On the chopping block is the Habano wrapped version of the Espinosa Cigars La Zona. If the Espinosa name sounds familiar it’s probably because you heard about it from the EO Brands cigar label where Erik Espinosa and Eddie Ortega worked together to create some very popular lines. Espinosa Cigars is Erik fairly new project and the La Zona line is one of his first few blends.

The La Zona line currently comes in two flavors, a Connecticut and the Habano, they are also only available in two sizes, Super Toro and Robusto. The only noticeable difference between the two blends is a slightly different color on the bands. The Connecticut had a sort of lime green touch to it while the Habano is a bit more of a subtle brownish green.

The price on these cigars comes in well below $5 a stick. If you opt for the massive 80 count boxes, the price per stick can drop to nearly $3 each making this a very affordable stick to have in the humidor. Fans of Nicaraguan tobacco will also be happy to hear that the La Zona’s are Nicaraguan Puros and are also manufactured right in Esteli.

Despite a ton of snow we’ve been having, the weather is actually warming up a bit. I think Mother Nature in a bit confused… But I’ll take advantage of that as I enjoy some good cigars. So let’s just right in and see if the La Zona Habano is worth stocking up on in the Humidor.

Cigar: Espinosa Cigars La Zona Habano
Drink: Coffee
Vitola: Super Toro (6.5 x 54)
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: About $4
Burn Time: 1.5 hours

Construction:
• The medium brown color of the wrapper is accented with some golden touches
• Almost no veins on this slightly dry looking wrapper
• It also has a somewhat rough texture and lots of toothiness to it, just missing the oily spots
• I did notice a sort of green water spot right around the middle of the cigar
• After a small and easy cut, the draw is super open, pretty surprising since it’s such a long cigar
• There is a definite softness from cap to foot here, lots of give when I squeeze it a bit
• The foot looks to be decently packed and the cap is finished very cleanly

Burn:
• Toasting took a bit of time but it lit up nice and evenly
• Burn line has been a tad wavy but pretty good for the most part through the first third
• Through the first half, I had one minor touch up for a peninsula that was forming
• The La Zona Habano is burning at a good pace, not too fast and not too slow either
• A couple more touch ups as I get near the end, none were major issues, probably jsut me wanted to be a perfectionist! lol

Smoke & Ash:
• There is a fair bit of smoke off the start but a slightly open draw is making it tough
• The resting smoke is pretty minimal
• Ash is looking to be pretty clean and somewhat strong
• First ash got tapped off at about the one inch mark since it looked to be getting a bit wobbly
• A fair bit of smoke from each draw but it does take a few tries to get it all out
• The remaining ashes all stuck around the 1 inch mark pretty consistently
• Other than the dark spots from touch ups, the ash had a light and dark grey color to it

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper has a deep cedar aroma to it with a touch of spice
• On the foot, I’m getting the same cedar and more spice to it, tickled my nose quite a bit
• Pre-light draw had a ton more cedar but much less spice here, a touch of sweetness here as well
• Initial flavors brought out more of the cedar but not as much spice right off the bat
• I found a touch of spice in the aftertaste and main flavors mostly dominated by some leather and woodsy notes
• I’m picking up some hints of creaminess but they don’t seem to be sticking around too long
• Body started off in the medium range and has been sticking there through the first half of the cigar
• The retrohale has a nice little spice bite to it and a bit more on the finish, with just a touch of creaminess in there
• I got a few coffee notes and a bit more creaminess towards the last half which kept it interesting
• No real harshness or bitterness right to the nub, allowing me to enjoy the whole cigar

Final Thoughts:
I have to say that both the Habano and Connecticut version of the La Zona cigar were a satisfying smoke. They are also quite different in their own regards. The Connecticut brought a surprising amount of spice to the table while the Habano had a more creamy and woodsy approach. For a $3 price tag, you are definitely getting your money’s worth on these cigars. Other than a couple minor touch ups, the whole burn was pretty darn good and the flavors were just enough to keep things interesting. I’d definitely consider buying a few more of each and for the price, you don’t feel bad to hand over a tasty and flavorful stick to a novice smoker either.

Pairings:
I went with plain old coffee for today’s review and it actually worked out really well. I don’t tend to pair with coffee quite enough and I’m not sure why, it definitely makes for a great pairing. Especially in the morning or early afternoon. I think a nice amber ale, maybe something oaked would make an awesome pairing here. Or possibly a light scotch as well.

The post Espinosa Cigars La Zona Habano appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The La Zona cigar comes from Espinosa Cigars. Erik Espinosa was the “E” behind the EO brands label that gave us the popular 601 line. He’s gone ahead and started his own line just as his counterpart Eddie Ortega did. The La Zona comes from the factory in Esteli Nicaragua and is intended to be a value cigar with premium flavors. There are two wrappers, the Connecticut in a brighter lime green band and the Habano which has a darker green/brownish band. They also only come in 2 vitolas, Robusto and Super Toro.

Today’s cigar was the Connecticut variety in Robusto vitola and I have to admit that I would NEVER have guessed it was a Connecticut just from smoking it. This cigar started with a huge punch of pepper and spices that really surprised me. The pepper and spices also continued through most of the cigar. Where the Connecticut shone through was with the smooth creaminess, especially on the retrohale.

This cigar was pretty unique in that most connies don’t try this, they tend to stay in the mild range so the contrast was interesting to what I was expecting. The spice tapered off a bit towards the middle but they were still there. To compliment them I got a nice mix of cedar. The construction was awesome the whole way through even though I was walking in some slightly windy weather and it was a chilly 25F or so. I also have some Habano’s to try and see how they smoke. For a cost of just under $4 this was a pretty tasty and interesting cigar that kept me on my toes so keep an eye out and give them a try if you find them.

The post Quick Draw Episode 11 – Espinosa Cigars La Zona Connecticut appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Good Stuff: The Murcielago is the newest blend kicked out by Espinosa and Ortega at E.O. Brands. The Murcielago made its big debut at this past year’s IPCPR convention in New Orleans. It took a while for me to get my hands on these sticks, but luckily the first batch that hit my front door were ever so graciously sent over to me form the guys over at Buckhead Cigar.

I’m not entirely sure where Espinosa and Ortega got the name “Murcielago” or “Bat”. There are a tons of theories from them just coming up with it out of the blue, to the metaphor of the dark characteristics from the cigar itself. The Murcielago is primarily constructed from an ultra dark Mexican wrapper grown in San Andreas, and bound with a Mexican binder, stuffed with the finest Nicaraguan filler.

Size: 6.12 x 50 (Toro)  –  Wrapper: San Andreas Mexican  – Binder: Mexican  –  Filler: Nicaraguan  –  Body: Medium/Full

Prelight: The Murcielago is an extremely darkly wrapped,  box pressed cigar. The wrapper itself is and extremely dark, chocolatey brown and very toothy. The toothyness I am referring too looks a lot like that texture on a cat’s tongue, or sandpaper. The color is extremely consistent and the wrapper gives off a slight sheen as light is bounced off its oils. The Murcielago is then capped off with a round triple cap. The cigar is very firm to the touch, and the only soft spots I was able to find were near the foot of the cigar. There is a very slight separation in the wrapper that exposes just the slightest bit of the binder near the head of the cigar, but it’s not anything to worry about I am hoping. I do however see band removal being a chore and even tearing the wrapper if it has too much glue on it due to the separation. The wrapper on the Murcielago gives off a very bold smell with scents of oats, cocoa, tobacco, and musk. Where as the foot of the cigar is a bit more on the sweet side, carrying the tobacco and cocoa smell. The cap of the Murcielago clipped right off under my Palio double bladed cutter. The cold draw produced although effortless, produced only very subtle hints of tobacco and pepper.

First Smoke: The Murcielago kicked out quite a bit more flavor than expected from what I took off the cold draw. The more dominant flavors are cocoa, strong tobacco, wood,  a sweet nutmeg, and hints of pepper. The draw the Mucielago gives off is amazingly large and effortless, and results in a huge cloud of thick, bluish-brown smoke. The cigar gives off very little stationary smoke so it was a bit harder to conclude what kind of aroma this stick gives off, but the notes I picked up were very leathery, with scents of spice and wood. The burnline is dead even and razor sharp leaving behind a very thick, white, compacted ash. I got about an inch and a half into this cigar before the first ash gave way.

Halfway There: The flavors in the Murcielago keep on coming. I absolutely love when the flavor profile of my cigar changes up on me and the Murcielago definitely keeps you on your toes. The pepper has all but faded, giving way for a much sweeter tobacco flavor back with hints of cocoa, raisin, leather, and oats. The Aventinus double-bock style wheat ale is really adding the “fruity” element to this flavor mashup.  The burn line is still dead even, draw is magnificent. This cigar is very smooth and I am not getting even the slightest nicotine buzz from it, even though I am smoking like a champ. One side note is the stationary smoke has become quite a bit larger over the course of the smoke. Giving off a very pleasant spicy/woodsy aroma.

Finish: I have ashed a total of 3 times up until the final third, all of which ended up on my shirt. And it’s not cause the ash flakes off and falls unexpectedly, it’s actually just the opposite. The ash produced by the Murcielago is very thick and each time I try to see how far it holds on for, consequently they fall on me instead of the ash tray.  The flavors have remained pretty similar to the second third of the stick, with the exception of slight pepper being reintroduced into the experience, and a very subtle cardboard type flavor that I didn’t care much for. I am feeling a slight nicotine kick from the end of the stick, but nothing too alarming. I am still enticed by how large and easy flowing the draw on the Mucielago is. I wish all cigars were this easy to smoke. Luckily, my fear never became a reality and the band had just enough glue to come off with ease. All in all this Murcielago took me about an hour and a half to smoke. It really took off at the beginning and I was scared it would burn too quickly, but once that binder and filler got a chance to mashup it was smooth sailing.

Overview: The Murcielago is a solid stick. The complexity is gratifying as well as the consistently superb construction kicked out by E.O. Brands not only on this stick, but pretty much anything they produce is top notch. This cigar is smooth enough for a novice smoker, and complex enough for any aficionado. The Murcielago does come with a higher price tag, cresting in the upper $9 range for stick, but I wouldn’t mind paying for it any day. Definitely box-worthy.

Pairing: I decided to pair this Murcielago with some Schnieder-weisse Aventinus Dopplebock. The Aventinus is a strong wheat based double bock with tons of fruit and spice flavors that range from apples and cinnamon to Orange zest and pepper. The combination of those flavors and that of the Murcielago create a complete package for flavor and aroma therapy. I would recommend anything sweet or dark as a proper pairing for this cigar. Apple juice, sweet tea, coffee, porter, or hell, even a lambic.

UPDATE: Shortly after posting this review, the Man Eddie Ortega himself left a comment with some very exciting news:

Great review, this is my favorite cigar we make. As you know by now, we have just merged with Rocky Patel. Because of the merger, we were able to significantly drop the price on all our brands. The murcielago’s new MSRP price range is between $6.20 and 6.80, the prices on the cubao and 601 lines are also down anywhere between 2.50 and 3 dollars per stick.

-regards

Eddie

Now, at those prices.. This stick is a STEAL. Go out, buy some, buy a lot. Its worth it! Not to mention the 601’s at the price point. I’m a sucker for the blue.

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