Zino Embassy Selection Limited Edition 2012

8 / 10

Quick Review

The Zino cigar line is Davidoff’s upscale brand and is known for putting out quite high quality tobaccos in their cigars. I’ve only had the ‘Z Platinum’ line before from Zino (and really liked it) so I was looking forward to trying this Embassy Collection. The 2012 Embassy Collection only produced 3,000 boxes and of that, only 800 boxes were distributed to the United States. This cigar was a gift from my brother in law, Thom, who lives in Chicago and purchased this stick from a local brick and mortar (though he wouldn’t share with me which one). I feel very lucky to have this cigar knowing the limited amount produced as well as the very limited number of boxes available in the United States.

Stogie Specs Made By: Davidoff

Wrapper: 702 Ecuadorian Sun Grown

Binder: Dominican

Filler: Dominican, Honduran

Average Price: $11.25

Ring Gauge: 52

Length: 5 1/2

Flavor Wheel Your Browser Does Not Support Our Flavor Wheel.



Initial Thoughts

As I said, there were only 3,000 boxes of this cigar sent out worldwide while only 800 boxes were made available in the US. That being said, I felt lucky to have this cigar and able to review it.

This is the Easter edition of my reviews. Right now, it’s about 8pm on Easter Sunday evening and today was filled with a lot of relaxing, family and eating and drinking.

Sometimes having family over is ok and sometimes it’s good. Today was great; my wife and I had my wife’s sister-in-law over and their one-year-old daughter for some vino and a feast. I made a slow cooked pot roast with carrots, onions and potatoes along with some fresh green beans mixed with onions and pancetta. It was a wonderful day and I wanted to celebrate the day with this cigar that’s been in my humidor for about six months.

After the family had gone and my wife decided to catch up on some chick TV shows, I decided to retire to our deck. It’s been raining and cold in Nashville the past few days and the sun finally came out today and it hit about 62 degrees. In my opinion, this made for perfect cigar smoking!

Looks

This Zino Embassy Selection Limited Edition 2012 looked great. The Ecuadorian Sun Grown wrapper looked like milk chocolate brown. I found no soft spots and no significant veins. The cigar appeared to be packed very tight.

At the foot, it almost looked like the cigar was packed with short filler and flakey tobacco and the color of tobacco present was a light brown, tan and even green shade.

The wrapper was very pretty and the cap was constructed near perfect on this torpedo head.

The band had the classic ‘Zino’ trademark and was all black except for the ‘Zino’ writing and some of the lines paralleling the edges, which were all in gold. There was also a second, thinner band below the main one. The second band carried the same color scheme and simply stated in all caps, ‘EMBASSY SELECTION.’

Function

As I mentioned, the wrapper was very pretty on this Zino Embassy Selection Limited Edition 2012. Upon smelling the wrapper up and down, I got a faint barnyard scent. On the foot, there was a strong cedar and a cedary spice that was present.

I used my Coppola scissor clip on the head and I immediately noticed that the same light brown, tan and green shades of tobacco were right there at the head as well.

I used my Lotus three-flame torch lighter to toast the foot and once it was evenly warmed, I took the first few initial puffs to get this Easter celebration started.

Smoking

This Zino Embassy Selection Limited Edition 2012 fired up quite well, although it was a bit uneven from the get go, despite my attempts to very evenly toast the foot. There was a strong burning grass smell as soon as the smoke took to the air.

As the burn went on, the burn itself started to even out but wasn’t quite balanced.

Throughout the entire cigar there was a medium amount of blue/gray smoke that exuded from the foot and it smelled of cedar. It reminded me of going into a cigar lounge and smelling the ever-present smoke that lingers in the air.

The ash was tight and white and hung on through the 1st third into the 2nd third and finally dropped just into the final third. The ash wasn’t flakey at all.

After the ash did finally drop, the unevenness of the burn quickly evened and stayed that way throughout the remainder of the cigar.

Flavor

After taking the first few puffs to get this Zino Embassy Selection Limited Edition 2012 going, I experienced a sweet and spicy flavor, accompanied by some floral, cedar notes and also got some earth, sawdust and a heavy cream on my palate.

This cigar produced a very complex flavor. It made me think of something that an older gentleman would smoke; someone’s Grandfather if you will (and you will!). It had a classic and timeless flavor and almost tasted somewhat old-fashioned.

Towards the end of the 1st third, a small amount of nuttiness introduced itself to the already present flavors as described before. There wasn’t too much change from the 1st third to the 2nd third but I also noticed a sweetness that showed up in the 2nd third.

Into the final third, a woody flavor came into the mix that paired nicely with everything I was already experiencing and tasting. I also noticed that the sweetness was short lived and only present in the 2nd third.

Into the nub, there was a leather taste and a bit of ammonia. Past that point, the flavor got bitter even though I was smoking slowly. I had to put down the cigar because of this, unfortunately.

Is It An Every Day Smoke?

I enjoyed the flavors of this cigar, however, at this price point, I wouldn’t smoke it everyday.

Would I Buy A Box?

I may buy a box (if available) for a special occasion but otherwise probably not.

Conclusion

This Zino Embassy Selection Limited Edition 2012 was a good cigar. I enjoyed the consistency of the flavors as well as the complexity. This was a medium-full cigar in flavor and body.

My only complaint was the bitterness that presented itself after I hit the nub. For a cigar that averages just over $11, I don’t think that should’ve happened.

That being said, if you have the chance to get your hands on this cigar, I urge you to buy it. It was enjoyable and up until the nub, it made for a very nice compliment to the Easter holiday.