Camacho Corojo

CAMACHO COROJO
5 1/2 x 44 "Nacionales"

This gorgeous corona by all accounts seems to be the standard mainstay by which all Camacho products should be judged. While the limited releases like the Liberty and the P.E. garner a fair amount of hype and chatter, lines like this one are really what most of us are smoking from Camacho regularly, and with good reason. This Honduran masterpiece features a dark milk chocolate wrapper, with both an appearance and even texture reminiscent of cocoa powder in its raw form. There is a toothy roughness to the exterior of the wrapper that feels and looks great. The vein structure is only visible to a very scrutinizing gaze, and is certainly not able to be felt at all. There is a good hand-made lumpiness as I like to think of it to the pack of this cigar. It isn't overly firm, but seems properly balanced and built, with no soft or hard spots to be found. The aroma off the foot the really something to be savored, and reminds me of (I know this is nuts) a peanut butter and chocolate candy, something like a Reeses Peanut Butter Cup. The cold draw is perfect in terms of how tight or loose it is. Just a good resistance, but it draws well. The flavor pre-light is kind of a mix of cocoa and earth, with a little nuttiness. Makes sense with the peanut butter cup aroma. Delicious start!

Lit at 11:01 pm.

Initial flavor is heavy on espresso, toasted nuts, and pepper. There is a sweetness present with the espresso and nuts that fades as the powerful pepper comes on, and lasts for quite a long time. Great finish.

Through the first third, the flavor remains earthy, with a slight nuttiness, and cocoa sweetness. Pepper is still present after the draw, but has smoothed out a bit and is no longer as biting, rather it has a lingering tingling feel to it. The body is pretty big on this one. Small stick, but bold, and a noticeable strength even in this first section. The pepper flavor is black pepper, but lingers and zings more like red pepper, and even feels like it is going to give me heartburn later (ha!). Ash holds for about an inch before it starts to lean really far to the left and gets rolled into the ashtray for the sake of my lap.

Getting into the second third I surprised that I have to give the wrapper a touch up more than once to keep it burning evenly with the filler. Not something that I expected. Not a big deal though. Hopefully this is a one time thing here. At the half way mark something magical happens. For a few draws now, the peanut butter cup flavor present on the cold draw has become powerfully noticeable. Really great. Where both nuts and cocoa were present early on, this is more like a milk chocolate and peanut butter flavor that is dessert like as can be. Through the nose, a powerful spice is still dominant, and sort of overwhelms the delicate Reeses flavor. But on the draw it is awesome!

In the final third the flavor starts to get a little bitter and hot. Performing well still though. After a few touch ups in the second third, the burn has straightened itself out, and all tunneling has been avoided. In this third I am suddenly starting to really feel the strength. Not killing me, but I'm getting a little buzzed and sweaty. So this one will treat you full strength junkies well. Stomach might be doing some flips too.

Ended at 12:50pm for a total burn time of one hour 50 minutes. WOW. Really long time for a corona sized cigar. Despite a few burn issues in the middle, the overall experience is fantastic. Strength is full, especially in the last third. Flavors are just really interesting and unique. Very good.

Camacho Pre-Embargo

CAMACHO PRE-EMBARGO
6x48

This controversial cigar (in other words... just how much of the filler is pre-embargo Cuban?) is one that I have had my eye on for a while, so I'm going to give it a shot. I've heard great things, so hopefully it delivers.

It is a slightly pressed 6x48 parejo, with a little pig tail on the cap, and a closed foot, which are both interesting little details that for me are appealing, and add to the visual attractiveness of the cigar. The wrapper is a milk chocolate brown, and looks a little on the haggard side, with a fairly lumpy appearance, that also looks a little dry (it isn't, but it looks like old stretched leather) It has two bands, one that looks like the regular Camacho 1962 band, and a foot band that says PE on it. The body has a medium tobacco aroma to it, with a slight mustiness. The foot on the other hand, despite being closed, smells very heavily of musty, musky, old tobacco. This aroma almost reminds me of heavily peated whisky. Assuming that Camacho is being honest with us, this very old tobacco smell is understandable, as it contains tobacco around 50 years old...

The prelight draw is pretty firm, but I bet that has to do with the closed foot. It offers a very deep earth, and musty tobacco flavor, more-so than anything else I have ever cold-drawn.

Lit at 2:00am

Right away there is a really rich, earthy tobacco. The finish is really long, and offers a good amount of pepper and wood. The cap is sort of falling apart after a few draws. The wrapper seems very thin and loose at the head. We'll see if it presents any problems.

Ash is smooth and white, but only holds on for about an inch, and falls to pieces. Strength is already apparent at an inch and a half in. The pepper is also really ramping up on the finish. This is definitely a very "dry" smoke. The mouthfeel is sort of unpleasant, leaving me thirsty, and well... dried out. Not an oily or creamy feel at all. Burn line is fairly wavy, but seems to correct itself off and on well enough to prevent any problems. Flavors halfway through the first third are basically musty old ass tobacco (which is awesome, and pretty unique), cedar, and a really heavy pepper. The finish also lasts for an inordinate amount of time. It offers an awesome black pepper flavor. I get pepper on tons of cigars, but not like this one. It has a level of black pepper flavor that outweighs anything else I can think of, as well as a burn on the palette that is exactly like having a mouthfull of fresh cracked black peppercorns.

Right around the start of the second third, I'm kind of let down by how quickly this cigar is burning. Every draw seems to eat away a massive amount. I can't usually watch a burn line progress as I draw, but this one sort of has a runaway-burn. The finish is a little smoother, with a sort of creamy cedar flavor sitting nicely on top of the black pepper taste and tingle, which is awesome.

Hit the halfway point at only 34 minutes in, which just shows you how quickly this sucker burns. I really have started noticing the scent from the ambient smoke off the foot. It smells heavily of wet, burning wood. Like burning wet oak, which is a great smell, and unique to my knowledge. Required a little touch up after the last time the ash fell, just to get the wrapper straight and caught up. Nothing major, and certainly nothing that affected the flavor. I am currently in awe of how long the pepper flavo is lasting, both in terms of how far down the stick I am still tasting it full on, and how long the flavor lasts in the mouth. Very good. The flavors otherwise are starting to get a little creamier, and less dry. Still musty tobacco, with a slight sweetness, plus cedar and pepper. The cedar is only sort of cedar... it is like cedar that is very old. It has a great earthy character to it. There might be a little bit of what I consider leather as well. I also am really feeling it now. Not a sick feeling, just a head rush and a little shakiness that has reared its ugly head. Fortunately it's nothing overwhelming.

The musty tobacco flavor is much like the aroma off the foot before lighting, with a heavy peat, and almost salty flavor to it, that reminds me of an Islay whisky.

In the last third everything has gotten very woody, with the pepper burn starting to sort of overwhelm everything else. The strength is also pretty heavy, leaving me slightly light headed. With about an inch and a half left it is starting to tunnel and get soft... and really hot.

Ended at 3:16am for a total burn time of one hour 16 minutes. Great flavors offered here, some of them pretty unique. That said, these sell for over $20 each regularly, with boxes retailing around $500. Worth that price? No way. They are seen every once in a while for closer to $10 a piece, at which I think they are certainly worth it, regardless of how much genuine PE Tobacco is in them. Good flavors, decent performance and construction, plus a heavy novelty factor make this a good buy when they are on sale. I am not sure how these will do with some rest time on them, but that sort of remains to be seen (for me). My biggest complaint is the rate at which they burn. I had to intentionally smoke even slower than I usually do (and I'm not a fast smoker by any means) to get a decent time out of them.