Vitola: 550 (robusto)
Size: 5″ x 50 ring gauge
Price $7.60
Review Sample From SmallBatchCigar.com
Background
It has been a couple weeks since I last posted a review. With work being extra busy and fighting the flu it didn’t leave me a lot of time to write these reviews. Hopefully things have settled down and I’ll be back to writing my weekly review. Curivari is one of the smaller brands out there and all of their cigars are Nicarguan puros made the Cuban way. Some of their earlier blends had very Cuban-esque banding and taste profiles. The cigar I’m reviewing today looks to be from what I might call their Greek philosopher line. Today’s is the Socrates which comes in five sizes 458 (4″ x 58 rg), 550 (5″ x 50 rg), 552 (5.5″ x 52 rg), 654 (6″ x 54 rg), and T (6.25″ x 52 rg) and range in price from $7.50- $9 and all come in 10 count boxes. This was the first cigar in this blend I smoked.
Prelight
To me the first thing I noticed is that this band doesn’t have the Cuban feel that I’m used to seeing on their other blends. From what I’ve seen their newer ones don’t necessarily follow this earlier pattern. The wrapper on this sample is a medium-dark brown in color with some oils and lots of tooth to it. The cap was the traditional Cuban triple cap seen on their cigars. When I gave it a squeeze there was a slight amount of give without any soft spots. When I put my nose to the wrapper I noted the aroma of barnyard with the same coming from the foot. After clipping it and taking a cold draw I got an ok draw with notes of cinnamon.
Flavor
It started off with a blast of sweetness and spice on the tongue. After a few puffs I also noted flavors of leather, earth, cinnamon and a light creaminess. The cigar starts off medium strength. The flavors changed slightly in the second third to cinnamon, leather, wood, coffee with hints of cocoa, with the spice dying down. The cigar built in strength to medium full in this third. As I moved into the final third the spice started to come back, with similar flavors of leather, earth, coffee and cinnamon. The cigar stayed medium full strength at the end.
Construction
The draw opened up very nicely after it was lit. The burn was wavy and needed some correction though.
Value
Curivari has pretty much always been a good value in my opinion.
Conclusions
This blend was definitely a departure from what I remember of previous blends, but that is a positive in my opinion. These fuller strength and earthier cigars are definitely my preference. It was a little stronger that some of their other offerings so it might be too strong for some. If you want to check out this or any of their other blends heads on over to SmallBatchCigar.com
By-The-Numbers
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 1.5/2
Flavor: 4.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9/10
