Originally published at Tiki Bar Online
Londsdale, 6” x 44 ring gauge / $5.80, Burns
Wrapping up my look at some newer (at least to me) offerings from Esteban Carreras is the 211, part of the same same series of cigars with names like 5150 and 187. Shortly put, these cigars are named after common criminal codes. 187 is Murder. 5150 is Criminally Insane. 211 is Robbery…although looking at the price tag, I don’t see how they can justify that name. This blend features Nicaraguan filler and binder along with a “DeFlorado” wrapper. I’m guessing this is a leaf from a deflarado Ecuadorian Connecticut plant, but that’s just my guess. This review is the first time I’ve ever had this blend.
The 211 looks fantastic at the outset. The footband with the criminal code number is the only thing proclaiming what the cigar is; it has a small “Esteban Carreras” where the band overlaps. The wrapper was golden in hue and silky to the touch. As far as coloration and flaws, it was definitely above average for cigars in this price range. The one problem I spotted shortly after taking the cigar from the cellophane is a crack in the wrapper near the head. It could cause issues, but I would be careful and try to manage it. The wrapper’s aroma was sweet hay and wood, while the foot was peppery and earthy–very rich smelling! I cut the 211 with my Xikar XV cutter, hoping that a v-cut would do less damage to the already damaged head, but…it might have made it worse. Despite a cracked wrapper, though, the draw was excellent. The primary cold flavor was straw…like the grass or hay, but very distinct and clean. Under that was some earthiness and some sweetness.
Lighting up was a very pleasant experience on this cigar. While it’s somewhat normal for a Shade wrapped cigar to be somewhat bitter at first (and some more than others), this was grassy, but not bitter. And there was plenty of sweetness even on the first few puffs, along with earth and pepper notes (the company’s website calls it “white pepper” and that sounds good enough to me). Those of you that know Keith will know that he is not a fan of Connecticut Shade cigars; I am more of a fan, but it’s still few and far between that I will out-and-out rave about. This one is one of those few, at least as much as I can tell from less than 5 minutes of smoking it. So much was going on with the flavor–wood, cream, coffee, earth, grass, pepper–and the texture and mouth feel of the smoke was smooth and oily, it was hard to keep from just looking at the cigar saying, “Wow!” Hopefully this feeling would continue throughout the smoke.
In the second third, the 211 did continue to display a fantastic array of flavors. The grassiness abated a bit, while the earthiness increased and the pepper stayed fairly constant. As I smoked along I started getting some really nice citrusy notes as well. Construction was first-rate; I experienced a flawless draw, very even burn line and solid ash.
At the end the 211 gave up creamy coffee flavors with a continuing dash of pepper. The body started at the high end of the mild range and ended in a more medium area. Strength was moderate. This really was a fantastic cigar and I can’t remember the last time I had a Connecticut Shade stick I felt this strongly about. If you are a fan of Shade wrappers you really need to try this. If you are not normally a fan, you probably need to try this anyway. It had a wonderful flavor with plenty of complexity. Also of note is that this is the third Esteban Carreras recent release that I think is better than their older cigars; they seem to have really changed directions. As far as the 211 designation…turns out it was me that robbed the company; there’s no other explanation for a cigar this good to cost this little. I ended up smoking another sample of this between the time I wrote this review and the time it posted and I have to maintain that it is one of the finest Connecticut Shade wrapped cigars on the market today.
Body: 4/10
Strength: 5/10
Complexity: 8/10
AFP Scale
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9.5/10
