Price: $6 – $8

Size: Robusto 5″ x 52

Wrapper: Nicaraguan

Binder: Nicaraguan

Filler: Nicaraguan

First impression: The wrapper had a very nice oily dark chocolate brown sheen to it. The foot is a little strangely shaped, but nothing too out of the ordinary. There is a series of veins running throughout the wrapper, but they are all small so I doubt it will affect the burn too much. The seam and the cap are both very neat. The stick has a great hay and coffee aroma to it. Clipping the cap was nice and clean.

Pre-light draw: There seem to be really nice flavors of coffee and earth.

1st Third: Who wants a cup of coffee? This stick starts off nice and strong with coffee, sweet cedar, and a peppery finish. When I say coffee I am not talking about the way a Tabak Especial or Java by Drew Estate is coffee flavored, this actually tastes like eating a dark robust coffee bean. The peppery finish is pretty strong through the first inch and I find that I am having to slow down how fast I am smoking as it is coating my tongue so thoroughly that I can’t detect the other flavors. After the first inch the cigar really mellows out on the pepper, and begins leaving a earthy and slightly sweet taste on the lips. The draw is really nice and the smoke is ample and light grey in color.

2nd Third: The flavor profile took an interesting turn here, as the strong coffee and pepper faded slightly and made way for a flavor combination that can only be described as sweet freshly cut grass and light tea. I know that grass is generally perceived as a bad flavor in cigars, but this was actually very mellow and pleasant, in much the same way smelling freshly mown lawn is. The earthy sweetness that was being left on my lips earlier is now also faintly stronger. Also there was a nice cedar flavor on the finish. The burn was a little bit wobbly and I had to correct it a few times. As I removed the wrapper I revealed a real monster of a vein that I was pretty sure was going to change the burn for the worse.

Final Third: How to sum up the final third? I will answer that question with a question: Who wants a second cup of coffee? The final third saw a return in a serious way of the dark roast coffee bean flavor and the grassy taste from before is now a rich deep earth flavor. There is a little bit of a nutty taste mingled in there as well. Around the one inch point the flavor left on the lips was just slightly salty and sometimes had a sweet white pepper flavor mixed in. The large vein that I uncovered is causing some burn issues, so I need to stop occasionally and correct it. Additionally at one point in about the final inch of the cigar, it went out. However, I was more eager to try and light this last little bit amidst the cold wind and smoke it to the end than call it quits. The smoke stayed nice and cool through the final third, but the flavor turned in to the nasty kind of grassy taste near the nub so I stopped there.

Conclusion: Wow what an interesting cigar! The complexity was wonderful and the flavor combination was truly unique. Having the flavors and strengths change from full to medium to full was a delightful twist and often the transition came without warning which kept me on my toes. I would have actually marked this cigar higher, but the large number of burn issues I experienced keep it from a higher score. That being said I am still going to keep a few aging in my humidor and anyone looking for a complex and interesting smoke will not be disappointed by the Nicaragua Reserve Vintage 2007.

I give this cigar a 4.25 out of 5

The Best: The very complex flavor profile

The Worst: The burn issues

P.S. Pairing – Although you might think a coffee would be good with this, the coffee flavor of the Nicaragua Reserve is powerful enough that it would be overbearing. You wouldn’t make a coffee to go with your coffee right? I paired this with a Sweet Tea and Vodka. It complimented the 2nd third with the sweet grass flavors and provided a counterbalance to the strong coffee.

Notes: Coffee, Black Pepper, White Pepper, Tea, Fresh Cut Grass, Oak, Nuts, Earth, Salt