Ortega Serie D #10 Belicoso Natural (6 x 52)

Video review HERE.



By now most of you know the story of Eddie Ortega and his split from EO Brands and Erik Espinosa. Eddie decided to start his own brand and the Ortega Serie D is his first effort. He started with a maduro version and this is his next cigar, the natural. I reviewed the Serie D maduro no. 12 back in February and it got high marks.

This cigar is comprised of:

Wrapper: Ecuador Habano Rosado
Filler/Binder: Nicaraguan Jalapa and Esteli

Available in these sizes:
No. 6 ; 4 1/2x48
No. 7; 5x46
No. 8; 5 1/2x50
No. 10; 6x52 Belicoso (being reviewed today)
No. 12; 5x52
All are available in boxes of 20 cigars, boxed pressed.


This cigar is very well made with no veins. It is a medium brown in color. It has nice density and has a nice feel in the hand. The filler is well packed and varies in color.

After cutting the minimum from the belicoso point the test draw was very good. The initial flavors at light up were very sweet and a ton of black pepper. The sweetness was one of grapefruit citrus and coffee. This cigar needs to settle down a little to get a firm grip on the full flavor spectrum. One thing I noticed was the very white ash it has.

 

About 1/2 inch in the grapefruit citrus is quickly changing to one of a sweet, rich cedar with nutmeg notes. The pepper is very good. I would give it a 7 or 8 in the initial stages. The coffee notes give the cigar nice depth. The cigar feels full bodied right away. The transition from grapefruit citrus to cedar and nutmeg seems to be a natural one for many Nicaraguan cigars. The ash, as you can see in the picture above, is very white.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

About an inch in the cigar has made a little transition. There are a lot of buttery rich flavors in the cigar. You can detect them easily in the spice. The coffee has a creamy flavor to it now. The finish is a rich buttery toffee flavor and there is some nice lingering pepper. The cigar at this point is, in a word, rich. I cannot get over the jet white ash. The Ecuadorian wrapper is giving the ash a nice white color. The cigar is burning very evenly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At about the midpoint the initial draw has a nice black cherry flavor which quickly change to the cedar and nutmeg notes. The buttery notes are still there and the pepper remains very good. I would put the pepper at a 7 right now. The finish is changing a bit at this stage. At this point it's more of a buttery cream. The pepper continues to linger nicely. The cigar is still fairly full bodied.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With about 1 1/2  inches left the coffee notes have really come forward. The buttery cedar and nutmeg flavors continue as well as the black pepper. The finish is more of a toffee flavor with buttery cream making for a very nice flavor. The lingering pepper seems to be intensifying.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I enjoyed the numerous transitions this cigar has made throughout the smoke. The cigar ended up nicely with the rich, sweet cedar and nutmeg notes with a nice amount of coffee. The pepper remained very good to the end with a rating of 7. The finish of toffee and rich, buttery cream was very nice and pleasing. The lingering pepper seemed to become more intense on the finish at the end. The ash was a beautiful white color and the cigar burned very evenly. This was a very enjoyable cigar. Eddie has done a great job with this new brand and they show he is a real player in the cigar market.

 

 

Score: 93