Cigar Review: Camacho Connecticut

Vitola: Robusto
Size: 5” x 50 ring gauge
Price $6.40
Purchased at Burns Tobacconist

Background

Camacho somewhat famously began a re-branding campaign in the middle of 2013, with an attempt to create a “bad boy / tough guy” image. First it was the recruitment of football legend, Mike Ditka, for his own line of cigars (actually, from what it seems like so far, it’s just going to be his own series of limited edition cigars). Then it was the “Bold Board” which included Ditka and Room 101 head, Matt Booth, and the new “Bringing Bold Back” slogan. All the cigars were re-thought. Whether it was a wholesale re-blending to appeal more to today’s smokers, or simply the application of the new marketing standards, the entire brand was turned upside down.

It has been ages since I’ve had a Camacho Connecticut. There’s a long story behind this, but suffice to say my local shop did not carry Camacho Cigars at all when I became a customer there, only relenting some to carry Room 101 (made by Camacho) when the manager hit it off with Matt Booth, then finally opting to carry the re-envisioned lines late last year. I have had several Camacho Connys before, but I don’t recall ever having reviewed one, so I thought this would be a good opportunity to re-visit an older blend.

And an older blend this is. This was one of the few blends in the brand that did not go under the knife, probably because it was only developed after Davidoff bought the brand, so they didn’t feel the need to change it. The description of the cigar from the website goes something like this:

This is one Camacho smoke that doesn’t kick in the door. It knocks. And enters with a mild, smooth taste. But don’t mistake mildness for weakness. This smoke is 100% Camacho. With a spicy kick. Boldness meets balance. We think you two will get along.

The Camacho Connecticut is the perfect smoke for those craving something “milder-mannered”, but don’t want to sacrifice flavor. This is boldness meets balance. All the rich, deep flavor and spicy kick you’d expect from Camacho, without the knock-down power. If the name of the game is big flavor and smooth enjoyment, then the Camacho Connecticut’s got you covered.

There’s more there, but I’ll let you discover that for yourself. According to the site, the filler of this stogie is Honduran Generoso and Aleman Ligero (probably Dominican for that piece, although the website doesn’t say), a Honduran Cojoro binder, and an Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade wrapper. It is offered in 5 sizes in addition to the Robusto I chose for this review. This review is based on a single sample that I bought at Burns, although I’ve smoked several of these when they had the old packaging on them.

Prelight

I’m going to come right out and say that I have mixed feelings about Camacho’s new packaging. I like the way that the packaging is very similar, but each blend has its color code. For the Connecticut, it’s a light orange color, although every time I see the yellow Criollo box, I automatically want to think that it’s the Connecticut. What I don’t like about the new packaging is the bands that are simply too large. The band on this Robusto extends to almost the beginning of the second third of the cigar (as measured from the foot where you start the burn). I think a third smaller would have been plenty “bold” as far as size goes. Despite all that, the bands and packaging are overall very nice, so I’m not deducting any “prelight” points on this basis.

The wrapper leaf of was perfect as far as I could see (the band covered quite a bit of it). It was mostly smooth with just a few medium-sized veins and was blemish free to the eye and oily to the touch. I took a big whiff of the wrapper and was thrown back to a tobacco sorting room on my trip to Nicaragua last year…tons of sweet hay and aged tobacco. The foot had a more funky earthiness to it, but was not at all unpleasant. After clipping the end, I got a great draw that had flavors of sweet hay, oak, earth, and a touch of molasses.

Flavor

Firing up the Camacho Connecticut, I got plenty of hay, which is to be expected, but also a rather sharp cedar note and an underlying earthiness. It was mostly smooth and creamy, but there was a bit of pepper spice on the finish and more on the retrohale. Not much, just enough to get your attention. As the first third continued, I got some notes of citrus…sweet with a touch of sour.

In the second third the earthiness became more pronounced while the grassier notes took a lesser role. There was still plenty of pepper and citrus in the mix, as well. Everything came to a head in the final third, with a great mix of earth, hay, pepper, molasses and citrus, all wrapped up in a solidly medium-body smoke.

Construction

I smoked this on a cold, dry afternoon in mid-February. Despite that, the wrapper proved strong and didn’t break, the draw was fantastic, the burn line was even enough to not worry about, and the ash held on solidly for half an inch or so.

Value

No question about it, this cigar is a great value. Lots of flavor and a low sticker price…what’s not to love.

Conclusions

I have to say becoming re-acquainted with the Camacho Connecticut was a great experience. It was every bit as good as I remember it and I’m glad to say it’s still my favorite medium-bodied Connecticut cigar on the market, and perhaps my favorite Camacho product as well. So…wonderful to find an old favorite still tasting as good as it always did and great to start off reviews on Leaf Enthusiast with a “Perfect 10.”

By-The-Numbers

Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 10/10