Vitola: Robusto No. 4- 5.5” x 50 ring gauge
- Price $7.49
- Purchased at Burns Tobacconist
Background
Erik Espinosa released the original Espinosa Habano in late 2012 as part of the launch of his new company and the debut line from La Zona, his new factory in Estelí, Nicaragua. Three years later, in October 2015, the company re-launched the Habano line with new packaging and a tweaked blend.
The Habano features Nicaraguan fillers and binder leaves, all covered in an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper. The old line was available in 4 sizes, but the new launch has only 3 vitolas, two of which are new and feature reduced ring gauges so as to highlight the flavor of the wrapper leaf.
We got the new Espinosa Habano, along with the Especial, in at Burns a few weeks ago. I tried one of each and decided I would review the Habano (yes, that means the jury’s still out for me on the Especial…the one I had just didn’t hit me right). I bought my review sample at Burns. (I sourced background information on this cigar from Cigar Aficionado)
Prelight
The new look is definitely a step up from the old band. They kept the same basic “blue and gold” colors, and some other motifs, but the whole thing looks fresh, new, and much richer than before. It’s probably the extensive use of gold foil and restrained use of other colors…before it had dark blue, light blue, gold foil and some red and black, if I remember correctly; now the band has dark and light blue, gold foil and embossing. Combined with the dark gold ribbon around the foot, the whole thing does look elegant.
The wrapper leaf had a toasted caramel brown color to it with a bit of darker mottling and a very light vein structure. It was oily to the touch and had notes of cedar and earth on the nose. The foot had a richer earthiness, with some sweet cocoa powder and coffee notes mixed in.
The cold draw was great. The flavor was a mixture of earth, hay, and cedar, with just a little pepper.
Flavor
The Espinosa Habano lit quickly and evenly. While there were definitely notes of cedar and earth right up front, there was also an unexpected citrus-like sweetness as a secondary note on the palate. There was a good amount of pepper spice and a lingering sweetness on the finish. The retrohale had more cedar notes, plus a very large dose of red pepper. I smoked several of the previous version of this blend, though it never was in my regular rotation; I don’t remember that version being nearly as complex as this one started off.
The second third was characterized by a nice, delicate sweetness up front, with earth and cedar riding just underneath. The pepper on the palate hung around at a diminished potency, while on the nose it had mostly disappeared, leaving some cedar and roasted nuts.
The last third had more citrus sweetness and earth, with cedar again playing a supporting role and pepper reemerging.
Construction
The draw was excellent. The burn line was very even. The ash broke off in discrete half inch chunks. All in all, the La Zona factory is turning out some excellently built cigars.
Value
The price on this stick was at the low end of the “sweet spot,” making it an excellent value.
Conclusions
Although I can’t remember exactly what the original Espinosa Habano blend tasted like, I can say I definitely enjoyed this revamped and tweaked version thoroughly. It had an excellent flavor profile from beginning to end, with enough complexity to keep my interest all the way through. It had a medium body that makes it easy to enjoy just about anytime unless you are a novice cigar enthusiast. If you liked the Habano before, definitely give this one a try; if you didn’t try it before, there’s no better time.
By-The-Numbers
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9.5/10
