txmatt
Still Smitty's biotch!
Until this year I have never ordered from Holt's. The past few months however they have had serious deals on very good smokes. This has lead me to start trying some "exclusives" and house brands which I usually don't trust other catalogs enough to do..
Enter Brahma; I tried, loved, and ordered more. The story behind them is the all too cliche' "the manufacturer had all these cigars but couldn't get rid of them so we bought them at a steal and are passing on the savings to you." The price is right, $18.95 +$5 shipping gets you a bundle of 10, and you can get many bundles at that $5 shipping price. But $1.90 a stick is wasted if its not a good cigar.
So here's the review.
The wrapper is a thick and reddish oily corojo leaf that just looks amazing. The construction of the two I have smoked has been near perfect. The shape of these belis isn't cookie cutter perfect like those that come out of Fuente factory but more like the roll you get on a nice custom rolled cigar or something from Bucanero. Burn was perfect, it kept even and left nice concentric rings in the ash. I hit no voids and the draw stayed consistantly great until the last 2 inches, there it loosened up a bit more than I would have preferred.
The flavor is dominated by the Corojo wrapper and the Ligero in the filler. The two elements struggle for dominance throughout smoking it suggesting some youth; if age marries the blend better it should be outstanding. Notes of vanilla, caramel, and cinnamon surfaced, but this cigar isn't about complexity; its a spicy rich Nicaraguan Corojo smoke. I think age might up the complexity a bit, but I doubt my supply will last long enough to find that out, and I suspect Holt's won't have them that long either.
In think the best way to sum up this cigar is to compare it to benchmark sticks. I would take a Brahma Belicoso over the similarly priced Nicaraguan benchmark Flor De Oliva, and the more expensive Flor De Oliva Corojo. Currenly I would even take one instead of a Padron 6000 beli that is 3X expensive, but I think that is partly due to the fact I really overdid it on Padron cigars last year. This is the best bargain smoke I have run across since the Famous 3000.
Think I am going to smoke another this afternoon.. :w
-Matt-
Enter Brahma; I tried, loved, and ordered more. The story behind them is the all too cliche' "the manufacturer had all these cigars but couldn't get rid of them so we bought them at a steal and are passing on the savings to you." The price is right, $18.95 +$5 shipping gets you a bundle of 10, and you can get many bundles at that $5 shipping price. But $1.90 a stick is wasted if its not a good cigar.
So here's the review.
The wrapper is a thick and reddish oily corojo leaf that just looks amazing. The construction of the two I have smoked has been near perfect. The shape of these belis isn't cookie cutter perfect like those that come out of Fuente factory but more like the roll you get on a nice custom rolled cigar or something from Bucanero. Burn was perfect, it kept even and left nice concentric rings in the ash. I hit no voids and the draw stayed consistantly great until the last 2 inches, there it loosened up a bit more than I would have preferred.
The flavor is dominated by the Corojo wrapper and the Ligero in the filler. The two elements struggle for dominance throughout smoking it suggesting some youth; if age marries the blend better it should be outstanding. Notes of vanilla, caramel, and cinnamon surfaced, but this cigar isn't about complexity; its a spicy rich Nicaraguan Corojo smoke. I think age might up the complexity a bit, but I doubt my supply will last long enough to find that out, and I suspect Holt's won't have them that long either.
In think the best way to sum up this cigar is to compare it to benchmark sticks. I would take a Brahma Belicoso over the similarly priced Nicaraguan benchmark Flor De Oliva, and the more expensive Flor De Oliva Corojo. Currenly I would even take one instead of a Padron 6000 beli that is 3X expensive, but I think that is partly due to the fact I really overdid it on Padron cigars last year. This is the best bargain smoke I have run across since the Famous 3000.
Think I am going to smoke another this afternoon.. :w
-Matt-
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