Garo Habano Aniversario X

I had high hopes for this cigar since it had the highest price point of the 5 samples sent to us and the Sun Grown Corojo wrapper with some Ligero filler sounded like a tasty and strong cigar. Unfortunately, my samples were plagued with wrapper issues and the body barely passed medium. The flavors were very enjoyable but didn’t change throughout the cigar. Once again, I’m braving the cold Canadian climate with the help of my propane heater to bring this review to our loyal readers.

Cigar: Garo Habano Aniversario X
Drink: Chateauneuf Du Pape French wine
Vitola: Bellicoso (6.25 x 54)
Wrapper: Sun-Grown Corojo
Binder: Indonesian
Filler: Seco Cubano/Lijero Peru, Nicaragua, Criollo 98 & Cubano
Price: $8.40 from the Garo Habano web site
Burn Time: 2 – 2.25 Hours

Construction:
• Light Brown in color
• Slightly tapered head, not quite a typical Belicoso
• Small curly tail finish on top of a triple cap
• 2 prominent veins but not large enough to cause problems
• Tightly packed foot
• Good consistent firmness with a slight spring throughout
• On one sample, tight draw after two cuts, didn’t want to cut any further
• Still needed a third cut after lighting, past the tapered head now so it’s design seems kinds wasted, draw still tight but manageable
• Other samples had good draw
• At about halfway the wrapper split from the cap to the band in a straight and deep line, ruined the draw even more (see picture)
• Cigar kept expanding so the wrapper was barely burning
• Another sample split near the foot just after lighting…

Burn:
• Toasting was nice and even
• The bad draw sample felt like it was going out so I had to give it a lot of extra draws
• Burn is a little wavy but no touch ups needed through the first half
• The sample that didn’t split at the end never needed any corrections until I put it down

Smoke:
• Good amount of smoke
• Slight resting smoke that is nicely aromatic

Ash:
• Very nice light grey/white ash
• Ash is tight with no flaking
• Strong ash stuck on for about 1.5inches before I knocked it off

Tasting Notes:
• Not much aroma on the wrapper, just a slight hay/barnyard scent
• Foot has a stronger barnyard aroma and a bit of spice on the nose
• Very spicy on the lips after cutting
• Initial retrohale has a bite of spiciness that lingers
• Initial puffs are woodsy and earthy, very smooth with a great finish
• I was expecting this to be a strong smoke but it’s been consistently mild-medium bodied
• Approaching the halfway point and no flavor changes. They are good flavors but a little change would be nice
• As the wrapper expanded and stopped burning the flavors disappeared and was left with just bitter tobacco, was enjoying it until that happened…
• The sample that I was able to smoke to the nub was good to the end with only some minor bitterness

Final Thoughts:
• On the sample with the tight draw, the extra draws it needed made me feel like I was smoking it fast and I usually like to take it slow. Took away from my enjoyment of this cigar
• The flavors were tasty and very smooth but never changed. Some people may like a good consistent cigar but I prefer a little more dimension
• Cracking/exploding wrappers plagued all my samples
• The flavors were good and worth trying but they didn’t jump out at me. If they would have developed a bit or added a bit of complexity this would have been an excellent smoke minue the construction issues…

Comacho Corojo - Image courtesy of cigar.com

Although I am an infused cigar smoker, these were sent to me via a campaign Camacho was running. I’m not going to go into details, just know that because of this campaign I will not be posted any pictures of the cigar I took myself. There is good reason for this, and if you wish to see some just shoot me a message and I’ll send them right over. Outside of the Liga Privada No. 9 this will be my first tradition cigar review, so go easy on me.

The Good Stuff: The Camacho Corojo is one of the strongest cigars in the world, it boasts a complex blend of strong tobacco grown in Honduras from a rare seed smuggled out of Cuba during the embargo. Camacho Corojo is a connoisseurs cigar in that it is appreciated by enthusiasts who have over a decade in the hobby and a distinctive and experienced palate capable of differentiating all of the complexities of this cigar. Camacho Corojo is full-bodied and full-flavored. The annual production of Camacho Corojo is limited, making them difficult to come by at times.

Size: 5 x 50  -  Wrapper: Corojo  -  Flavor: Full-bodied  -  Country: Honduras

Prelight: The cigar is made-up of a dark, rich, oily wrapper that is extremely well constructed. The wrapper itself is very “maduroesque” looking. The cigar itself is very soft, with no noticeable signs of problem areas. There are quite a few larger veins but nothing that will get in the way of enjoyment. The sent of the cigar is very earthy, and almost dirty (but in a good way). The cigar sports a very rounded double cap.

First Smoke: This cigar took quite a bit of time and maneuvering to get lit properly. That caught me a bit off guard as well as how tight the draw seemed to be. After a few larger hits the draw loosened up quite a bit and became incredibly large with huge clouds of very thick smoke. The first tastes were that of a strong cedar flavor, backed by lots of spice, and even a bit of leather. The strength of this tobacco is definitely evident in this smoke. I remember turning to my wife and actually saying “Holy crap this is a strong cigar”, a few times.  The cigar is burning pretty even at this point, but it did ash a whole lot sooner than I though. About a quarter of an inch in. Hopefully this isn’t a trend.

Halfway Through: I am still blown away by the massive strength of this cigar. I’m used to “girly” infused cigars, nothing of this magnitude. It keeps things interesting. The flavor is still very consistence. My tongue and throat are taking a beating to the black pepper spice taste. Its really good actually. The burn is remaining consistent, and the ash is staying on a lot longer now. The only downfall is I am having to touch this cigar up quite a bit for the burn to remain evenly lit. A lot of people mind this, I don’t. Any excuse to play with fire keeps me entertained.

Finish: As much as I wanted to nub this cigar I couldn’t quite make it. I’m not used to these massively powerful cigars, and quite frankly it kicked my ass a bit. I admit defeat. I did get pretty close though. The taste remained almost perfectly consistent throughout the smoke, where as the cigar itself started out incredibly strong and only grew as I smoked it. One note is the fact that I walked away from this cigar with very little after taste. My mouth was a bit puckered by the strength of the tobacco, but it didn’t have that cigar aftertaste to it.

Overview: The Camacho Corojo is one hell of a cigar. I wouldn’t recommend it to any beginner cigar smoker, but definitely a seasoned one. This cigar left me very light headed, and in awe of its flavor, and power-packed strength. I will have this one again I am sure.