Cigar Review: Culebra by En Fuego Cigars and Lounge

Cigar: Culebra by En Fuego Cigars and Lounge
Size: 7×38 (Culebra)
Wrapper: Dominican, Maduro
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican
Price: Purchased for $24.95 at En Fuego Cigars and Lounge

A couple of weeks ago, my wife and I traveled to Las Vegas to visit a high school friend of ours. Him and his wife wanted us to come and hang out for a few days before the child arrived (and as you read this, their son should be about 12 hours old). Anytime we visit Las Vegas, we always make a point to go to Casa Fuente, but this time around it was closed for renovations. My friend, searching around for a suitable replacement to pick up cigars off the strip (normal pricing), came upon [Enfuego Cigar and Lounge] and found their Culebra cigar. An article from Cigar Press magazine states the history of the Culebra came from factory managers allowing rollers three cigars which ended up rolled and banded together to prevent them from being sold on the black market. Being that this was my first Culebra I’ve ever had, I knew I had to review it here.

The Culebra was already un-banded for me (done so at check-out). No construction issues were found, but for anyone seeing me hold and smoke this cigar in the Monte Carlo lounge, it had to look like I was smoking a twisted tree branch. Hints of cinnamon and leather were found in the pre-light. Already cut at the shop, I found strong notes of leather right on the front of the palette and pepper on the sides and back of the palette. The draw had a nice balance, despite having to twist around the cigar. Michael Abdoulah, owner of En Fuego Cigars and Lounge, was kind enough to give my friend and I a tour of the shop, his humidor and introduced to us his roller who does all their custom blends, said that the Culebra would start off very strong and back off a bit at the midway point. He was not kidding. This is a strong cigar right from the start, one of the strongest I have had in quite awhile. The flavor profile stayed consistent up until about the middle of the cigar where the strength backed off a little bit. The leather notes stayed prominent but the pepper mellowed out. The last fourth of the cigar gave me an additional mocha note, coupling with the leather notes finishing out the cigar. Total smoking time was 1:31.

I did have a couple of minor issues with the first of the three Culebra cigars smoked. About 20 minutes into smoking it, the wrapper started pulling away near the cap of the cigar. I was able to hold the wrapper on and keep everything together. The other two did not exhibit these problems when smoked days later. I did have to relight the cigar a few times; once at the first turn and once near the end of the cigar. The ash held tighter to the cigar, which is always a plus for me (ash magnet).

By-The-Numbers
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 1.5/2
Flavor: 4.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9/10

To recap the Culebra:

• This cigar is not for beginners. Incredibly strong and full bodied. If you are a fan of full bodied cigars, this is for you.
• The flavor profiles are nice for being such a strong cigar, but I would love a little something that complements the strength.
• You are essentially getting three cigars for $8.31, so this is a nice value to be had.

I want to thank Michael Abdoulah for his hospitality while visiting En Fuego Cigars and Lounge and would encourage anyone visiting Las Vegas to check his shop out. I know the next time we visit, my wife and I will be looking forward to hanging out there. And a special note to my friend Matt and his wife Holly on the birth of their son.

As always, thank you very much for reading and I look forward to the next time I can share my thoughts with you.