Cruzado
The Cruzado is a fairly new brand from Dion Giolito. If the name doesn’t sound familiar, I believe he is the guy behind the Illusione brand. I picked up a few of these not too long ago in Orlando while hanging out with the one and only Great Torpedo (aka Jerry from The Stogie Review). Sticking with my routine, I paired up with Florida tap water, PUR filtered of course. I tend to like my beverage at room temperature. This lessens any kind of shock to my undeveloped palate.
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Criollo
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Honduras and Nicaragua
Size: 5 5/8 x 46
Price: Around $9.00
Pre-Smoke & Construction:
As always, I gave the cigar a quick once over. The wrapper was a little bumpy and veiny, and the small pigtail head made for an overall nice looking smoke. Pinching the cigar showed no soft spots, and towards the head, it was like a rock. Sniffing the foot and wrapper left me with almost no smell. Maybe a slight sweet smell along with grass. The pre-light draw was a little stiff, but not bad. When taking a pre-light draw, I got that same subtle, sweet, earthy flavor. The burn required no corrections, and the ash was firm, holding on for over an inch.
Flavor:
The first third opened up with a smooth earthy taste combined with a mildly spicy pepper. After a couple inches, that pepper or spice seemed to calm down. Those earthy notes seemed to morph into more of a woody flavor as the first third came to a close.
The prominent flavor in the second third was some type of wood. I couldn’t pin down what type though. When retrohaling, I could still taste that spice, but it would become more of a sweet flavor as I swirled the smoke around in the mouth and sinus. The smoke had a smooth texture, which helped make things pleasant.
The last third held that dominant woody flavor, and developed a very creamy feel to it. That sweet flavor finally developed into a slight mocha. Although simple, it was very enjoyable.
Conclusion:
To put it simply… This was a very good medium to full bodied cigar. It smoked slow, giving me around two hours of relaxation. My only complaint is the price. That fact alone will deter me from seeking the Cruzado again. Price aside, I can’t complain and definitely would suggest you pick a couple up. Good times…
This entry was posted on Friday, April 17th, 2009 at 12:00 am and is filed under Cigar Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Tom April 18th, 2009 at 4:10 pm
Homebrewer – Glad you enjoyed the review. I definately enjpyed this stick. I tried it because of Jerry too. He rarely steers me wrong (if ever).