Vitola: Raja (Toro)- 6” x 50 ring gauge
- ~$5.25
- Samples provided by Gran Habano Cigars
Background
We have finally arrived at the last sample Gran Habano sent me for review purposes at this time. This time around I’m looking at the Persian King. Again, there is very little to say about this cigar as far as “background” goes. It’s listed on the company’s website as a Nicaraguan puro, although it has a small piece of Connecticut Shade leaf wrapped around the foot, and I suspect that leaf is grown in Ecuador. The rest of the wrapper is Nicaraguan Habano.
This cigar is unbanded, comes in a wooden cabinet box in one of two sizes (Tiger is a 6” x 60), and costs just a little over $5 per stick. Gran Habano sent me two samples and I’m smoking the second one for this review.
Prelight
Plain box and no band…not much in the way of marketing for these. I guess the unique look of having the Connecticut Shade leaf on the foot is supposed to get people to pick them up…that and the bargain price. This may be one of those cases where no band is better than having a cheap-looking band…which can be a detraction from the overall presentation.
The Nicaraguan Habano wrapper was a light-medium brown color with a tiny bit of oiliness in evidence. The Shade tip was a more golden brown color. Both felt oilier than they looked. The Habano had a strong cedar aroma to it, along with undertones of hay and earth. The Shade tip was grassier, but had plenty of cedar in the mix, as well.
It was no big surprise that the cold draw was really bad…since this was an extreme example of a “closed foot.” I got little bits of cedar and earth in the cold flavors.
Flavor
I lit up the twisted Shade tip and the entire foot of the cigar, rendering a very good draw in the process. The Persian King started off with a very creamy, smooth smoke that had plenty of grassiness at first, followed by earth and cinnamon and cedar and a little pepper spice. It took a couple firings to get the cigar burning straight and evenly. As soon as the Habano wrapper started burning, the flavor profile went from mild-ish to medium-plus almost instantly. It produced a strong cedar and cinnamon flavor, with earth and pepper riding just underneath.
Getting into the second third, I noted that the woody flavors had toned down a little with more earthiness coming through, along with a touch of sweetness that I couldn’t quite define, as well as a mild, consistent pepper.
The final third of the Persian King was again smooth and creamy with touches of oak, hay, and earth. The pepper had subsided to almost nothing.
Construction
Once I got the Persian King burning, it had a great draw, very even burn line and solid ash.
Value
This was a good cigar and the price is great, so very good value.
Conclusions
The Persian King isn’t the most flavorful or complex cigar I’ve had from the Gran Habano line, but the flavor profile did stand up as consistently pleasing to my palate, without any “off” notes. The construction was good and the price is great, making it a very good “budget cigar” choice, a couple steps above even the best bundle cigars. I would definitely grab a few of these as “driving home cigars” after a day of working in the cigar shop…a time when I want something good, but nothing that costs too much.
By-The-Numbers
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 3.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 8.5/10
