Cigar Review: San Cristobal Revelation by Ashton

One of the changes I am making this year is the format of the full reviews. The level of information I provided before will be there, but it will be more of a starting place now. I will be adding more direct quote information from the manufacturers whenever possible, as well as breaking down the sections a bit, so when I assign a number in the “Prelight” section of the ratings, you can look back to that section of the review to see exactly what I may have deducted points for. I’m not going to say this format is “final”…more of a “work-in-progress” that may need some refinement and adjustment over the next couple months. Please let me know what you think (including how it can be made better) in the comments section.

Vitola: Mystic
Size: 5.625” x 48 ring gauge
Price: MSRP approx. $6.95 
Purchased at Burns Tobacconist

Background

The Ashton-owned San Cristobal line debuted in 2007 and marked one of the early (first?) collaborations between Ashton and the My Father Cigar company. Six years later, we now have 3 additional lines added (and maybe one subsequently deleted; I can find no reference to Selección del Sol on Ashton’s website), including the recently added Revelation, which showed up at my local tobacconist in September. I enjoyed the first release of San Cristobal, but heard later that they had tweaked the blend a year or two later and I didn’t enjoy that one as much. Neither Selección del Sol nor Elegancia did much for my palate, so it didn’t really even register when Revelation was announced, making its appearance on the shelves a surprise. And so was the flavor…but I’m getting ahead of myself.

This is from the Ashton website:

Originally introduced in 2007, San Cristobal has slowly but surely built up a strong, loyal customer following.  Now, with momentum heading in the right direction, we are ready to add another thoroughbred to the burgeoning San Cristobal stable… Handcrafted with passion and precision by Jose “Pepin” Garcia in Estelí, Nicaragua, San Cristobal Revelation features a lovely milk chocolate-hued Ecuador Sumatra wrapper along with a rich, vibrant blend of aged Nicaraguan tobaccos.  Medium to full-bodied, these cigars offer a rich, earthy flavor-bouquet extenuated by decadent notes of leather, cedar, nuts and spice.

Revelation was launched in 5 sizes:

• Prophet (5 x 54)
• Mystic (5.625 x 48)
• Odyssey (5.75 x 60)
• Legend (6.25 x 52)
• Leviathan (6.5 x 64)

Image from Ashton webiste

It is said the wrapper is the same varietal as Ashton’s famed Virgin Sun Grown (VSG) line, although this is a lower priming, so lighter in color and different in flavor to some degree.

Before this review sample, I smoked at least 2 others of this size, all of which were purchased at Burns Tobacconist in Chattanooga, Tennessee. If your local B&M does not carry San Cristobal, give Burns a call at 423-855-5200.

Prelight

As is typical of Ashton, the appearance of the San Cristobal Revelation is very nice. The band is ornate and shiny with gold foil and embossing. Whoever does their art is very skilled, too, because it is beautiful and ornate, without being over-the-top or trying too hard. The result is a band that will draw the possibly glazed-over eye of the customer in the humidor as he looks through 500 different brands in a large walk-in humidor.

The wrapper leaf was (indeed) a milk chocolate brown in color with a very oily touch, although not a huge amount of visible sheen. I saw only a few medium-sized veins and everything seemed to be skillfully and artfully bound together and wrapped up. When I gave the wrapper a sniff, I got notes of barnyard and cedar; the foot was earthy with a note of black pepper. I can’t forget to note here, too, that the cigar has a very nicely rounded box press…actually more of a rectangle press that has a natural feel to it like the San Lotano Oval.

As if my normal practice, I performed a straight cut with my Xikar Xi cutter. The draw was very good and yielded flavors of earth and cedar with just a touch of a mineral, coppery twang.

Flavor

The Revelation started off with a mix of cedar, earth and hay notes on the palate, along with just a touch of citrus sweetness. The retrohale had a hot red pepper burn to it. As the first third continued, I got a bit of chocolate in the sweeter aspect of the flavor profile and less citrus. The cedar was a major influence throughout the beginning stages, but it was well-balanced and never threatened to overwhelm.

Toward the beginning of the second third, I started to pick up hay notes with a sudden increase in citrus, along with a corresponding decrease in cedar flavor. I continued to get loads of pepper spice through the second and final thirds, as well. As I drew near the end of the cigar, the cedar increased again, along with some great balancing chocolatey sweetness. The red pepper was a presence throughout the cigar, but it did increase a bit in intensity toward the end.

Construction

This cigar was very well-built. The draw was flawless. The burn line was straight enough, needing a couple minor touch-ups. The ash was solid and hung on for over half an inch.

Value

At roughly $7, I found this to be a good value. I’ve already bought at least 3 of them and expect that I will purchase more.

Conclusions

The San Cristobal Revelation is a very worthy addition to this line-up for Ashton. In fact, I would call it my favorite blend in the brand. It was medium to full in body and strength with a very pleasing complexity. I would recommend it for fans of My Father blends, Sumatran wrapper leaf, and peppery cigars.

By-The-Numbers

Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9.5/10

This article originally appeared on Tiki Bar Online