Camacho Diploma

I’ll be the first to admit that I am not the biggest fan of Camacho cigars in the world. I did however enjoy the 11/18 when it first came out, but I slowly began to wander from the cigar and I rarely visit it. A few months ago I got the Camacho Diploma Scorpion in a cigar pass with the intention to review it, but I kept putting it off. So today I am smoking this stick with an open mind, and the mantra of don’t put off for tomorrow, what you can do today.

Cigar: Camacho Diploma
Size: 6 x 54 (Diploma)
Origin: Honduras
Wrapper: Authentic Honduran
Binder: Authentic Honduran Corojo
Filler: Authentic Honduran Corojo

Appearance & Construction (17/20): This stick sports a very toothy looking wrapper, that has veins galore, some of which are very prominent. The wrapper is virtually seamless, the roll is exquisite. The cigar which feels light in the hand, has a nice band with colors of gold, brown, and black. On the side of the band is the words, quinto corte which means fifth priming. These are the top most leaves of the corojo plant which receive the most sunlight.

Flavor & Notes (26/30): As I light the cigar I am greeted with a nice volume of smoke from this cigar which features some nice nutty notes with a touch of pepper on the back of the throat, nothing overpowering here, but it is noticeable. When the smoke is exhaled through the nose there are some wonderful mesquite notes that become stronger as we reach the second third. As we reach the mid way point the cigar begins to lose some of its flavor as notes of leather begin to emerge which overpowers the mesquite notes. I found this to be extremely frustrating. As we reach the final third of the smoke, thankfully the leather notes fade and the notes of nuts taking center stage, with some leather notes through the nose. It is ashame the cigar finished this way because it was heading toward a 30pt section.

Burn/Ash/Draw (23/25): This cigar smokes fast to start, but it slows down some at the midway point. The burn line is surprisingly straight, and the ash is a medium gray that is slightly flaky but manages to hold on fairly well. The draw is very loose which is a tad disappointing.

Overall (22/25): This cigar was the tale of two halves. The first half of the smoke was an amazing smoke with some great notes, that quickly went down hill. It did do enough though to rekindle and interest in Camacho cigars for me, but it left me a little disappointed as I finished the smoke.

Rating: 88
Price: $11.00