Crux du Connoisseur No. 1 (7 1/2 x 38)

Video review HERE.

(Description taken from Cigar-Coop.com website)

Crux Cigars was formed by Jeff Haugen and Joel Rogers, the owners of Tobacco Grove in Maple Grove Minnesota. The duo has looked to build on their experience on the retail end as they enter the world of manufacturers. The company partners with the Placencia factory in Nicaragua. 

The “du Connoisseur” name can be derived from the fact that all three vitolas in the line are what are typically called “connoisseur” sizes – namely 38 ring gauge and under. 

Blend Profile

The Crux du Connoisseur consists of a Nicaraguan wrapper and binder with Honduran filler.

Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano (Jalapa)

Binder: Nicaraguan

Filler: Honduran

Country of Origin: Nicaragua (Placencia SA)

Vitolas Available

The Crux du Connoisseur comes in three sizes. Each are 38 ring gauge and under. Each of the three sizes are packaged in ten count boxes. The No. 1 and No. 2 are essentially lancero-sized vitolas that differ in length.

Crux du Connoisseur No. 1: 7 1/2 x 38 REVIEWED TODAY

Crux du Connoissuer No. 2: 6 1/2 x 38

Crux du Connoissuer No. 3: 5 5/8 x 35

The cigar has a slightly oily wrapper and is well made. Here is a shot of the foot.

The test draw after cutting the cap was firm so I worked the cigar by rolling it in my fingers to loosen up the draw. After getting an acceptable draw I lit the cigar. The initial flavors were tangy, sweet orange citrus with white chocolate and brown sugar. There was black pepper rated at a 7 1/2. There is light black coffee at the base. At the immediate end of the front end there are raw almond notes. You especially notice them once you expel the smoke but prior to the finish. In fact, you also get raw almonds on the finish along with some lingering black pepper. 

Just past the midpoint (35 minutes) the white chocolate notes are decreasing and the brown sugar notes are amping up. The main flavors are now the orange citrus and the brown sugar. There are still whiffs of raw almonds. The finish has gotten a little sweet with help from the citrus notes but there are still raw almond notes also. The lingering black pepper has increased a little. The cigar is medium bodied. The cigar is still very sweet but it's a different type of sweetness from when it started. At first it was a candy-like sweetness and now it's more like the sweetness from a baked treat. Both very sweet but different kinds of sweet.

With 2 inches remaining (50 minutes) the coffee notes are coming out more. They are even with the citrus and brown sugar. The coffee has ramped up from the start. The heavy coffee makes the cigar seem a little fuller in body. You might say the cigar is a low grade medium to full bodied. 

As the cigar ended (1 hour 6 minutes) the notes of citrus, brown sugar, and coffee continued. There were even notes of chocolate at the very end. The raw almonds popped in here and there. The cigar ended at a low grade medium to full bodied. For the most part you get a medium bodied cigar but it goes up very slightly in the final third. The finish was still one of citrus and raw almonds with a generous amount of lingering black pepper. This cigar was good and it came very close to very good. I will smoke these again but it fell just short of something really special. A good cigar that should be tried.

Score: 92