Some New Things From Gran Habano, Part 2

Last week, I started a two-part look at some new offerings from Gran Habano Cigars…a brand that I smoked with great regularity a decade ago, but one that I had all but forgotten about them more recently. To recap, they sent 4 cigars, 1 each of 4 new (or new-ish) releases. I took a short look at the Gran Reserva No. 5, 2011, and S.T.K. Miami Zulu Zulu Mas Paz Edition, Black, in part one.

And now, part two…

Gran Habano Corojo No. 5, Maduro 2011

• Vitola: Gran Robusto
• 6” x 54 ring gauge
• $6 – $8.50, depending on size

This cigar is a sibling to the first one I looked at lats week, the Gran Reserva #5, at least in some naming conventions and packaging of the cigars. Both that cigar and this one are 2011 vintages (using at least some tobacco from the 2011 harvest), and both are No. 5 (whatever that may randomly mean in this case). The primary bands on both are very similar although this one uses gold, while the former one used silver foil. This one features a secondary band that reads “Maduro No. 5 Limitado” instead of the cedar sheath.

According to the fact sheet accompanying these cigars, this line is made in Honduras using Nicaraguan Jalapa and Costa Rican fillers, a Costa Rican Habano binder, and a Nicaraguan Maduro wrapper (which I’m guessing is Corojo since that descriptor is part of the name of the stick).

The dark chocolate colored wrapper leaf was oily with a moderate amount of veininess; it had aromas of leather and chocolate. The foot of the cigar had more earth and cedar to it. The cold draw was very good and featured notes of dark cherry and cocoa powder.

After setting the foot on fire, I got a fairly complex blend of dried fruit, earth, cedar, cocoa powder and anise on the palate, as well as a damp earthiness and a bit of pepper on the retrohale. It was all about a medium-plus in body at the start.

As I smoked through it, I found this cigar to be pretty decent, but not extraordinary. I found myself wondering if it was just the Costa Rican leaf that factored so heavily in the blend that I didn’t care for. I’ve had a couple CR puros and found them to be pretty lackluster, so that could be it. I found this cigar to be sweet and earthy, but beyond that the complexity died pretty quickly and it didn’t feature a lot of flavor change throughout.

Gar by George Rico

• Vitola: Robusto
• 5.625 x 46 ring gauge
• Price $??

Finally we come to a cigar that is not so much “new” as “new to me”…the Gar by George Rico. GAR is named for George’s initials but also serves as an abbreviation of “cigar” so it works on two levels. This particular cigar is the Gar Red line that was introduced in 2013. It is a Nicaraguan puro and was originally released in just large ring gauge sizes, so I’m guessing this Robusto is a line extension. It’s a value priced cigar and the larger sizes start around $5, so I’d expect this to be in the $4 to $4.50 range.

The Red and white label on the Gar doesn’t exactly scream “cheap cigar” so I give props for that. It goes very well against the cinnamon colored wrapper, as well. I detected hay and cedar aromas from the wrapper, along with more cedar and earth on the foot. The cold draw was good and featured notes of wood with a faint sweetness.

Lit up, the Gar Red had a light earthiness, along with secondary notes of cedar and coffee. There was a little black pepper on the nose, but very little considering that this is a Nicaraguan puro.

It was in the second third that I started picking up some sourness in the mix…and not a good sourness that is balanced well with sweetness. I honestly ended up just not caring for this cigar and put it out with a third left to go.

While it was nice to revisit the Gran Habano line and see what they’ve been up to the last few years, I can’t shake the feeling that most of the cigars should be in the bargain online/catalog category. Most are not “bad” smokes, but they just don’t have the overall flavor or complexity I would expect from a more expensive cigar.