Siglo Limited Reserve VI

I got my hands on a pre-release of the newest cigar from Altadis USA which is a rip off of a Cuban line by Cohiba in name. The Siglo Limited Reserve is billed as an exceptional Nicaraguan cigar, handcrafted under the guidance of of celebrated master blender Frank Llaneza. The release goes on to state the cigars bold flavor is derived from the finest Broadleaf binder and hand selected Dominican and Nicaraguan log filler tobaccos and is highlighted by a robust Ecuadorian Cubano wrapper.

The Siglo Limited Reserve is available in ten sizes and have a MSRP of $4.00 to $7.50. They should start appearing in cigar shops sometime in late April or early May. According to the local rep they are being made in limited numbers and they might be a little difficult to find when they first begin to trickle out to cigar shops around the country.

Cigar: Siglo Limited Reserve
Size: 6 x 54 (Siglo VI)
Origin: Nicaraguan
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Cubano
Binder: Broadleaf (Nicaragua)
Filler: Dominican Republic & Nicaraguan

Appearance and Construction (15/20): The rip off of the Cuban cigar with the same name is evident in the packaging of the cigar. The VI comes in a tubo or in cello which is identical to the Cohiba brand. I am surprised that General which owns the Cohiba name is the United States has not yet launched a lawsuit to stop the cigar from being released. The band is similar to the Cuban counterpart with colors of gold, yellow, white and black. The wrapper has quite a few veins some of which stick out significantly above the cigar. The roll of the cigar has some gaps in it which make it look a tad bit amateurish. The cigar itself has a nice weight to it, and the foot is very well packed however, there are some stems visible. The cap of the cigar is a double cap, and upon cutting it with my Xikar scissor a significant number of stems are clearly visible as well.

Flavor & Notes (27/30): Prior to lighting it I was somewhat intrigued by the notes on the prelight draw which was a very distinct anise.. Upon lighting the cigar there are notes of pepper on the tongue and through the nose that fade giving the cigar a Pepin-esque feel to it. As we continue through the first third of the cigar there are notes of wood and anise that compliment the tobacco flavors.  The second third of the cigar the notes of anise begin to really shine on this surprisingly good stick and they are joined by some oak undertones. The final third gets a little bit bitter with some notes of spices, wood and leather.

Burn/Ash/Draw (25/25): The burn of the cigar is crisp, clean and very straight which is a definite plus, The ash is a nice and tight to the point where you can see the outlines of the veins and is medium gray in color. The ash also held strong through each quarter and I only lost the ash when I chose to do so.  The draw was perfect and I never needed to relight the cigar.

Overall (23/25): The local rep told me that this cigar was being compared to the Tatuaje and I told her to compare an Altadis USA product to something by Pete Johnson was an insult to him. I have seen some people on some of the cigar boards say this cigar compares to a Cuban and it is evident they were swayed by the power of suggestion with the cigars name. What you get with this smoke is a cigar that is very different than anything else produced by Altadis and the price point is right making the cigar well worth the purchase.

Rating: 90
Price: $6.00 MSRP