Vitola: Robusto- 5.5” x 50 ring gauge
- MSRP $6.49
- Purchased at Burns Tobacconist
Background
Saga Cigars is an offshoot of De Los Reyes Cigars, the same folks making the Patoro, Debonaire, and Don Julio brands. Saga started shipping about two years ago, but really only came on my radar a couple months back when a friend of mine, who happens to be a cigar broker, started repping the brand and let me try a few sticks. If you haven’t read my review of the Golden Age, let’s just say that I loved it…both the Corona Gorda and Robusto sizes are in contention for Cigar of the Year. So I figured I would try the other blend that debuted in 2014…Blend No. 7.
Saga is somewhat secretive about the exact tobaccos used in the Blend No. 7, with several sources just saying that it’s a “mix of Central American and Dominican tobaccos” for the filler, a Dominican binder, and a Brazilian cubra wrapper leaf. And that’s about all I can say about the background of the cigar, because there’s really no other information out there.
I bought this review sample, but I’ve smoked at least a couple previous samples that were given to me by the company’s local rep.
Prelight
The packaging of the Blend No 7 is very similar to what the company used for Golden Age, though not exactly the same. While Golden Age has the “SAGA” characters cut out of the band to let the wrapper show through, this band has the letters filled in with a different color of ink…I think I would have just opted to use the same exact bands from the other cigar. The secondary band denotes “Blend No 7.” There’s nothing in particular wrong with the look, but I do feel it could have been a little better and more closely aligned with the other release that came out at the same time.
The wrapper leaf was a medium brown in color with fairly light veins in evidence, but definitely a bumpy and lumpy appearance of the binder just underneath the wrapper. It also appeared to be a bit sloppily applied around the cap line. The wrapper leaf had a nice light earth and hay aroma to it, while the foot had notes of cedar, graham and bell pepper.
After snipping with my Xikar Xi cutter, the draw was very good and I got cold flavors of hay and graham.
Flavor
The Blend No 7 took a good amount of effort to light up with a single flame torch, even though it’s just a 50 ring gauge. Once it was burning, I got a mild-to-medium bodied smoke with plenty of grassy flavors and touches of earth and graham, along with a faint white pepper on the palate. The retrohale was a little nutty with a more pronounced peppery note, but one that still didn’t last all that long.
As I burned my way into the second third, I got a whole lot of Dominican graham and earthiness. The pepper on the palate had increased a bit, but not to the point of being a dominant flavor. The finish had a little citrus zing to it.
The last third of the Blend No 7 had more citrus and hay notes with a diminished pepper burn. The finish was nutty with a little graham sweetness hanging on until the end.
Construction
I had a very good draw, very even burn line and solid ash.
Value
While this cigar didn’t have the dynamic flavor of the Golden Age, the price is very reasonable, making it a good value.
Conclusions
Saga’s Blend No 7 was a very good mild-to-medium bodied cigar with a good Dominican flavor. Though they claim to use “Central American” tobacco, this tasted to me more like a Dominican puro than the Golden Age did. I found it to be a good lighter smoke that might be a great way to start off the day and can recommend it to those who enjoy a good lighter smoke.
By-The-Numbers
Prelight: 1.5/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 8.5/10
