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Image courtesy Cigar-Coop…who actually took it from Christian Eiroa’s social media feed
Vitola: Robusto
- 5” x 50 ring gauge
- ~$8.00
- Sample provided by CLE rep
Background
I work at a TAA store and we didn’t get these…wait, let me back up just a bit. TAA is short for Tobacconist Association of America. There are 70 to 80 stores nationwide associated with the TAA. Once a year, the stores and association-member manufacturers meet for several days to discuss industry topics of importance, play golf, drink, sit by the beach, and sell a few cigars. It’s basically become a small and exclusive version of the IPCPR show. The store I work at is a member, so we get our hands on some very hard to find sticks with alarming frequency. Remember that Tatuaje TAA from last year that almost became my cigar of the year? You wouldn’t unless you bought them at a TAA store.
So last week the CLE rep gave me a sample of one of their cigars that came out at the 2015 TAA gathering…the Asylum Nyctophilia. I couldn’t find out “official” information on these, but some sources indicate they were triple-maduro, while others just said they use a Mexican San Andres Maduro wrapper over Nicaraguan fillers and binder. Since there is no official word I can find, I won’t point to anyone as having the right answer. There were also reports that this was released to everyone at last year’s IPCPR…though the sample I have is definitely a TAA release.
What I can say is that Nyctophilia is defined as a “love of darkness” or “love of the night.” That fits with the very dark wrapper leaf of this single sample I’ll be smoking for this review.
Prelight
The band of the Asylum Nyctophilia is more similar to the original Asylum release than to anything else they’ve done since, with its focus on the skull and angel wings. Here it is rendered in black on silver foil with some embossing. There is a secondary band near the foot (also silver) indicating that this is a TAA release.
The wrapper leaf of this cigar was an extremely dark shade of brown. The texture was not unlikely oily sandpaper with all the toothiness. The aroma was earthy and a bit chocolatey…and also just a touch leathery. On the foot I got more earth, along with some anise and dried fruit scents.
Prelight, the cigar had a good draw and a flavor of dried berries, hay, cocoa powder, and coffee bean.
Flavor
After lighting up the Nyctophilia, I initially experienced a rush of semi-sweet chocolate flavor, followed by espresso bean and earth notes, then finished with some red pepper on the palate. The retrohale showed some pepper and a bit of punchy earthiness. My initial sniffs of the cigar had told me this could very easily be the type of Mexican-wrapped stick I wasn’t going to be fond of…after lighting up, I realized it could go either way, but I was already leaning toward really liking this blend. The cigar burned slowly through the first third and I got an increasing amount of espresso bean and earth in the mix, balanced pretty nicely with some sweeter notes.
By the time the second third came around, the peppery notes had diminished and I got more coffee and chocolate notes than anything else. The retrohale had cocoa powder, nuts and bread mixed.
The last third had more sweetness still with chocolate up front, followed by healthy doses of anise, espresso, and bread.
Construction
I had a surprisingly even burn line for a Maduro wrapper. The draw was fantastic throughout and the ash wasn’t flaky, although it didn’t hold on for all that long, either.
Value
Good stick and a very reasonable price.
Conclusions
The Asylum Nyctophilia was indeed a dark and alluring cigar with plenty of sweetness, as you would expect from a Maduro. It was also fairly complex with notes of pepper, nuts, espresso bean, earth and bread playing roles along the way. It was a full-bodied stick with plenty of strength behind it as well. I liked this one more than I thought I would and would definitely recommend it to fans of stronger Maduro sticks.
By-The-Numbers
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9/10
Sounds great.