Drew Estates Nica Rustica “El Brujito” (6 x 52)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Video view HERE. (I started using a new HD webcam and as you will see there are some bugs that I need to work out.)

 

 

 

(from the Drew Estate website)

 

Nica Rustica is a medium to full strength cigar that is blended to showcase native Nicaraguan tobaccos from Esteli and Jalapa. Aficionados will enjoy this rustic smoke that is robust and deeply satisfying. Genuine Connecticut Broadleaf encases Nica Rustica and imparts a subtle natural tobacco sweetness and spice.

 

 

Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf Mediums

Binder: Mexican San Andreas Negro
Filler: Grade A Nicaraguan (Esteli & Jalapa)

 



 

The cigar has a rough looking pigtail cap and an unfinished foot.

The test draw after cutting the pigtail cap was very good. The initial flavors were an earthy cedar with sweetness with some cream notes and some bitterness from what I'll call a grapefruit citrus. The pepper is black and rated between a 6 and 7 initially.



About 1 1/2 inch in the flavors are about the same as they were initially. There now seems to be a background flavor of leather and there are now cocoa notes. The finish is somewhat like a French vanilla with some lingering pepper. There is a nice sweetness on the cedar and grapefruit. It is very intense but not one of syrup. The cigar is medium bodied.







Just past the midpoint the sweetness is very elevated. It is one of brown sugar. The cocoa notes are very much in play. There are even flashes of black cherry type sweetness on the front end. The leather and earth notes are not as pronounced now. The sweet flavors in the cigar are very nice. The pepper has moved up to a 7. The cigar is still medium bodied. The cigar is burning very evenly. The finish now has some toasted notes on the French vanilla. There is also some lingering black pepper.





With about 2  inches left the bitterness has gone entirely. The sweetness continues to be very elevated. You have sweet cedar with brown sugar, earth, light leather, and charred oak notes. The cocoa notes are a little subtle now but they are more prominent than the leather and earth. The cigar is now medium to full bodied. There is a thick sweetness to the cigar.






The cigar ended with 4 main flavors; sweet cedar, cocoa, charred oak, and brown sugar. You get all 4 in equal amounts. The leather, earth, and bitterness are all gone. The cigar ended at medium to full bodied and took about 1 hour 30 minutes to smoke. The finish has some of the charred oak notes to go along with a toasted cream. The pepper stayed at a 7. This cigar started out with some bitterness but around the end of the first third it lost those notes and the sweet notes really moved up. It ended up a very good cigar. Even with the negative of the bitterness the cigar is real winner.

Score: 92