But despite my silly oversight, I managed to get one to review for everyone’s enjoyment! The cigar I’m referring to happens to be an Illusione ‘888’ Slam. This particular cigar is not entirely full production at the time I write this. Dion Giolitto, of Illusione Cigars, released this as a prototype blend and it seems it was well received all around!

Although the name is mostly the same, the Illusione ‘888’ Slam is not the exact same blend as the Illusione ‘888’. The main difference is a single type of filler leaf that was removed to help make the “bench” press process possible. The bench press style of this cigar is where the “Slam” in the title comes from. The Illusione ‘888’ Slam is a Nicaraguan Puro, meaning all the leaf in the blend is sourced from Nicaraguan tobacco. The one thing that doesn’t come from Nicaragua in this cigar is the production, it’s actually rolled in the Honduras factory.

As with each of the Illusione blends, they have a little catchphrase associated with each blend. In this case, the catch phrase is “Neccesary and Sufficient”. The name and numbers have roots in Dion’s faith and I would recommend reading about the meaning on his website. The addition of the meaning behind each name is a very interesting addition in the cigar world.

Cigar: Illusione ‘888’ Slam
Drink: Wychwood Brewery Hobgoblin
Vitola: (6.75 x 48)
Wrapper: Nicaragua
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Price: About $11.00
Burn Time: A little over 1.5 hours

Construction:
• This is a long bench-pressed cigar with an appealing cinnamon brown wrapper
• The wrapper appears to have a couple of small water spots but there are no substantial veins to be seen anywhere, it’s very smooth
• The cigar has a soft feel to it when squeezed but it’s nicely consistent from end to end
• The top is finished with a clean triple cap while the foot appears very well packed
• The cut was pretty easy although it made a bit of a mess in the ashtray

Burn:
• The toasting on this cigar was super easy, the smaller ring gauge and bench pressed shape helped it to glow evenly with little effort
• Through the first bit the cigar is burning razor sharp as well as nice and slow
• May have spoke too soon once again, started getting some very slanted burn now
• I let it go for a bit hoping for a self correction but it needed a little intimidation from my lighter
• Had another lopsided burn situation that needed correction just past the halfway mark
• In the last third the wrapper actually stopped burning and I needed to touch it up a couple times, this might have been due to the 94% humidity outside?

Smoke & Ash:
• Lots of smoke coming off each draw, very full and enjoyable
• The ash is a very light grey and has some dark black zebra striping
• It only lasted about an inch, started to go all lopsided so I decided to tap it off
• Despite it’s weakness, the ash stays nice and clean with no flaking
• Ashes continue to be about an inch but the few touchups made it weaker and I had a few miss the ashtray and go for a dive to the floor
• I had pure butter fingers with this cigar tonight and kept losing my ash! Oops!

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper has a light and sweet aroma to it, maybe a touch of cocoa in there
• Pre-light draw brings a heavy flavor of cedar and earthiness
• Right from the initial draw I’m getting a big burst of spice on each draw with an earthy undertone
• The retrohale right off the bat here is fantastic! It’s got a nice helping of cedar, a mall bite of spice and the finish is super unique. The closest I can compare it to is the type of grapes used to make wine with. A very unique tarty sweetness that I’ve never found in a cigar before
• Body is starting off in the low end of medium so far
• The spice settles down after a couple inches and left me with mostly earthiness and some cedar, the retrohale remains super tasty!
• As I get to the halfway mark I’m getting a nice roasted coffee flavor that’s balancing very nicely with the cedar and spice
• The finish throughout this cigar has been extremely smooth and not drying at all, you could probably smoke this whole cigar without a drink, it’s that smooth
• Getting into the last third that tarty sweetness I’m getting on the retrohale is making an appearance in the normal draw, very nice touch
• As I get into the last couple of inches the spice is making a big comeback, each draw gives a very interesting texture on my tongue, it’s thick and chewy and almost feels like I just sprinkled black pepper right on my tongue. Very cool!
• The cigar did not get harsh at all near the end, just some huge bursts of spice and still a smooth finish

Final Thoughts:
The Illusione ‘888’ Slam was awesome! That just about sums it up! Do I need to continue? ok fine… The most enjoyable part of this cigar that I can’t emphasize enough is the retrohale. If you don’t run the smoke through your nasal passages I think you would be missing out on a huge part of this cigar. You would probably think that I’m crazy and the cigar was just ok. Without the retrohale, it’s an ok cigar. But with it, it’s fantastic. The burn was nice and even for the most part and draw was spot on. The price is a tad high but this is a long vitola and makes for a fully enjoyable experience. the price may make it hard for a lot of people to opt for a full box, but definitely reach for a 5-pack if you can, they are worth it in my opinion.

Pairings:
Tonight’s pairing choice is from Wychwood Brewery in Oxfordshire England and is called Hobgoblin. Seems I’m picking up a lot of English brews lately, not on purpose though, it just seems to be what I find at the store. I actually posted up a full review of this beer awhile ago during the colder months, you can read it here. The beer has some seriously tasty hoppy bitterness and lots of malt. On top of that you can pick up some light berry flavors. It’s definitely enjoyable on it’s own and I’ve found it to be an excellent pairing with quite a few cigars as well. It paired nicely with the Illusione ‘888’ Slam and I think the main reason for this is because of it’s straightforward profile. It doesn’t have too much in the way of other sweet flavors and prides itself as a traditional Ruby Beer. This makes it a good palate cleanser and doesn’t mess with the cigars flavors very much, allowing you to enjoy the cigar for what it is. Other great pairings here would be a full stout, my favorite tawny port or a nice cup of coffee.

Illusione ~88~

(Tony) The ~88~ was the first Illusione I had ever been able to find on store shelves. For whatever reason El Paso isn’t too keen on boutique blends, or so I thought, until I stumbled into a little shop called Tobacco rd. The shelves are full with hard to find boutique blends, and pretty much every Illusione made. Needless to say this is a rare gem, and I’ve been sold on this shop ever since. 

(Daniel) In Canada, the Illusione name is pretty much unknown. I’ve asked Dion on Twitter about distribution here and he thinks it’s just not fair to see his productsell for such outrageous prices so he has no immediate plans to get it here. Bascially, my only option to get some of these is from a select few online stores or friends. This particular stick was sent to me by none other than Tony Casas himself (Thanks bud!). 

Illusione ~88~

The Good Stuff: 

Honestly, I don’t have whole lot of information on this cigar. Basically this is a Nicaraguan Puro cigar produced by Dion Giolito, of Illsuione cigars using pure Nicaraguan tobacco farmed from fields in Jalapa Valley and Esteli. The cigars are then hand-made in the Raices Cubanas factory amongst a Dream Team of tobacco experts. A lot of care and hard work goes into each Illusione cigar and it shows. 

Each Illusione carries with it a cryptic name which represents anything from cult followings to specific pin point’s in Dion’s life. You can view these on the Illusione website here. The ~88~ has a simple and straight forward story: 

~88~ Robusto 

No secret here. It harkens back to 1988 when I made that fateful decision to transfer from Oklahoma and come to Reno for College. “Robust” was just something different than Robusto. It speaks more for the body of the cigar than the nature of its size.” 

Size: 5×52  -  Wrapper: Café Colorado  -   Filler/Binder: Nicaraguan Corojo and Criollo  -  Body: Medium/Full 

Illusione ~88~

Prelight: 

(Tony) The ~88~ carries an extremely consistently, medium chocolate brown wrapper, topped off with yet another beautifully round triple cap. There are tons of little veins throughout the cigar, none of which are big enough to cause any concern. The 88 is extremely tightly packed and very firm to the touch with little bounce back. All Illusione carry similar, striking bands. The ~88~ is very simple, and stands out with its simple white background, and black print stating only “illusione” and “~88~”. The wrapper on the ~88~ gives off mainly a strong, tobacco smell with hints of leather. The aroma off the foot gives off a similar, more pronounced tobacco scent with earth undertones. 

The ~88~ cut easily with my Palio double bladed cutter. The cold draw produces very leathery tastes with bits of spice, and even honey. 

Illusione ~88~

(Daniel)  The wrapper on my ~88~ had a delicious oily sheen and a dark brown wrapper. The triple cap was cleanly applied and the whole cigar was even, symmetrical and had a slight springiness to it. The wrapper itself was flawless with no large veins, it also had an aroma of spice and sweet tobacco. The foot did not seem tightly packed but was nice and even. The cut was a little messy for me but didn’t cause any major problems. It did have a very open draw but produced some nice floral notes and sweet tobacco. The flavor on the lips had a nice touch of spiciness. 

Illusione ~88~

First Smoke: 

(Tony) The ~88~ lit up very easily under my triple flame butane torch. Instantaneously I am greeted with a touch of pepper, followed up with strong woodsy and grassy flavors back by tons of little spice notes. I am getting an almost fruity after taste. The draw is perfect, and effortless, producing a massive cloud of thick white smoke. The burnline is razor sharp and leaves behind a beautiful, striped light/medium grey ash. The ~88~ doesn’t produce a lot of stationary smoke, however what little smoke it does leave behind is extremely inviting and smells of burned wood and grass. The ash held on well over an inch before giving way. 

Illusione ~88~

(Daniel)  Toasting the cigar with my culinary torch was almost too easy. It lit up completely even and quite quickly. It started to canoe a bit off the start but quickly corrected itself with no extra attention needed. The mouthful of smoke I was getting was near perfect and seemed to linger in front of me after exhaling, making some interesting smoke-art in mid-air. The initial draws gave me a wonderful toasted nut flavors and some earthy undertones. The retro-hale was surprisingly smooth and and had a great tasting toasted nut flavor. The ash was slightly uneven but had no flaking and held on strongly for a good 1.5 inches. 

Illusione ~88~

Halfway There: 

(Tony) I’m halfway through this ~88~ and I can’t put it down. The mixtures of wood and spice, combined with the creamy, smooth smoke is forcing me to go to town on this cigar. I’m really enjoying it. The retrohale is smooth as well, leaving behind cedar and spice. Halfway through the burnline began to thicken pretty substantially, leaving behind small waves, but nothing to be concerned about. I’m not feeling much, if any nicotine off this cigar. Just tons of flavor.

Illusione ~88~

(Daniel) This stick is going amazingly well. The burn has been a little wavy for me but I think it’s caused by my slightly open draw. It hasn’t required any major corrections and has stayed lit fairly well. It’s allowing me to enjoy it nice and slowly while savoring all the flavors. On top of the wonderful flavors mention at the start, I’m starting to pick up some great coffee notes . All the flavors are blending together perfectly, well balanced, and super smooth. 

Illusione ~88~

Finish: 

(Tony) Towards the end of the cigar the burnline began to correct itself, and no touch ups were needed at all. The draw stayed consistently large, and effortless all the way through the ~88~. The final portion of this cigar was dynamite. The flavors morphed into a straight forward cedar/leather mixture and picked up in body. There was no harshness despite how often I hit this cigar. The ~88~ finished as I wish all cigars would, smooth and flavorful.

Illusione ~88~

(Daniel) The finish was not disappointing at all. The earthy and nut flavors disappeared for the most part but the coffee flavors have been complimented by a nice cedar note. The pairing of these two flavors is nearly perfect. The draw improved and the burn held strong till the finish. For the most part this cigar was medium but during the last inch or so I felt the body ramp up to a smooth full. I will definitely grab a few more of these ~88~’s, there was almost nothing to complain about. The was nearly no bitterness/harshness at the end and I ended up nubbing this as far as I could. 

Illusione ~88~

Overview: 

(Tony) The ~88~ is extremely smooth and consistent while the flavors switched up just enough to keep my attention, but not drastically enough to second guess what cigar I was smoking. I felt very little nicotine off this cigar, making it perfect for the everyday cigar smoker, or the novice. Needless to say I have smoked a ton of these guys, and plan on smoking a whole lot more. This is one of the very few cigars that I’ve been able to go through one, after another, after another and not get burned out. I think the retail on the ~88~ is close to $8 a stick, although it crests the upper level of similar boutique robustos, spending the money on the ~88~ will not leave you disappointed.

Illusione ~88~

(Daniel) This was one enjoyable cigar, from start to finish the ~88~ kept me happy and enjoying every moment. The flavors kept my attention and the greatburn allowed me to smoke it slowly without worrying about it going out. My general exposure to boutique cigars has been limited since I live in Canada and I was honestly skeptical about them. This Illusione ~88~ has definitely put the skepticisms to rest and I will be looking further into the Illusione line. As Tony mentioned, the price of the stick is around $8 and this seems like a fair price and I would happily spend it to get more of these in my humidor. 

Illusione ~88~

Pairing: 

(Tony) I decided to pair this cigar with one of my favorite Dopplebocks,Weihenstephaner Korbinian. Korbinianis a strong, bold and flavor enriched beer. The alcohol content averages at 7.4% and brings flavors such as chocolate, coffee, and fruit as well as a bit of bitterness to the pallet. This was a perfect pairing in my books as it helps pick up the subtle flavors of the ~88~ as well as match up with some of the more prominent flavors.

Illusione ~88~ and Weihenstephaner Korbinian

(Daniel) My drink of choice with this cigar was Alexander Keiths Dark Ale. This is an inexpensive dark beer with subtle hints of coffee and cocoa with an added kick of bitterness. Seems Tony and I picked very similar pairings with this and I also agree it was a great match. The cigar was pairing was well matched enough that neither one drowned out the flavors of the other. allowing me to enjoy them both equally. Some other good pairings with this cigar could be a smooth Tawny port or a fine glassof scotch or cognac.

Cruzado

I have heard of these cigars, but most shops locally in El Paso, Texas don’t even carry Illusione cigars, so unless I was to receive these as a gift or trade, I probably never would have got my grubby little paws on one.

Luckily, a great little shop by the name of Tobacco Road recently jumped on the Illusione bandwagon and not only started stocking Illusione cigars, but Cruzado as well. Adam, the owner of the shop, actually gifted me a few of the Cruzado cigars in hopes to spread word of the brand. If you’re ever in town, Tobacco Road is a must-stop.

The Good Stuff: As stated earlier, the Cruzado line of cigars is another line blended by the mastermind himself, Dion Giolito. The Cruzado line was released in mid 2008. With the success of Dion’s Illusione lines the Cruzado had quite a bit of hype to live up to. Unlike the full-bodied Illusione cigars the Cruzado is best described as a medium to full, with complex flavors, soft spices atop leather and general creaminess. The size I have recieved is the Dantes Robusto. The Cruzado is blended by Dion, and then rolled in the Raices Cubanas along with the rest of the Illusione line.

Size: 5 x 48 -  Wrapper: Nicaragua Criollo  -  Binder/Filler: Nicaraguan/Honduran  - Strength: Medium

Cruzado

Prelight: The Cruzado’s wrapper is very firm to the touch. There were no soft spots whatsoever, actually quite the opposite. The wrapper was nice and oily, but at the same time it seemed a bit firmer than what I was used to. As most of Dion’s cigars the Cruzado sports a nice, rounded triple cap. I really wish more cigar manufacturers would take a que from Cuban construction and triple wrap their caps. The cap seems to be the only portion of the cigar I ever really have any problems with. not only is the wrapper a nice, milk chocolate shade of brown, but it also carries with it chocolate scents with hints of spice. The foot of the Cruzado smells very leathery with notes of nutmeg.

Cruzado

Cold Draw: I cut this particular cigar using my Palio double-bladed cutter. The cut was very clean, and there were no signs of misconstruction upon the slice. The cold draw was very spicy, with timid hints of what I could only categorize best as German pastry.

First Smoke: The Cruzado was wrapped a bit too tight for my liking. I was able to pull a decent draw off of the cigar but it took far more hits than I am used to. Almost instantaneously I was smacked in the face with a burst of pepper I wasn’t expecting. Other flavors were oats, bread, spice, cinnamon, nutmeg, leather, and again the German pastry. The Cruzado didn’t leave much of an aftertaste, just the slight lingering tobacco taste that is expected when smoking cigars. The burn started off well but is beginning to get slightly wavy. It’s still too early into the cigar to tell how this will affect the overall experience. The Cruzado is a great retro-hale cigar, clean, non-burning. I got about and inch and a half into the Cruzado before the ash gave way for the first time.

Cruzado

Halfway There: Shortly after I reached the halfway point the draw began to open up a whole lot more. I was no longer having to hit this cigar three or four times to get the massive burst of smoke I wanted. The burn line did get a bit wavy and I had to touch it up, I don’t see any further issues with it though. The flavors are holding their own. At this point the pepper is no longer in the mix, more spice, vanilla, oats, and bread. I’m really quite surprised how slow this cigar is burning. The smoke is thick and very light in color where as the ash is a whole lot darker than what you would normally expect out of any cigar. It’s not really flaky, but it isn’t really packed either.

Cruzado

Finish: There was a slight harshness to the nub of the Cruzado, but not anything serious. It may be in part to the massive smoking I did early into the cigar. The Cruzado finished very smooth otherwise. There was no nicotine feel. Overall the Cruzado was an incredibly smooth smoke. The pepper made a quick return towards the end of the cigar, but just enough to effect the aftertaste. After the halfway touch-up I had no further burn issues at all. The flavors finished off very Vanilla Coffee Creamery, with Oaky Leather and hints of pepper.

Cruzado

Overview: Although the Cruzado had great flavors, and was extremely smooth, it was just a little on the light side for my taste. This isn’t to say I won’t have it again. I actually think the Cruzado will be one of the few Medium smoke I will have in my regular rotation. This is a perfect cigar for novice and casual smokers.

Cruzado