My Uzi Weighs a Ton

Today's review is of the new cigar from Jonathan Drew, the My Uzi Weighs a Ton! This is a cigar he blended at Joya De Nicaragua using some of their tobaccos as well as some of his own from the Drew Estate factory. I taste tested the blend over the last 6 months and after some changes to the blend, it looks like JD is pretty happy with the end result. At Burning Leaf last week we did the pre release party for the Uzi with Jonathan. Right now it is only available in bundles of 10 in the 6x60 vitola, but after the trade show he is planning on releasing it in a 5x60 and 7x60 as well. As of now the only place to get the Uzi is at Burning Leaf. The blend consists of a Mexican San Andreas Negro wrapper, Connecticut binder, and a filler of Brazilian Mata Fina, Nicaraguan Ligero Estelí, Viso Condega and Seco Jalapa. This is really out of the box blend wise for something coming out of Joya De Nicaragua, who has always blended strictly Nicarguan cigars. People are going to gripe about this cigar only coming in a 60 ring gauge, but thats what JD wanted to do for the Uzi (at least for now) and there is definitely a market for cigars in that size. I am not normally a fan of 60 ring gauge cigars either, but I am always interested in what JD comes up with. The Uzi will be banded when it is officially released, but for now it comes sans band in cellophane. 

The Uzi is a monster of a cigar, this is a lot of tobacco! The wrapper is dark and oily with a ton of tooth and a few smaller veins running the length of the cigar. This is a hefty, solid cigar with a very evenly rolled feel to it. There is a great barnyard aroma at the foot with plenty of sweetness coming off of it. The draw is just right for this size and has a sweet chocolate flavor on the prelight draw. With a cigar this size its pretty important to take the time to get it lit evenly, which does take a little patience. The Uzi starts out with plenty of sweetness (a characteristic of all that Brazilian Mata Fina tobacco in the filler) and some leathery flavors. There is a mild amount of spice on the finish. From the get go this is a solid medium body/strength cigar with a very full flavor. I am getting pretty used to the size of this cigar as I smoke it. The smoke is very smooth on the palate with some cedar showing up in the flavor profile after around half an inch into it. The burn has needed a few touchups starting out, but I have noticed that isn't unusual for a cigar of this size, its a lot of tobacco to get burning evenly! The balance of flavors is really nice in this cigar, the ligero from Esteli (woody spicy characteristic) balances out all of the sweet Mata Fina. The sweetness is almost like a molasses, a darker sweet flavor. The ash holds on strong for 2 inches easily. I have found a lot of large ring gauge cigars tend to have crumbly ash, which isn''t the case with the Uzi. This is the third Uzi I have smoked and I must say they are very consistent. If you are curious about what Mata Fina tastes like, this is a great cigar to try. 

At the halfway point the flavor has stayed consistent with more of the same balanced sweetness. This is far from being boring, which is good because there is a lot of it to smoke! There is a touch more of that woody characeristic to the flavor profile at this point. The burn has needed a few touchups but it hasn't caused any issues and hasn't been out of control at all. These might be just a touch on the wet side as well (they did just come in from the factory this past week). At the end of the Uzi it is still a solid medium strength and full flavored cigar, right down to the nub. 

Even if you aren't a fan of 60 ring gauge cigars, give the Uzi a shot, you might be surprised! Even though I may not smoke a lot of 60 ring gauge cigars, I really enjoy smoking the Uzi. I am glad I have some of these in my humidor for those occasions that I want to spend a solid 2+ hours with a cigar. A lot of people at the release party weren't fans of large ring gauge cigars, but everyone that I talked to really seemed to enjoy this cigar. You do get used to smoking it after a few minutes and kind of forget how massive it is. At around $10 for the 6x60 I think it is very reasonably priced considering how large the cigar is and how well it smokes. So, even if you don't like this format in a cigar, give the Uzi A shot when they are officially released a little later this year. If you don't want to wait until the official release to try it, there are still some available at Burning Leaf in Plainfield, Illinois. I know I will be keeping some of these in my humidor, the flavor profile is pretty unique. The Uzi provides enough flavor for those who enjoy a fuller bodied cigar, but won't be too strong for those who prefer a more medium bodied cigar as well. 

Joya De Nicaragua Cabinetta

The Joya De Nicaragua Cabinetta is one of the newest cigars out from JDN, and just by looking at it you can tell it is something unique. This cigar is made up of a Nicaraguan filler and binder, with an Ecuadorian Shade wrapper. For the top third of the cigar, there is a Nicaraguan Criollo coverleaf over the Ecuadorian Shade wrapper, giving this cigar it's two-tone appearance. I have to admit, this makes for a very striking presentation; golden brown on the bottom and oily and dark at the top. I am reviewing the Robusto, measuring in at 5X52.

This is a nicely constructed cigar, with a slightly firm predraw showing some cocoa and sweetness before lighting. When you cut this cigar, you can see that the Ecuadorian wrapper covers the entire cigar, with the Criollo leaf laid on top of it. Once lit, the Cabinetta starts out creamy with a delicate sweet flavor. The Criollo wrapper leaves a pleasant spicy flavor on the lips, which is a nice contrast from the sweet creamy tobacco that is actually burning. I am getting very little spice out of the actual cigar, just from the Criollo wrapper at the head. The even burn produces a bright white ash and holds for about an inch, but is a little crumbly. So far this is a mild bodied cigar with medium to full flavors. After about an inch into this, that sweet flavor develops into a cinnamon sugar taste, along with some woodyness on the retrohale.

When you hit the Criollo wrapper, the flavors darken up and the cigar moves into a solid medium bodied smoke. The burn is perfect, with no change when you hit the 2nd wrapper. With the Criollo burning, a little bit of leather and dark coffee join the flavor profile. This cigar is a great example of what the addition of a different wrapper does to the flavor profile. Just one more leaf added over the current blend changes the flavor profile. I found the Cabinetta to be a very enjoyable cigar. I always have plenty of full bodied cigars to choose from, but am always looking for something a little milder that still has plenty of flavor to throw into rotation. This definitely fits the bill, especially for right around $6 a piece. When I first saw this cigar I thought the two tone presentation was a little gimmicky, but after smoking it I really enjoyed what that additional leaf brought to the party. Having that spicy flavor on your lips from the Criollo wrapper to balance out the sweet creamy flavor of the blend was a great idea.