Nomad Renegade

9 / 10

Quick Review

Fred Rewey, founder and owner of the Nomad Cigar Company, has stated that he wanted Nomad to be ‘as close as you could get to creating your own cigar – an elite club, indeed.’ I read this before I’d even laid eyes on the Nomads that Fred so graciously gave us at Stogies on the Rocks and I gotta say, I thought that statement was pretty dang cool. The Nomad Cigar Company is still young; it launched its first lineup in January 2012. All size names are right in line with the ‘Nomad’ idea. There’s the Drifter, the Vagabond, the Navigator, the Fugitive, the Rambler and the one I reviewed, ‘the Renegade.’ I’ve heard great things about these cigars from some friends so I was quite eager to light this stick up.

Stogie Specs Made By: Nomad Cigar Company

Wrapper: Ecuadoran Habano

Binder: Dominican Republic

Filler: Dominican Republic

Average Price: $8

Ring Gauge: 54

Length: 5 1/2"

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Initial Thoughts

I’ve been smoking some ‘newer’ cigars lately, meaning, sticks that have been made by companies that are relatively new to the industry. Not all of them have been great so I’ll admit I was hoping this Nomad Renegade would be something different,

especially since I’ve heard good things.

The night I smoked this cigar was a beautiful night in Nashville. 75 degrees out and I’d just gotten done doing some work outside in the yard so what better way to relax and survey my work than to light up this Renegade and let it talk to me? Exactly.

Looks

At first glace, this cigar was very pretty. The Ecuadoran Habano wrapper glistened and had a very nice and oily sheen in the light. In color, the wrapper reminded me of straight up leather. It was a beautiful brown hue.

The band on this cigar immediately made me think of Batman or Iron Man. It was black, red and silver in color and had a Phoenix along with what appeared to be a small compass in the middle of it.

In small letters on the opposite side of the ‘Nomad’ branding was (what I believe to be) Mr. Rewey’s Twitter handle, ‘@GODFADR.’ I loved it! And then I said to myself, ‘Fuggeddabouddit. Let’s get to smokin!’

Function

Ok, so let’s get down to the nuts and bolts of this Nomad Renegade. There were no soft spots but a couple significant veins that ran lengthwise from foot to head (that’s what she said).

After smelling the wrapper up and down I got a light grass smell along with leather. On the foot there was a hay scent with a little bit of spice.

I used my Coppola scissor clippers on this guy and was greeted with a nice, medium cold draw that tasted like musty or damp hay.

Smoking

Using my Lotus 3 torch lighter, I toasted the foot of this Nomad Renegade and got a medium amount of white-gray smoke. It stayed this way throughout.

Immediately after taking the first few puffs and very early into the 1st third, the cigar started to canoe a little but then quickly evened itself out.

The ash produced a very tight, white ash and it held strong through the 1 st third and didn’t decide to drop until halfway into the 2nd third.

The actual smoke made me think of freshly cut hay. I wanted to keep smelling it.

Overall, the burn on this cigar was excellent. As soon as the early canoeing evened itself out, it was even and slow burning.

Flavor

When I took the first few puffs on this Nomad Renegade, I noticed a very earthy taste. It was heavy (in a good way) and a very nice spice accompanied the earthiness on the retrohale. There was also some fresh leather.

Through the 1st third, the flavor was excellent and very well balanced. I was pleasantly surprised at how great the taste was.

I would call this cigar medium-full in flavor and medium bodied. It was extremely balanced in flavor and it kept getting better as the burn went on.

At the end of the 2nd third, I wrote this in my notes: ‘Incredible flavor…spice in retrohale amazing!’ That was my experience throughout this entire cigar.

The flavor started to change ever-so-slightly into the final third. I noticed an anise flavor and then the retrohale went from spicy to tasting like lemongrass. It was really cool.

Overall, the flavor was smooth, consistent and very creamy.

Is It An Every Day Smoke?

Yes, I could easily smoke this cigar every day.

Would I Buy A Box?

Without a doubt.

Conclusion

I very much enjoyed this cigar. After not having had time to smoke much lately, this was a great introduction back into the mix.

You can purchase these Nomad Renegades (and everything else from the Nomad arsenal) through their website as well as some brick and mortars around the country. I’d definitely recommend this cigar to any novice or aficionado. The burn was near perfect and the flavor was excellent. A very well constructed cigar.

I’m excited to try the other sizes in the Nomad line. I may just have to buy a box to have some on hand for when I get in a Nomadic mood and want my mind to drift with the smoke coming off the foot.

Well done, Mr. Rewey!