Cigar Review: El Cartel by Blue Mountain Cigars

Cigar: El Cartel by Blue Mountain Cigars
Size: 4 1/2 x 60
Wrapper: Ecuadorian and Nicaraguan
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: $7.59 at my local B&M; Box of 24 for $114.99 at Planet Cigars

Last week, I wrote about some of my favorite value cigars as a way to help offset the effects of post-Holiday spending. The response from readers was great and gave me a few to try as well. Despite that, there are some that are leary of cheap bundles and would rather exercise restraint in their purchases. All of that is perfectly fine and good. Sometimes no matter what is going on or how life can sometimes take a dump on us, spending a little bit of money on a cigar can blunt the negative or brighten the positive. When I was walking through my local B&M the other day, I recognized a cigar box from Blue Mountain Cigars, where you might remember that the El Threesome was a favorite of mine in 2014. Seeing these for sale and remembering the enjoyment I got from the El Threesome, I picked up a couple of the El Cartel for review.

I didn’t catch it at first but there is about a dime-sized crack in the wrapper. Nothing else was out of the ordinary. Pre-light notes were hints of hay and straw. I cut the ‘tail’ off and gave the cigar a light and draw. While the draw had a nice balance to it, I ended up with a fair bit of loose tobacco into my mouth. This actually started becoming a common occurance through the entirety of the cigar, which was just under an hour. The first flavor notes I got from the initial light were wood and something akin to sugarcane, if you have ever chewed on a piece before. Again, besides the bits of tobacco now and then, the El Cartel in my mind started as a smooth and medium bodied in strength. 25 minutes into the cigar was when the spice came into play but left again after a few minutes. The rest of the smoking time of the cigar, the wood notes stayed predominant with the sugarcane-like sweetness fading away from the palette.

I mentioned the bits of tobacco. That wasn’t the only problem. About five minutes before the spice notes hit the palette, the wrapper started coming off the cigar. At the 40 minute mark, the wrapper was in my ashtray and I’m still spitting out bits of tobacco. Needless to say, the construction on this particular cigar “wasn’t up to par.”

By-The-Numbers
Prelight: 1.5/2
Construction: 0.5/2
Flavor: 4/5
Value: 0/1
Total: 6/10

To recap the El Cartel by Blue Mountain Cigars:

• Let’s face it: This particular cigar was a dud. Many variables could have caused that, so it’s hard to blame a whole line of cigars on one bad one.
• The medium, woody, slightly sweet flavor profile was nice…when I wasn’t spitting out tobacco.
• I think if I were to have a better smoking experience with the cigar, I would be kinder on the value. Even still, the size of the cigar to me is reminiscent of a Nub and should be priced accordingly. I also take into account that IL is absolutely horrible for tobacco taxes. I would be curious to see how these are priced in Missouri.
• I know that my score of this cigar is very low but I do my best to be honest and fair. Despite the score, I did enjoy the flavor profile and would recommend trying this to others who want a shorter, medium bodied cigar if they could find it a few dollars cheaper than I got it for. I have a second El Cartel in my humidor that I am going to smoke likely right after I finish typing this. I will follow up with this cigar likely next week.

As always, thank you very much for reading and I look forward to the next time I can share my thoughts with you.