The Senry

I was recently contacted by Xikar based upon a review I did of the Defiance a few months back. They offered to send me a 5 pack of cigars and a xikar cutter. I told them thank you but I am going to raffle it off for my loyal readers. So if you want to win the 5 cigars and the cutter posted below all you have to do is leave a comment and I will randomly select a winner. The cutoff for this contest is 12 noon (Eastern Time) on February 2nd, 2009. Good luck everyone!

Winner has been selected, thank you for your entries!

Cigar: Xikar Defiance
Origin: Nicaragua
Size: 6 x 46 (The Sentry/Lonsdale)
Wrapper: Nicaragua Cuban seed shade grown Criollo wrapper aged 4 years
Binder: Nicaragua Cuban seed sun grown Corojo binder
Filler: Nicaragua

Appearance & Construction (18/20): A great looking Criollo leaf adorns this cigar that has minimal veins. The foot reveals some loose packing which I have not witnessed in any of the other sizes. It’s crest style band sports the words In Pures Veritas under the name of the cigar. It’s secondary band has the word Xikar in silver on a black background. The side of the primary band has the words, do not remove. I suggest you remove it for a chuckle

Flavor & Notes (28/30): The pre-light draw reveals offers notes of cocoa with a slight caramel which is a nice change compared to what I have been smoking lately. These notes are definitely amongst my favorite. As we work on the first third of the smoke, notes of wood and caramel prevail and are easily definable. The second third of the smoke the notes of caramel remain but in the background as wood becomes the dominant note. The final third of the cigar notes of nuts, wood and touch of caramel are noticeable making this one of my favorite smokes.

Burn/Ash/Draw (23/25): Despite this loosely packed foot, the cigar smokes nice and slow for a lonsdale. It’s ash is a little weak, and is medium in color. The burn line is dark, but it is straight, revealing a well constructed cigar in its wake. The draw is not too loose, and not too tight, goldilocks would be happy with the draw.

Overall (23/25): This lonsdale packs a lot of flavor for a medium bodied smoke. The loose foot turned out to be a mirage as the cigar smoked nice and slow and never disappointed.

Rating: 92
Price: 6.75