Nosotros by Illusione

Over at the Cigar Inn event last weekend I ran into Tony from smokescore.com and he gifted me with some cigars, one of which was the Nosotros by Illusione which isn’t available yet. Rumor has it these cigars won’t come out til late in the first quarter of 2010 so I was floored to receive one. Normally I won’t review a cigar with just one sample but these cigars will be such a hot item I had to get it out there.

The Nosotros is a cigar created by the minds of Dion from Illusione and Jonathan from Drew Estates. The cigar will be distributed by Dion over at Illusione cigars. According to information found on stogiereview.com the cigar will be different then most cigars released by Illusione. The Nosotros will be available in ring sizes from 46 to 60 which is a departure from the small ring gauges that Illusione built their line on. The retail price is expected to be from $8.00 to $13.00

Cigar: Nosotros by Illusione
Size: 7 x 47 (Churchill)
Wrapper: Corojo
Binder: Habano Connecticut
Filler: Nicaragua
Strength: Full

Appearance and Construction (20/20): The medium brown wrapper on this cigar is as clean as they come. The cigar has no veins, bruising, or imperfections that I could find. The cigar is rolled seamlessly and sports one of the best looking triple caps I have come across. The cigar is very well packed and has a nice weight to it. The band reminds me of the bat signal from batman, and is a brown on brown combination. It states Nosotros in the center with illusione beneath it while the sides have the names of it’s creators.

Flavor & Notes (26/30): The foot of the cigar had a wonderful aroma of smoked wood, bordering on hickory. The prelight draw was earthy but with some sweetness as well. The initial third of this smoke had notes of smoked wood, and a wonderful raisin that came and went occasionally throughout. There is also a note here that reminds me of wine but I am not quite ready to label it as such. I know that doesn’t makes sense, but it isn’t a wine note. It’s similar though and I can’t put my finger on it.  I especially pick this up through the nose. As we enter the second third the wine type notes have faded and what remains is some wood, nuts and a nice creaminess. The final third of the cigar remains nutty with wood and some well defined anise close out this stick which makes it very enjoyable.

Burn/Ash/Draw (22/25): The cigar burns even throughout, the ash had a brindle look to it with different shades of gray. The draw was a little bit tight, and I wished at times it would loosen up, but it did not. While it was not bad enough to put down, it did provide too much of a resistance for me. This is why I prefer more then one sample to smoke, because I can’t tell at this point if it a production issue or just a rough stick.

Overall (22/25): The definition of Nosotros is to seamlessly combine Latin rhythms with the elements of Flamenco, Jazz, Salsa, and Rock, creating an original sound that is unmistakable. It seems this cigar is a play on that, as Jonathan and Dion have created an original cigar blending the two elements of Drew Estate and Illusione into something that is original and unmistakable. I will revisit this cigar when it comes out on shelves, but this cigar should further the legend that Dion has created.

Rating: 90
Price: Not Yet Available

Edit: Walt from Stogie Review added the following via a comment… It has been placed here for easier reading:

Barry,
Thanks for mentioning Stogie Review. Shortly after I did my review, Dion commented on a link placed on Facebook. He says that the stiff draw turned out to be from a single roller at the factory and has since been corrected. He went on to say that the stiffness was actually on his punch-list as something that needed correcting.

Nice review
-Walt

Thank you Walt for this valuable information…