Quick Draw – Ventura Cigar Company – Estilo Cubano

As I am still officially on vacation from my “real” job until Monday and completely out of routine, I almost slacked it on getting a review up this week. But in order to start 2014 off right, I decided NOT to slack it and pulled together a Quick Draw of the Estilo Cubano by Ventura Cigar Company.

Ventura Cigar Company is responsible for cigars such as  Hugo Cassar, Cuban Rejects, Cuban Rounds, Pura Sangre, Pura Sangre Edicion 2012, Plasencia Organica Reserva, Estilo Cubano, PsyKo SEVEN, and Project 805 (find the review here).  Produced at Tabacos de Oriente, in Danli, Honduras, the Estilo Cubano is available in five vitolas: Robusto Gordo (4 ¾ by 52), Toraso (5 ¾ by 54), Lancero (6 by 38), Matador (6 ½ by 56), and Toro Gordo (6 by 60).

According to Ventura Cigar Co.’s website:

Estilo Cubano rolls the flavor of Old Havana into a modern bravado for a taste that is rich yet medium-bodied and utterly new. This is not an old man’s cigar with a new name; Estilo Cubano is a whole new take on the traditions of the past with a nod to its name-sake heritage.

The Facts

Sample Provided by Ventura Cigar Company
Price: Around $5
Vitola: Robusto Gordo
Size: 4 ¾ by 52
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Viso Habano
Binder: Honduran Seco Habano
Filler: Nicaraguan Ligero Habano and Costa Rican Ligero Habano
Drink: Water
Smoke Time: 1 Hour and 10 Minutes

Construction & Appearance: The Estilo Cubano wears an oily medium to dark brown Habano wrapper that ends in a beautiful pigtail cap. The wrapper had a marbleized look to it and several color imperfections. A fine tooth and mainly small veins ran down the cigar, with only a few larger, somewhat ugly veins. To the touch, the Estilo seemed evenly filled, however, while inspecting the foot I noticed a void in the filler tobaccos.

Performance (Draw, Burn, & Ash): Upon clipping away the pigtail cap, I found an open draw that was just about perfect. The Rubosto Gordo produced a copious amount of smoke until the midway point where some tunnelling occured. After ten minutes of fighting the tunneling, the Estilo was back in full force. The burn line started off even and thick but became somewhat wavy just past an inch. But even with the wavy burn, no touch-ups were required for the entire hour and ten minutes.  The layered, flaky ash dropped in one inch chunks.

Flavors: The Habano wrapper had a musty smell, while the foot had softer aromas of chocolate and cedar. The cold draw showed off some cocoa, nutmeg and earthy notes. Once lit, the Estilo Cubano produced a spicy profile with some piney wood, earth, and leather notes. The flavors remained rather consistent through the halfway point where I was then met with some bitterness. The bitterness entered when tunneling began.  The spice continued to creep up as the cigar burned. The retrohale brought out cedar and pepper.  As I entered the final third, the bitterness exited and an enjoyable sweetness found its spot in the profile and brought a balance to the smoke that did not exist beforehand.

Wrap-Up: The Estilo Cubano presented itself well on the pre-light. I absolutely loved the look and feel of the cigar from the presentation to the pig-tail cap. The Estilo started as a good cigar but took a turn for the worse at the midway point when the tunneling started. The tunneling resulted in bitter flavors that overwhelmed the more enjoyable notes. The final third redeemed the Estilo Cubano. I only had one Estilo Cubano to smoke for this Quick Draw and I believe the tunneling was a fluke, but, until I smoke more, I cannot recommend this cigar.