Originally published on Tiki Bar Online.
Mini, 4” x 38 ring gauge / $15.75 for a pack of 4, Burns Tobacconist
Hard to believe it’s getting to that time of year again…the time of year when I have to seriously consider what I’m going to take outside to smoke because it will soon be just too cold to settle down in my comfy chair for an hour and a half at a time for a nice Toro, or three hours for an “A.” I know you people out in California don’t generally worry about this (what do you mean “you people”?)…although some of you can use this info when the temp falls below 65 and you have to break out the winter coats and propane space heaters. Over the years I have talked cold weather herfing gear and I have spent time focused on short smokes that lend themselves especially to this time of year. We’re starting out this year’s batch of shorter smokes with the Ortega Cigar Company Minis. Eddie Ortega teamed up with PDR Cigars in the Dominican Republic to produce these new Marlboro-esque 4-packs of cigars, available in Mild, Maduro, and Full-Bodied. They run about $16 per pack or about $4 per stick, which is roughly the same as one of my all-time favorite short smokes, the Tatuaje Petite Cazadores, although the Tat is 4 x 40 and these are 4 x 38….both falling into the size I coined “Half Lancero.” (Was I the first to use that term? I have no idea…but I did come up with it on my own and I am taking credit for it…if you need to know where to send royalties, send me an email.)
Today I’m looking at the Full-Bodied, which Burns has listed in the inventory as “Habano.” The box is black with a red top portion and the band on the stogie is brown with white type (as I believe it is on all 3 varieties). I didn’t see any information about country of origin for any of the tobacco on the Ortega website or in initial stories on the web about these cigars. This Habano wrapper had a rich earth and cedar aroma to it and was very oily to the touch. The foot had more of a chocolate sweet smell. The cold draw was easy and tasted of cedar and coffee.
Once lit, I got more cedar from the Ortega Full-Bodied Mini, along with a bit of earth and coffee on the palate and a spicy pepper burn on the nose. That continued throughout and the cigar was quite full and pretty strong. Strong enough that I didn’t want to smoke it quickly and it ended up lasting far longer than the 15 to 20 minutes stated, instead chugging along for over half an hour. It was very good, but not quite in my wheelhouse with the level of cedar flavor that it provided.
