PCA Magazine Winter 2020

28 PCA The Magazine | WINTER 2020 PREMIUMCIGARS.ORG Segovias Habano Oscuro Robusto 5 1/2 x 52 Wrapper: Ecuador Habano Oscuro Binder: Nicaragua Filler: Nicaragua Country of manufacture: Nicaragua MSRP for a single: $8.99 The cigar for this review was provided by Antigua Estelí Tobacco Co. Smoking time: 1 hour, 37 minutes The Blend rom the cellophane, this Robusto smells of a tobacco ware- house, which is high praise in my book. In traveling for tobacco publications, I have had occasion to stroll through a few tobacco warehouses, and they always exude one of my favorite aromas on this earth. Oscuro wrapper leaf is made from leaf that was matured for an extra measure of time on the plant—i.e., any added darkening is not achieved by fermentation, but by natural leaf maturation on the stalk. In keeping with its Oscuro desig- nation, this wrapper is on the dark side of Habano, but is not as dark as a Maduro. It is shiny and smooth on first glance, but shows signs of plentiful glands on closer inspection—a sort of a peach-fuzz appearance that raises hopes there will be lots of flavor. I see only one unobtrusive vein extending along about half the cigar’s length, and the seams are all but invisible. A standard punch cut to the triple cap yielded a perfect draw. Cold-draw flavors include an undertone of jalapeno over a gentle earth baseline. Both bands popped right off clean without doing damage before light up. (Please don’t judge me; that’s just how I like to do it.) The cigar feels very firm and just a bit sandy to the touch. I was able to gently warm and slightly toast the foot and achieve a nice, even flare-up and cherry using only a single 2-inch wood match, whose flame never touched the cigar. T H E R E V I E W become an expert tabacalero, and I believe today that is what I am. I kept up that kind of manual work for years, and in the process I made a lot of good friends, in the business, and in and around Estelí. I still live half the year in Estelí.” Merchants interested in trying the Segovias on their shelves can find contact numbers on the company web site. This reporter twice phoned up the company in preparing this article, and both times the call was immediately answered—by Art Garcia. The Segovias is available in 21-count boxes. Segovias Maduro Robusto (5 1/2 x 52) $8.99 per single, box for about $200 Segovias Habano Oscuro (5 1/2 x 52) $8.99 per single, box for about $200 Segovias Semi Box Press (6 x 56) $13.99 per single, box for about $300 Segovias Habano Oscuro Torpedo (6 1/8 x 52) $12.99 per single, box for about $280 antiguaesteli.com instagram.com/antiguaestelicigars twitter.com/antiguaesteli facebook.com/AntiguaEsteli F