Trinidad Reserve
Thursday, July 7th, 2011From what I could gather, the Trinidad Reserve was once a Dominican cigar. This latest version differs greatly from it, according to Altadis’ website. I ran across this little “Short Churchill” while browsing a local tobacco shop. As always, I paired today’s review with water.
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Cubano
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan and Honduran
Size: Short Churchill 4.5 x 54
Price: Around $5.00
Pre-Smoke & Construction:
The wrapper was pretty much flawless. A bump here and there, but nothing bad to speak of. I had a hard time trying to figure out what the wrapper and foot smelled like. It was some kind of mild sweetness. The cigar was very solid to the touch, which resulted in a snug draw. It wasn’t tight, just a little snug. The pre-light draw had a sweet, dark earthy flavor.
The ash held for about a half of an inch, and the burn required no corrections.
Flavor:
The first third went right in to a woody flavor profile. Pepper was up next. The interesting thing was, I could taste the pepper more in the mouth and less through the nose. After some time passed, the aftertaste became slightly earthy with some sweetness.
The second third had the same dominant woody and peppery flavors. The sweetness I mentioned before was still there, but it had a bitterness to it. Nothing else changed. The body crept up a bit into the full range, but that is it.
For the last third, the sweetness increased to something similar to caramel. It basically matched the strength of the wood. They mingled with each other nicely. The pepper picked up a notch and took on a cinnamon note.
Conclusion:
This was a good medium to full bodied cigar. It started up kind of blah, but it picked up and developed a nice flavor profile. I think it meets the price point as well. There isn’t really anything more I can add, so I say give the Trinidad Reserve a try.