Vitola: Torpedo
Size: 6” x 53 ring gauge
MSRP $7.95
Sample provided by Vicarias Cigars
Background
I heard of Vicarias as I was preparing for this year’s Chattanooga Tweet-Up. They participated, providing some of their sampler packs of cigars that we gave away at the raffle table and one or two representing the company were in attendance. A week or two later I gave an opinion on those sampler cigars, not knowing at the time that the company had those especially made in 5” x 48 Robusto sizes to give out at the IPCPR show…but they weren’t the regular release sizes for the cigars (at least not for the most part). Fast forward a month and a half after Tweet-Up and Vicarias sent some cigars to Burns for the employees to try out…since I am a retail tobacconist as well as a cigar blogger, I took the opportunity to get one of each so I could give “full review” treatment to these new cigars. I’m starting today with the “Vicarias Blue.”
John Johnson, one of the owners of the company provided some good background on the company and their philosophy:
we often find ourselves, sharing time and experiences with our friends, living vicariously through others, whether it’s our kids, sports, or just a great book. Sometimes we live our live vicariously. “It’s who we are, it’s what we do! Thus our name VICARIAS.”
He added that the launched on March 20, 2014 at Jungle Jim’s International Market in Fairfield, Ohio. I’ve never been to Jungle Jim’s, but if a supermarket is big enough to make it to the Travel Channel as a “destination” I know it’s a place I will have to visit at some point…I didn’t know they had a cigar shop until last year.
Each of the 3 initial Vicarias releases are available in a single size. In the case of Blue, that size is a 6” x 53 ring gauge Torpedo. It uses Nicaraguan, Dominican Peruvian and Columbian fillers, a Dominican Olor binder, and a Corojo-hybrid wrapper from Ecuador. This review is the first time I’ve smoked this blend in this size.
Prelight
The banding of the Vicarias lines is neat and simple, although perhaps a little too simple to stand out extremely well in today’s crowded humidor. One color printed (blue in this case), gold foil and embossing make up the design and it’s vaguely Central American, maybe some Aztec-ian influence on the design in the big gold square…though not overtly. The wrapper leaf was almost the color of cinnamon sticks, just slightly less reddish. It was oily to the touch and had mostly small veins in the leaf structure, although it was stretched over larger veins in the binder and filler underneath, giving the cigar a slightly lumpy, bumpy appearance.
Giving the cigar a sniff, I picked up an aroma of natural tobacco with a hint of cedar, while the foot had a slightly ripe earthiness and some grassiness. The cold draw was excellent, featuring flavors of cedar and citrus mostly.
Flavor
The first couple puffs on the Vicarias Blue were actually a bit unpleasant to me…quite bitter. I soldiered through those and after a minute or two the cigar settled down a bit to deliver a subtle citrus sweetness, a slightly astringent cedar note, and flavors of natural, aged tobacco. The retrohale was a little nutty, with a touch of black pepper mixed in. As the first third continued to burn the flavor got better; by the end it was mostly citrus and hay with touches of cedar underneath and a faint red pepper burn starting.
During the second third, more Dominican traits started showing up in the flavor profile: a bit of toastiness, a touch of musty earthiness that I normally associate with Davidoff blends (and which I believe comes from the Olor). The subtle red pepper burn at the back of the palate continued to grow as well.
In the last third, I got more toast, more earth, and touches of cedar, all while the pepper spice subtly increased, while never rising as high as some other Corojo wrapped sticks. A little citrus sweetness still was evident as well.
Construction
The sample of Vicarias Blue I smoked was flawless in terms of construction: excellent draw, very even burn line and solid ash.
Value
The price for these is right in the sweet spot (in my opinion) for cigars these days, which often is difficult for a new brand to achieve. Good price and good smoking experience equals very good value.
Conclusions
After a bit of a rocky start, the Vicarias Blue proved to be a very nice medium-bodied, medium-strength smoke with a decent amount of complexity and a very pleasant flavor profile combining touches of the Dominican, Nicaraguan and Corojo leaf, as well as just a touch of citrus sweetness from the Peruvian-seed leaf used. I do wonder what it would be like in a slightly smaller ring gauge (don’t I always?) like a Corona Gorda, but as is, this is a unique entry into the cigar marketplace and the price is very fair.
By-The-Numbers
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9/10
I won a sampler of each of their cigars in the robusto size. The construction on the White and Black were flawlesss. The Blue started out beautifully with those great corojo flavors but then headed south in the second third. The burn got ragged and the flavor turned bland with some bitterness. I was somewhat disappointed. I was hoping the Blue would be the favorite of the three.It started out so well.
Sounds pretty good. I had only heard of them when Mark won them. Thanks for the review.
A 9/10 for a $7.00 and change smoke.. sounds like an all around winner to me… Hope to find these in the wild.
Sometimes when a cigar has that, “Wait for it”, moment it can be a cool thing!
Glad you gave the cigar the benefit of the doubt, turned out to be pretty good from your description and the price is awesome.
I like the blend of different tobaccos and the fact that it was enjoyable. Many times a cigar has a complete mashup of tobacco types from various locations and they just don’t work that great together.