Brand: Ashton Cigars
Line: San Cristobal
Vitola: Fabuloso 6 1/4″ X 52 (Torpedo)
Origin: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Nicaraguan
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Body: Full
Strength: Full
Box Price: $208.95 (Box of 22)
Description: This cigar had probably more buzz than any other cigar coming out this year. Two titans of the cigar industry, Ashton Cigars and Jose “Pepin” Garcia coming together to produce a new cigar. Ashton has owned the San Cristobal name since the mid-90′s, but were waiting until they could blend cigar worthy of the name. They spent two years blending and perfecting this cigar. I have been dying to review these the past couple of months, but my budget has been tight so I’ve stayed away from these cigars until now and I finally relented, my weakness for Pepin blended cigars over powered my need to conserve my cigar budget.
The cigar is beautifully constructed, a dark chocolate wrapper with a bit of tooth. It has a nice firm feel, and an easy draw to it. The flavor on the prelight draw was definitely a bitter cocoa flavor. Alright, now on to the real test, time to put flame to foot and smoke it.
The cigar starts off surprisingly smooth, creamy with some really interesting spices to it. I also picked up some woodiness, more bitter dark chocolate and a bit of leather. Something that really surprised me is that for a full bodied cigar it was extremely easy to smoke, no harshness you might find in a cheaper smoke. The flavor profile in the last half reminded me of Christmas. Yeah I know, strange, but the all those tasty Christmas treats are starting to show up at work and home. The chocolate sweetened up a bit with some touches of cinnamon, maybe a touch of pumpkin pie spices thrown in also. I’m humbled to admit this but it reminded me a bit of one of those Fru Fru trendy coffee drinks from hip chain coffee shops that throw in a bunch of flavors to mask the flavor of their really crappy coffee. The flavor was just amazingly complex, coffee, chocolate, cinamon, and caramel along with all the other flavors in the first half of the cigar.
Verdict: All I want for Christmas is a box of San Cristobals, several in fact, no seriously I got an empty humidor standing by waiting to be filled. This is probably the best cigar blend by Pepin yet and I’d say it is well worth the money. Watch yourself though, this cigar is a smooth talker that packs one hell of a punch in strength. Don’t smoke this cigar on an empty stomach.
Similar Cigars: Not quite the same flavor profile, but I think the 601 Blue Label, 601 Green Label, and the Don Pepin Blue Label all deliver that nice full bodied flavor and strength. The San Cristobal is really in of a class of its own with a truly unique complexity.
Popularity: 18% [?]
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Geez just when I thought my Christmas shopping was done you had to go and tell about about this smoke eh? Seriously, I have been on a Don Pepin jag lately trying everything from the Cigar.com Corojo blend ( a nice everyday smoke at a good price ) to a few JJ Series belicosos I just got at a great price (those are just too damn easy to smoke I mean deeelicious) to the 601 Red label
(that’s a serious full bodied smoke with some kick! A rewarding experience that takes some commitment) and am presently waiting to try the 5 Vegas Miami blend. So now I suppose I’ll have to hunt down a couple of these beauties. I’m going to need a raise! Thanks for the review.
One of the top five new smokes of 2007. Outstanding craftmanship and enjoyment.
This cigar is definitely going to be in my top five cigars for the year.
Sounds like I’ll need to give this one a shot!
Yeah jesse. Bring me one of these also. i’ll give you something good back
tommy
I was excited to say the least when I opened the mail way back in february and found the Cigars I won. Unfortunately, I had not yet had a chance to burn one until this past weekend.
I selected the San Christobal as the first smoke of the pack and I’m glad I did. It was a little spicy for me starting out, but once I got used to it, it was a rather nice smoke to go along with my cranberry juice and rum while I soaked in the hot tub.
Nice smoke. I hope the rest are as good!!
This cigar is VERY similar to the Oliva Serie O maduro. Both cigars have Nicaraguan tobacco, so this makes sense. Plus, the Oliva is cheaper…
This was one hell of a cigar… lots of subtle spice notes. Deceptively smooth for the first half, and then for the finish it reminds you of what a full-bodied powerhouse it really is… next time I will make sure to have some nice whiskey with it instead of beer!
Best new cigar I have tried in some time- I will be back for more.
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