JC Newman

June 22, 2013

Room 101 Namakubi Ecuador Ranfla (5 1/2 x 30/50)

 





The presentation of this cigar is very nice. Here is the view as it was purchased:

 
 
 
 
Then, as I opened it:
 







Video review HERE.


I have reviewed 2 other variations of the Namakubi and both have received good ratings. Hopefully this cigar will also be good. The only difference in this cigar and the original version is the Ecuadorian Habano wrapper. By the way, Ranfla refers to a souped up low rider Chevrolet.

These cigars are limited to 100,000 produced over all the various sizes. The are available in 4 sizes.

This cigar is a dark brown and nearly flawless in construction. There is one prominent vein but it does not detract from the beauty of this cigar.

As usual, I show the foot of the cigar.



I cut the minimum from the cap and the test draw was great! The initial flavors were a ton of black pepper, sweet orange citrus, light leather and earth, and vanilla or cream; it's hard to make out right now. The pepper is at least an 8 rating. The finish is a thick, sweet cream.



About 1/2 inch in the sweet orange and cream are very intense. It reminds me of the push up ice cream. The cream is very prominent. The flavors are almost like an orange whipped cream. The cigar is medium bodied and I would expect it to go to medium to full. I really like this cigar so far. The leather and earth are still around but they are subtle and make a nice base.






One inch in the ash is really crazy. It looks like it exploded! But the flavors are the real explosion. The orange citrus is almost candy like and it's tangy. The cream has decrease a little. The leather is the base flavor and the earth is subtle. I love the tangy sweetness of the orange citrus.








About 1 1/2 inches in the ash has still not dropped and it's still very weird looking. Be that as it may, the flavors are now sweet orange citrus and sweet cedar, and they are somewhat rich and they are extremely sweet. The leather and earth are a little more prominent but no where near the citrus and cedar. The pepper has backed down to a 7. The finish is a sweet cream with some toasted notes and some lingering pepper. This cigar is very good and I am very much enjoying it. I think the Ecuadorian Habano wrapper is giving the cigar the leather notes but they only add to the enjoyment of this cigar.





The ash finally dropped and the burn is a little off but I expect it to self correct. There are now some charred oak notes to go along with the extremely sweet orange citrus and cedar combination. The leather and earth are very subtle now. The finish is about the same. If anything it's a little sweeter. The cigar is still medium bodied.






The cigar made no changes to the end. This is a fairly short cigar at 5 1/2 inches. It took 2  hours to smoke. The burn evened out nicely on it's own with no touch ups. The flavors at the end are just like they were in the previous segment. Great, sweet flavors. Fantastic flavors in fact. The charred oak notes are prominent and back the citrus/cedar very nicely. The pepper remained very good at a 7 rating. The finish was unchanged. The cigar ended up medium bodied. I was surprised it didn't get any fuller but that's ok because it was a fantastic cigar. I urge you to try these as I absolutely loved it! I would like to have a humidor full of these.

Score: 96

No comments: