Illusione 88 Maduro

 

This week's review is of the new Illusione 88 Maduro! There are 5 sizes in the maduro line and I decided to try the 88 because I've smoked more of the regular Illusione 88's than any other size in the line. This cigar has the normal Illusione filler and binder, but with a San Andreas Maduro wrapper. The new maroon band for the maduro line looks great. The 88 is a 5x52 robusto.

The 88 Maduro has a very firm feel to it and an overall even roll. The color is slightly mottled dark brown, but definitely a natural looking wrapper, not jet black. There aren't any flaws in the oily wrapper. The aroma at the foot is of light hay and leather. The prelight draw shows a slightly resistant (but not overly) draw with an earthy flavor. Once lit this cigar starts out with some black pepper spice, leather, deep earth and some cedar. Just a little bit into this cigar a weird small hole appeared in the wrapper just above the burnline. I am guessing some slightly uneven bunching made it tunnel just a little bit. I was able to keep smoking like normal and burned through the whole without any additional problems. The burn hasn't been perfect on this cigar, but a few minor touchups along the way fix it easily. This has a darker/deeper flavor than the normal 88, the maduro wrapper is really showing through in the flavor profile. 

At the halfway point there is even more of that earth and leather flavor, with some dark coffee and an almost charred meat flavor coming through. I would say this is a full bodied/flavored medium strength cigar so far. As I get into the final third the flavor profile hasn't changed a whole lot, other than some walnut nuttyness showing up every few draws. The strength moves into the medium to full range at the end. 

Overall the Illusione 88 Maduro is a solid cigar, but I think I will stick with the regular 88s. This has a darker and deeper profile, but the San Andreas wrapper overshadows some of the classic flavors I get out of the Illusione blend. It is definitely worth trying though, I can see some people enjoying the darker profile that the San Andreas wrapper adds to this cigar. These sell for about a dollar more than the original Illusione 88, putting them in the $8-9 range. I would say if you come across them, give it a try at least once to see if you like this version. I am glad I gave it a shot because I love almost all of Dion's cigars, but if given the choice of the maduro or the natural, give me the natural! 

Illusione Epernay L'Alpiniste

This week's review is of one of the three new sizes in the Epernay line from Illusione, the L'Alpiniste. All three of the new releases are box pressed (like last year's Epernay Le Matin) and are 56 ring gauge. The L'Alpiniste is a torpedo measuring in at 6 3/4 x 56 and has a Cafe Rosado wrapper and is composed of Nicaraguan Corojo and Criollo tobaccos. Dan over at New Havana cigars got a few boxes of these in (which is where I got this one) as sort of a sneak preview of these new sizes, which should start showing up at other stores within the next month or so. 

This is a massive cigar! The light brown wrapper is silky smooth and looks very tasty. The construction looks top knotch. The box press and torpedo head make smoking a larger ring gauge like this much more managable. The aroma at the foot is of well aged tobacco and some light floral sweetness. The prelight draw shows just the right amount of resistance with flavors of light barnyard. Right after lighting this I am loving it! It is starting out with plenty of barnyard flavors, subtle leather and some honeycomb sweetness. The ash fell at just under an inch (all over the floor because I wasn't paying attention) and the burn has been a little wavy but seems to self correct. The flavor profile is really complex and is light and crisp on the palate. There are some floral notes that you notice even more when retrohaling. 

As I reach the halfway point I am still really enjoying this L'Alpiniste. There is something like a citrus zest flavor around the leather and honey. This is a medium strength cigar at this point with a ton of flavor and an overall medium body character to it. I am also getting some cedar flavor as I close in on the final third. This is one of those cigars that really evolves as you smoke it, flavors come and go and never get boring. Towards the final third I am getting something close to graham cracker or a sweet bisquit flavor. The whole flavor profile is darkening up in the last 2 inches with some deeper leather  flavors and some coffee as well. In the last inch this cigar has gotten really soft and the wrapper is starting to unwravel a bit, but that might be my fault from cutting just a little too much off. 

The Epernay L'Alpiniste is another great cigar from Illusione! It is medium throughout with a ton of complexity and even more flavor! I also smoked the Le Taureau size that measures in at 5 1/2 x 56. I didnt smoke the third size but out of the two I smoked, the Le Taureau was probably my favorite. I will definitely smoke more of these L'Alpiniste's again though when they are more readily available. I think these will retail for around $12, so it isn't a cheap cigar but I am looking forward to getting more of them!