Cigar Review: Adrian’s Havanna 2000 Torpedo

I was first introduced to Adrian’s cigars at the Serious Cigars Holiday Party when my friend and owner of Fumee World, Heather, introduced me to the owner of Adrian’s Premium Costa Rican Cigars, Michael Rosales.  When he heard I have this cigar blog, he immediately reached into his bag and handed me a sample for review.  I had to admire the confidence he had in his cigars.  I did only get one cigar, and I normally smoke a minimum of two to do a review, but he was handing them out pretty freely and I didn’t want to seem greedy.  Anyway, I was intrigued by the thought of a cigar made from Costa Rican leaf.  The wrappers are grown in Ecuador, this being a criollo wrapper, but the binder and filler are pure Costa Rican.  Let’s see how it stacks up.

Appearance: On their site, Adrian’s claims to have fewer veins resulting in “a stronger aroma, and smooth, even burn lines.”  They definitely have the fewer veins resulting in a nice wrap.  The wrapper was smooth with no tooth.  The torpedo cap was done very well.  Looking at the foot, I saw a nice bunch in its rolling.  The band, I think, could be done better.  I’m assuming it’s a Costa Rican beach looking through the palm trees to the mountains, but what I see is an average band with some gold leaf that doesn’t impress.  This cigar goes for $11, which, to me, means the band needs to say something…  But, I’ve often said you can’t judge a cigar by its band.

Taste: Being a criollo, I was looking forward to this.  I was immediately hit with some good peppery spice that attacked the back of my throat.  The spice quickly mellowed out and each draw brought a cool sweetness with it to counteract it.  The cigar started out on the medium side in strength, and that cool sweetness eventually introduced a light woodiness to it.  I did not get the usual nutty flavors that I associate with criollo.  About half way through, the sweetness went away, and a more tobacco-like flavor kicked in with a little bitterness.

Aroma: Pre-light, this was a sweet cocoa smell at the wrapper.  Smelling the foot, you just got tobacco (which is to be expected, right?)  The smoke itself isn’t one you’ll want lingering in your living room, but it won’t offend your garage or your porch one bit.

Construction: Pre-light draw indicated a tight roll as I was puckerin’ just to get some air.  I rolled it in my fingers a bit to loosen it up and that did the trick.  There was one soft spot in the stick, but it was pretty small.  It burned very well, but not perfectly, and the ash was nice and tight as they advertise.

Overall Impression: Well, the biggest downer on this cigar for me is the price.  At $11 a stick for the torpedo, I don’t see myself buying many, but I definitely see much potential with this cigar.  The claim on the website is that they use tobacco aged 7 years, but I’m not sure how long they age them after rolling them.  The flavors were good and the construction was decent.  It produced good smoke too.  A medium body throughout, it didn’t have the usual criollo profile, but it was still a good profile.  It also had a short finish.  If the price were lower, I would have given this a higher rating, but as it is, I can’t.  I can say that Adrian’s may be able to boost Costa Rica’s cigar industry, though, if it keeps this up.

Cigar Rating:

No related posts.