Murcielago

The first time I smoked one of these was at the Cigar Inn event this past weekend. Eric Espinosa asked me if I ever tried one of them and he made sure before I left that I would smoke one. One cigar, and I was hooked. So much so that I ran out and bought a box of these, in this size. The size that I prefer in the winter due to the cold weather. Murcielago translate to Bat so a lot of people refer to this cigar as “The Bat”. The cigar was launched at IPCPR in 2009 and is available at many retailers.

Cigar: Murcielago
Size: 4.12 x 50 (Rothchild)
Wrapper: Mexico
Binder: Mexico
Filler: Nicaragua
Strength: Medium/Full

Appearance and Construction (17/20): This powerful looking cigar has an amazing looking wrapper that reminds one of dark chocolate. The wrapper is flawless with virtually no veins present and a completely seamless roll. The cigar is box pressed and has a well packed foot but the sides of the smoke reveal some significant soft spots. The gorgeous looking blood red band has a nice tribal looking bat that would make an awesome tattoo. The back side of the band states, “Capa Nega“.

Flavor & Notes (29/30): The foot of the cigar offers some spice that put me in a sneezing fit while the prelight draw had a well defined cocoa to it making this the perfect cigar for a cold winter day. Or perhaps that’s because it is so cold out I wish I had a nice hot cup of cocoa.  As we begin to smoke the first third of the cigar there was some nutty notes, and a delicious chocolate note that is so easily defined. The second third of the cigar is very smooth with some coffee notes, bordering on espresso and some dark chocolate as well. The final third of this incredibly smooth cigar has some coffee notes, dark chocolate and a slight wood on the finish that reminds me of cedar.

Burn/Ash/Draw (23/25): The cigar burned uneven at first with one side burning faster then the other. This was due to the soft spots I felt on on the sides of the cigar. It was never out of hand though and once I worked past the soft spots the cigar burned well. I never needed to touch it up, though I was tempted to at one point. The dark colored ash was sold and held on well. The draw was perfect and would of made Goldilocks happy being, just right.

Overall (23/25): I’ve never been a huge fan of Mexican tobacco because to me when you say Mexico I think of Te-Amo. This cigar is no where close to that, and I may have to re-work my top cigars of 2009 list to find a spot for this outstanding smoke. The cigar is a bit pricey, but you get what you pay for, and that holds true with this wonderful cigar. I’ll deduct a point for the soft spots, and a point for the price here, but this cigar is an excellent smoke.

Rating: 92
Price: $157.99 a box of 20 @ Famous