Originally published at Tiki Bar Online
Robusto, 5” x 52 ring gauge
Echoing a line from a famous film about an college professor and archeologist, Kings Cigars implores us to “Choose Wisely.” The company was new to us at Burns Tobacconist when their Director of Sales, Anwar Mithavayani, and Master Blender, Pete Tyndale, happened to be going through town the same week as the 3rd Annual Chattanooga Tweet-Up and Cigar Festival. They decided to stick around and we are certainly glad they did. Anwar and Pete are two of the nicest individuals I have met in the cigar industry…and there are a lot of great folks in the biz! They were always happy to answer any questions about their blends, how they work and even some of the mistakes they’ve made in the process of getting things where they are today. I smoked a Baron during the Tweetup, a Connecticut Shade wrapped cigar that they describe as “full-bodied” (it is, by the way…not “Cain or Cojonu-level” full, but definitely in the medium-to-full range even for someone like me that smokes quite a few cigars…RyJ and Macanudo smokers consider yourself warned). I also got a single sample of the Conde, their other regular line. Conde has a Mexican San Andres Maduro wrapper, Habano Criollo binder, and “Kings Proprietary Filler.” (I also got a sample of the upcoming King of Kings limited edition release, but that’s a different review.) “Conde” is basically equivalent to a Count or Earl and is a title of nobility used in Spain and Portugal. The cigar is made in Nicaragua.
I like how each individual cigar from Kings Cigars has its own distinctive band. And they don’t look like they went cheap on them, either. Each band serves almost as a “coat of arms” for the rank or title of that cigar, from Baron to Conde to King. In this case the band uses greens and gold, along with a black bird of some sort (falcon? hawk? eagle? phoenix?) in the middle of a shield, all topped off with a crown. The wrapper is a darkish shade of milk chocolate brown with a few prominent veins showing. It doesn’t look all that oily, but it definitely had a oily touch to it and a bit of gritty toothiness under the fingers, too. Looking at it, I would not have pegged this as a San Andres wrapper and smelling it, I would have been fooled as well. It just didn’t have that much aroma to it; a little earth, a touch of barnyard, a bit of dried fruit. The foot was more aromatic, with a pungent barnyardy scent with some sweetness mixed in. After clipping the head, I got an excellent test draw that featured sweet raisin and some earthiness, along with a lingering spicy tingle on my lips.
Lighting up the Conde was the first indication of the origins of the wrapper. I was hit right away with the heavy Mexican earthiness, along with with a large dose of woodiness. On subsequent puffs, the bitter earth fell away a bit, but the cedary notes did not, while a red pepper spice grew quickly on both the tongue and nose. All it needed now was a little sweetness and maybe some cocoa powder…and I soon got that, although it was mostly on the finish. And by the time I had gotten about 7 or 8 minutes into the cigar, I was back to that bitter earth flavor taking the lead. Very odd but very complex cigar so far.
One thing I’ve referred to in the past when it comes to Mexican wrapped cigars is the issue of balance. When a cigar hits a great balance point, the bitter earth flavors are tempered by sweeter notes and I end up really enjoying the cigar; poorly balanced and the bitterness overwhelms everything. The Conde was fairly well-balanced, although not my favorite in that respect. The balance came in the form of a constantly changing flavor profile, where every few minutes flavors tended to swap places in dominance. First the bitterness, then cedar, then sweeter notes. The overall effect wasn’t bad, but wasn’t as harmonious as I would prefer. Construction was excellent; I found a very even burn line, a great draw and a solid ash.
In the final third, the Conde did all come together with a great balance and a very pleasant flavor. The bitter earth and sweet raisin flavor played yin and yang while notes of cedar and red pepper added complexity and interest. The body was medium to full pretty much the entire way and nicotine strength was in the same range. While it didn’t start off as well as I would like, the Conde did finish extremely well and overall I have to call it a very good cigar. Fans of Mexican Maduro and Maduros in general should find something to like here. Thank you again to Anwar and Pete for coming to the Tweetup and for giving me this cigar; I hope to see you both again soon.
Body: 8/10
Strength: 7/10
Complexity: 8/10
AFP Scale
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9/10
