Vitola: Corona Gorda- 5.625” x 46 ring gauge
- ~$9.00
- Samples provided by Gran Habano
Background
I reviewed the Zulu Zulu “Mas Paz” Black a few days ago…a lot of what I’m going to put here in the background section is a direct lift from that review.
Zulu Zulu was announced in 2015 as part of the Gran Habano S.T.K. Miami series, made in the Gran Habano Miami facility. The blend was originally part of George Rico’s private collection and the boxes featured art commissioned by Rico from his Colombian-American artist and friend, “Mas Paz.”
There are two different versions of the Zulu Zulu “Mas Paz,” and they both start with Nicaraguan filler and binder leaves. Today I’m looking at the “White” version which features an Nicaraguan Habano wrapper leaf. It’s also worth noting that while the Black version describes the binder as “Nicaraguan,” for the White, it is “Nicaraguan Habano.” It honestly could be the exact same filler and binder on both…or it could be very different. The blend is available in 3 sizes which skew toward the smaller ring gauge…a 40 ring gauge Lancero, the 46 ring gauge Corona Gorda I am reviewing, and a 54 ring gauge Toro.
I did a short look at both Black and White versions when they came out and I did remark at the time that proceeds from the sales of these cigars was set to go to La Casa de la Madre y el Niño, an orphanage in Colombia. I smoked two of these cigars for this review cycle, both of which were provided by Gran Habano.
Prelight
The translucent printed vellum that wraps these cigars is mostly left unprinted in this instance. As it overlaps it looks white with black printing. It appears to be the same art that was used on the other cigar wrapper, just reversed out. The band is white with black type, also a reverse of the other version of this stick. Interestingly, neither black nor white versions of the wrapper cooperated with trying to unwind them this time. The glue used on them is so strong that I couldn’t unroll them and lay them flat. The first time I smoked these, this wasn’t a problem.
The wrapper of the Zulu Zulu “Mas Paz” White was a milk chocolate brown color with a slightly papery, slightly velvety feel under my fingertips and a whiff of manurey earth under my nose. I got a little more earth on the foot, along with bits of leather and cedar.
The cold draw was very good and gave up mostly cedar with an undercurrent of earth and a slight floral note.
Flavor
The first few puffs on the Zulu Zulu “Mas Paz” White were excessively cedary, really more than I like. There was a subdued semi-sweet chocolate flavor and some earth right after that, and the finish had a slight red pepper burn that faded quickly. Pepper was strong on the retrohale, but as on the palate, it faded fast. There was also some nuttiness and woodiness on the nose.
As I got into the second third, I noticed that the sweeter flavors had eased out of the picture, replaced by a stronger earthiness, roasted nuts and leather. The cedar was still around but more in the background; the red pepper was more on the nose, along with just a lingering tingle at the back of the palate.
The last third featured a minor comeback of chocolate flavor while earthiness had taken over the main flavor role. The roasted nuts and leather backed down a bit as pepper increased a bit.
Construction
The draw was tight enough that I started getting a tarry buildup halfway through the second third. When I recut to fix that, the cap broke pretty badly. After the recut, though, the draw was better and I didn’t have any further issues with the draw. The burn line was bad at times and needed major corrections. The ash was solid, though.
Value
Despite the construction issues I had, I think the price for this cigar is not out of reason. The other sample I smoked did not have similar build problems.
Conclusions
I found Zulu Zulu “Mas Paz” White to be a good cigar, though not really in my wheelhouse when it came to flavor profiles. There was too much cedar in the beginning to please my palate, although it was complex enough to offer up some intriguing flavors later on. The construction issues I had with this particular sample were not found in the first one I smoked, but it was bad enough to be concerning and knock a full point off the Construction portion of the score.
Gran Habano is an advertiser on Leaf Enthusiast and did supply the cigars for this review. That did not influence the outcome of this review.
By-The-Numbers
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 1/2
Flavor: 3.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 7.5/10
