Cigar Previews, Part 7

THERAPY by Nomad

I took a short look at the Habano version of the Nomad Therapy a couple weeks back and meant to get back in short notice for the other two, but…hey, I can’t always predict what I’m going to end up smoking in a given day, so it took a minute to get back to the Conny and Maduro.

To slightly review…Fred Rewey of Nomad recently released Therapy as a way to offer a lower-priced stick with a simplified choice structure. 3 wrapper varieties (mild, medium, and full) in 2 sizes each, all at wallet-friendly (but not “bundle”) prices.

The Connecticut Shade leaf of the mildest Therapy had a beautiful golden color. Being wrapped over Nicaraguan fillers and binder, it imparted a touch of creaminess, along with very pleasant notes of earth, hay and sweetness. I found the overall flavor to be very nice for a “lower end, non-bundle” cigar and I think there is good potential for Therapy to be a “brand builder” in many stores.

The full-bodied Maduro had a wonderfully dark and oily wrapper. When smoked it imparted lots of earth and black coffee flavor, as well as a decent amount of pepper spice. It’s truly amazing to see where Mexican Maduro wrapper has come in the past two or three years. Back then the trend of Mexican wrapper leaves was just really starting and there was a lot of bitterness. Today more and more Mexican leaf is coming to market with additional aging that takes away a good portion of the bitterness, allowing more sweetness to come through.

Therapy is definitely something to add to any store. The price is good, the social media buzz is good, the blends are good. People aren’t demanding Nomad Cigars, at this point, but with everything else going well for them, that’s just a matter of time. It’s also advantageous that Fred has stopped naming his blends to sound like part numbers. 😉

INVICTIS by Tre-J Cigars

When last we heard from Tre-J, they had released Vicarias and were busy building the brand on it. Vicarias has three wrapper variations and isn’t a bad cigar, but the packaging was a little forgettable and the blends didn’t stand out that much, so this 2nd act could be really good for them. Invictis (purposely misspelled) was blended by Jose Blanco (the man who blended the La Aurora 107, Guillermo Leon Reserve and 100 Años, as well as Joya de Nicaragua’s CyB and his own Señorial), with packaging designed by Jose’s wife, Emma Viktorsson.

The results on the packaging are definitely a step up, although I would have liked to see maybe some additional embossing or something to make the name stand out more. Still…this box and band will get some notice. The cigar itself uses an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper over Dominican binder and fillers (Criollo 98 and Piloto Cubano). Prices are kept down in the $6.50 to $8 range, which is also attractive.

Giving the wrapper a brief sniff, I picked up barnyard on it, while the foot had more Dominican earthiness and a slight “wet forest” note. The cold draw had some sweet citrus flavor, which was different and very nice. Initial light-up revealed earth and cedar notes with a fairly full body and a good amount of red pepper.

This cigar ended up solidly in the “new school” of Dominican cigars with a full bodied, tons of earthiness and a solid pepper spice. I think Invictis might very well have a place in a cigar shop that specializes in boutique brands.

INDIAN MOTORCYCLE MADURO by Debonaire Cigars

The Indian motorcycle brand goes back to 1901 and has become one of the most legendary of all American motorcycle names. Now there is a cigar to capture the spirit of that classic bike and it’s being made by the folks at Debonaire Cigars.

Specs are a little fuzzy, but it most likely is a Dominican-based blend, available in both a Habano and Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro wrapper. I elected to smoke the Broadleaf…after all, it is kinda my jam. They are said to retail for $6 to $8 a stick.

The packaging and banding on these cigars is excellent. It incorporates the Indian logo in a way that is respectful of the brand without being cheesy at all. The Broadleaf wrapper was dark chocolate brown, rugged and very oily, with that typically sweet earth smell. Once lit, I got sweet chocolate earthiness, black pepper, and some underlying graham cracker and Dominican earthiness. It was a really good combination.

My first inclination was to pass this off as a purely novelty cigar, but it was much better than that. I enjoyed the Indian Motorcycle Maduro and think it would be a pretty good addition to the shop, although in a very limited quantity, simply because I’m not sure it will keep selling in big quantities once the “new” wears off a little.

SAN’DORO COLORADO by Villiger

This is a brand new offering from Villiger, and not destined to hit the shelves for a couple more months. San’Doro is a derivation of “Indorum Sana Sancta,” which is a translation of “Sacred Herb of India” which is what people thought Christopher Columbus brought back when he came home with tobacco.

There are three versions of the San’Doro…Claro, Colorado, and Maduro…but I just got the Colorado as a pre-release since I expressed a liking for the regular production Villiger Colorado. The San’Doro Colorado is a Nicaraguan puro with a Habano wrapper, produced at Tabacalera Oliva in Esteli, Nicaragua. (Cigar-Coop)

As I lit it up, I got some citrus and cedar, along with earth and pepper, all combined in a very pleasing complexity that I liked right away. Puffing along I got floral notes in this medium-bodied, full-flavored smoke. I found the cigar elegant, complex and smooth, befitting its higher price tag.

I couldn’t find pricing information in news stories, but it seems like I was told $11 to $13 as the range, which does place it several dollars a stick higher than the “regular” Villiger production lines. As such, I think it’s worth the money and that it’s worth bringing in, although probably not as the first thing a store carries. Seems like it should be a supplement to the other Villiger lines in a shop once they have been successful.