Esteban Carreras Covenant
Monday, March 25th, 2013My pal Ed had an Esteban Carreras event recently. Naturally, this meant I had to pick a few up. The Covenant is a fairly new release (to me). Considering my lack of reviews lately, it became my random choice for today. Let’s get to it…
Wrapper: Habano Oscuro
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Size: Toro 6 x 54
Price: $7.95
Pre-Smoke & Construction:
The wrapper was velvety smooth, and had an odor of earth and barnyard. Overall, the cigar was evenly packed, and very soft when squeezed. This led to a draw that was very free. The pre-light draw had a simple earthy flavor.
True to many box pressed cigars, the burn required quite a few minor corrections. In the first third, there was a tunnel in the center of the cigar. Luckily it was short lived, but made getting smoke difficult for about a half of an inch. Thankfully, this only happened on one cigar, the others were fine. The ash held for just over an inch.
Flavor:
The first third started out with smooth earthiness. In short order, the smoke feel became creamy and sweet. Retrohaling revealed an easy, peppery spice. Simple, but not bad at all.
The second third saw a decrease in creaminess. This allowed the sweet spice to stand out. Earthiness fell to the background, and was replaced by nuts and creamy coffee.
The spice became sweet and creamy in the last third. Not the burn your face off spice, just smooth, sweet, and with a little kick. Like before, nuts and creamy coffee followed behind. Earthiness pretty much went away completely.
Conclusion:
This was a good medium to upper medium bodied cigar. It started out fairly bland, but quickly built in strength and complexity. The loose packed nature of this cigar made me skeptical, but it turned out to be no problem. While there was really nothing unique or special, I think it’s still worth a try.