JC Newman

March 11, 2017

Protocol Probable Cause Churchill (6 1/2 x 48)







Video review HERE.


The Protocol Probable Cause is the sophomore release by Cubariqueño Cigar Company.

The name of the company, Cubariqueño pays homage to Ives’ Cuban heritage and Cancel’s Puerto Rican heritage. The name of the brand, Protocol pays homage to law enforcement, where the duo serve as police offices in New York City.To produce their cigar, Cancel and Ives turned to Erik Espinosa’s La Zona factory.

Wrapper: San Andres Maduro
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Country of Origin: Nicaragua (La Zona SA)

Vitolas Available

The Probable Cause is available in two sizes. The Robusto offering is a rounded cigar while the Churchill is a box-pressed offering. The cigars are packaged in ten count boxes.

Robusto: 5 x 52
Churchill: 6 1/2 x 48 REVIEWED TODAY


The cigar is very dark and box pressed.




The cap is triple capped.






The cigar has a nice feel in the hand. Here is a shot of the foot.





The test draw after cutting the cap was very good. The initial flavors were a sweet orange citrus, coffee, dark chocolate, and a fudge type flavor. The sweet notes of citrus are very nice and obvious. The dark notes do not overwhelm them. There is also some orange peel, or orange zest which seems to bridge between the orange citrus and the darker notes.





About 1 1/2 inches in (19 minutes) the fudge like flavor is now a brown sugar. You still have the sweet orange citrus, dark chocolate, and coffee. The black pepper is rated at a 7 to 7 1/2. The finish is a dark chocolate with light cream notes and some lingering black pepper. The cigar is medium bodied at this point. The cigar is somewhat in balance. The sweet notes and dark notes are about equal.





At the midpoint (36 minutes) the flavors are just about the same. The cigar is pretty much balanced. The orange zest, or orange peel is still noticeable but it does not detract from the main flavors. The coffee notes are becoming more prominent. The cigar is reaching toward medium to full bodied. The finish is unchanged.








With about 2 inches remaining (51 minutes) the dark chocolate and citrus are the two main flavors. The brown sugar is somewhat subtle and the coffee holds the base. The pepper remains good at average to a little above. The cigar is a low grade medium to full bodied.







The cigar ended (1 hour 20 minutes) with a continuation of the nice, sweet orange citrus notes, dark chocolate, coffee, and light brown sugar. The orange peel, or zest, seemed to decrease but it was always noticeable. The cigar ended at medium to full bodied. In the final third the finish gained a little more sweetness. There seemed to be some of the orange citrus on the finish to go along with the dark chocolate and cream. 


Score: 93


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