Vitola: Toro- 6” x 52 ring gauge
- MSRP $10
- Samples provided by General Cigar Company
Background
Recently General Cigars brand Diesel produced the second limited edition blend in as many years. Delirium is billed as the “boldest Diesel blend to date” and it will be limited to 50,000 sticks that come in 5,000 10-count boxes. Justin Andrews, who serves as the Senior Brand Manager, said, “Delirium is about disruption. It’s a cigar that demands the smoker’s full attention…it’s also about dimension and balance…”
It was blended by A.J. Fernandez and is made at his factory in Estelí, Nicaragua. It uses Nicaraguan Ligero and Ometepe fillers, a Connecticut Broadleaf binder, and an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper. It is also noted on the press release that there was a Diesel Delirium blend in 2014, sold through Cigars International; this is billed as an “updated blend.”
General Cigar Company sent me a 5-pack for this review. I believe I have smoked 3 of them before this review sample. If your local shop doesn’t carry this line, Small Batch Cigar (a Leaf Enthusiast sponsor) does.
Prelight
I like the look of the box, which is the same basic design as that used for last year’s limited edition release, Hair of the Dog. It does present the exact same problem as that box for retailers, though…it takes up a massive amount of room to put it on the shelf sideways, which also renders it hard to read because the type is sideways…and there are very few store shelves where it can be set to read normally. It’s cool…but completely impractical. The bands are good, if a little underwhelming after seeing the effort put into the Whiskey Row and Hair of the Dog releases. These just seem “basic” after that.
The wrapper leaf was a milk chocolate shade of brown with a good amount of glossy oils evident under the light. The aroma from the wrapper was a strong mix of semi-sweet chocolate, earth, and espresso bean, while the foot had earth with touches of cocoa powder and wood.
After clipping the head, the cold draw was very good and featured a rather complex cold flavor of milk chocolate, leather, cedar, and bell pepper.
Flavor
Once I got the Delirium fired up, I got wood and leather flavors right off the bat, along with semi-sweet chocolate and coffee as secondary notes. There was a little pepper in the mix on my palate, but definitely not much. The retrohale had more cedar, along with roasted nuts, honey, and a touch more pepper spice. Later in the first third, the sweetness died down some with more cocoa powder notes up front with plentiful cedar flavor, while leather died off some.
As I got deep into the second third, unsweetened cocoa powder was in front of everything else, with cedar fading. I got a good earthy base with a touch of cinnamon and a hint of leather. The retrohale continued to be nutty but the spice had left the building.
What started off as a fairly full-bodied cigar went way full-bodied in the last third, with earth in the lead position and leather coming back in a big way. Cocoa powder notes were more of an accent at this point.
Construction
The draw was very good, the burn line was straight and the ash was solid.
Value
I found this to be a good cigar and the price was in the upper end of “average,” so good value.
Conclusions
Diesel Delirium was a good cigar that I wouldn’t mind on a regular basis. The Broadleaf binder provided a good chocolate, then cocoa powder, note to the proceedings while the Sumatra wrapper had more cedar notes most of the way. Strangely, it was lacking much in the way of pepper spice. It was full-bodied although not very strong in terms of nicotine. If you like full-bodied Nicaraguan blends, this would be a good one for you.
By-The-Numbers
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9/10
