sampled over the last 12 years, there always seem to be new and interesting combinations being made. I didn’t start blogging to be “the first on my block” to try some of these new blends, but it is a cool perk. So about 2 months ago I was contacted by Jonas Santana from Tabacalera El Artista in Tamboril, Dominican Republic. They were working on a new brand called Exactus and he wanted to get some samples to me for review. The cigars showed up a few weeks later but at the time I was getting ready to take a trip to Nicaragua, and other things were eating into my “cigar review time” so I had to put these off just a bit.
Let’s start with a little history of the company. Tabacaleroa Puros Cibao was founded by Ramon Rodríguez in 1956. At first they were making cigars just for the local market, but they grew rapidly and changed their name in 1995 to Tabacalera El Artista, still family-owned and employing over 300 employees. They now manufacture cigars and supply raw materials to many large companies around the world.
El Artista is now working to become better known as a cigar manufacturer through the introduction of the Exactus line, made with some of the best tobaccos they have access to. Three distinct varieties of Exactus make up the initial offering: Clasico, Habano and Maduro. Each is available in 5 vitolas and each of those comes in 20-count boxes. I was sent one each of the 3 blends, all in the 5 x 54 Robusto vitola. I could not find any reference to blend make-up for any of the cigars either online or in the information they sent with the sticks.
EXACTUS CLASICO
Jonas Santana was kind enough to send along some extra information on each blend. This is what the company says about the Clasico:
A creamy cigar rich in flavor, mixed with highest precision in each tobacco leaf to reach fruit notes at a level that the palate could enjoy it to the fullest.
The Connecticut Ecuadorian wrapper provides a silky texture that combines with the characteristics of the blend: smoothness, balanced and the special touch that the wine fermented tobacco provides. Perfect to start the day, just like Osvaldo Rodriguez does.
Filler: Dominican Criollo 98, Binder; Dominican wine fermented criollo 98; Wrapper: Ecuadorian Connecticut
Giving this wrapper a sniff, I got a nice sweet aroma, with just a touch of hay. The foot had a little more hay with some earthiness. The color was a brilliant golden hue, although there were some dark spots on it. Basically, it was very nice for a mid-priced smoke, but had some appearance-level flaws that would preclude it from being used in an ultra-premium stick. To be honest, I’m always more concerned about how something tastes rather than exactly how it looks…yes, it does need to look nice, but absolutely flawless is something you tend to pay a lot more for. Once clipped, the draw was very good and it had a delicate sweetness with a strongly grassy influence.
Lighting up, the Exactus Clasico delivered more of a bitter grassiness, something which I know not all smokers are fond of. There was some sweetness in there, too, but it was hard to find on the first few puffs. After a couple minutes, I noted some cedar on the palate and a fairly sharp pepper on the nose. A bit later I started to get some black coffee and a bit of an increase in the sweetness as well.
The further along I got into the Clasico the more I enjoyed it. I got stronger sweet hay notes and the coffee became more of a creamy coffee note. The body started off close to the medium level and by the second third it was definitely in the medium range, not just mild.
In the end I found this to be a solid Dominican mild-to-medium bodied cigar with some a good amount of pepper spice and some other unusual flavor notes. The bitterness did creep back up from time to time, but if you are a fan of Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade smokes, you might really enjoy this.
EXACTUS HABANO
This is what the company had to say about the Habano:
Cigar of strength and balanced taste in which the smoke invites you to discover every third of it, due to the attraction of the elegance of each aspiration.
The oily habano wrapper merges with the wine fermented binder and the oldest filler of our factory, creating a complex experience that inspires you to take a moment to delight ‘‘the most valuable reserve of Tabacalera El Artista’’.
Filler: Dominican Criollo 98; Binder: Dominican wine fermented Criollo 98; Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
Unique among the three, the Exactus Habano has a printed footband that reads, “Reserva de Gala.” The literal meaning of this is “Gala reserve;” Jonas notes, “it’s because life has special occasions and unforgettable moments and since the cigar is in your hands that special moment begins.” Sadly this cigar had a large crack in the wrapper leaf, undoubtedly from the shipping process. If I had planned on publishing a full review I would have to seek out a replacement stick, but since my plan was just to familiarize myself…and you, dear reader…with the blends, I thought it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. The Habano wrapper was slightly darker in color than the leaf on the Clasico; more of a medium-tan color with a hint of red. The wrapper had a faint tobacco aroma…yeah, I know…it’s tobacco, but the aroma was still faint. The foot had a stronger aroma…more barnyard and some hay. The cold draw was easy and tasted of sweet hay mostly.
Once lit, I got notes of earth, hay and cedar on the palate, while the retrohale was very spicy, lighting my nostrils afire with a red pepper burn. The broken wrapper did promise to make things interesting, and perhaps a little dangerous, but it did not prevent a good start to this stogie.
Through the second and final thirds, I did fight the busted wrapper almost constantly, and it did cause the cigar to burn a little hotter than normal, but overall there is a lot to like in this cigar. It had a nice earthiness, offset with a sweet hay flavor and a good amount of pepper spice on both the palate and the nose. Definitely something I would like to try again at some point.
EXACTUS MADURO
And finally we come to the Maduro:
A spicy cigar with great aftertaste, one can appreciate the mocca essences that enhances the smoke. It characterizes for its splendid spicy touch.
This is Ram Rodriguez’s favorite smoke. He enjoys its spicy taste and the 3 year-old Dominican Maduro wrapper. This cigar provides an indescribable pleasure thanks to the mixture of the filler and binder, and its wonderful look that raises the fineness of the cigar.
Filler: Dominican Criollo 98 y Pennsylvania; Binder: Dominican Criollo 98; Wrapper: 3 year-old Dominican Maduro
The Maduro had a rich, dark chocolate colored wrapper that had an oily feel to it and an aroma of combined earth, natural tobacco and cocoa powder. The foot had more earth and hay aromas. The cold draw was easy and had mostly a sweet hay flavor.
Putting fire to the Exactus Maduro, I got a great draw and an abundance of smoke production. The flavor was very earthy at first, which a espresso bean note mixed with toast and a hint of dried fruit sweetness. The retrohale had roasted nuts and a bit of chili pepper. As I puffed through the first third the flavors took on a very smoky characteristic, almost a BBQ with hard wood smoke. The earth and slight sweetness balanced it very nicely.
Overall, I really enjoyed this smoke and found it to be the highlight of the line. While this other two have their place and I would enjoy smoking them again, the Exactus Maduro is a cigar I would come back to fairly frequently.
Of course, this is all one man’s opinion. As always, I encourage you to go out and try all these for yourself and judge for yourself. For the Robusto size, the Habano and Clasico should retail for about $6, while the Maduro is around $7. Thank you again to Jonas Santana for sending me these samples to try and best of luck to Tabacalera El Artista with the Exactus line.
