Esteban Carreras Habano (Maduro)
As I rummaged through the small humidor (where I keep all potential cigar reviews), this stick caught my eye. I was in the mood for a full bodied cigar, and this one looked like it could do the trick. You know the routine by now… I’m paired this cigar with water. On to the review!
Wrapper: Nicaraguan
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Size: 5 1/2 x 54
Price: Around $6.00
Pre-smoke & Construction:
Giving the cigar the ol once over, I found it to be visually pleasing. Overall it looked rugged, with a few large veins and a few bumps here and there. Towards the head, there were a few soft spots, but nothing that I was concerned about. Sniffing the foot and wrapper revealed a slight pepper and a touch of sweetness. The pre-light draw lacked any spice, and tasted like rich tobacco and soil. The burn required a few minor touch-ups, and the ash held for an inch or so. Overall, no complaints in the construction department.
Flavor:
Right off the bat, the first third started in the full body range. Despite this, it was very smooth, delivering pillowy clouds of white smoke. The flavor seemed pretty straight forward with some kind of wood, pepper, and the occasional sweet earthy note. As the cigar progressed towards the end of this third, it became very creamy.
The second third continued with those full bodied flavors. The pepper transformed itself in to more of a sweet spice. The smoke remained smooth and thick. This gave it a rich, creamy sensation. I couldn’t detect earthy notes in this third. Everything was just rich and smooth. Very enjoyable.
The last third ventured higher into the full bodied range. This made it harder for me to pick apart flavors. I chock it up to a lacking palate, and a characteristic of the cigar. The smoke had a cooling effect when exhaling. Again, there was a sweet spice present and a touch of wood. It wasn’t quite mocha, and wasn’t quite caramel. The smoke remained thick and creamy.
Conclusion:
Some advice… Smoke this after a meal. I smoked this before dinner and had no problems, but hey, I smoke a lot. I had a decent sized nicotine buzz but nothing sickening. I could see this being a problem for those with less of a tolerance. I would have nubbed this cigar even further, but the buzz told me “It’s time to stop!” If you are like me and enjoy a good full bodied cigar, I’d say definitely give this a try.
