Video review HERE.
(Description taken from Halfwheel.com website)
Late last year, Southern Draw released a blend that was created to pay homage to the origins of tobacco itself.
The cigar is named Manzanita—which translates to little apple from Spanish—and while we don’t know where the tobacco comes from, we do know that the wrapper is a habano hybrid leaf, the binder is a habano leaf, and the filler contains pelo de oro, corojo 99, and ligero tobaccos. The regular production line launched in a single 6 x 52 toro vitola priced at $14.99 each packaged in boxes of 10 that are being produced at Tabacalera AJ Fernandez Cigars de Nicaragua S.A. factory.
According to Southern Draw, the somewhat unusual name came about while Abdel Fernandez, Robert Holt and Sharon Holt, along with members of their respective teams, were inspecting bales of the habano hybrid leaves that would be used for the wrapper and noticed how they had an oily, deep red color, reminiscent of the red bark of a manzanita tree.
“We have long desired to share the history of traditional tobacco and its spiritual importance and then we had an epiphany while working on names for our new cigar release,” said Robert Holt, founder of Southern Draw, in a press release. “Some nostalgic names were thrown around, but, when we saw this leaf, its deep red color, observed the texture, rolled the tabaquiados and smoked them together, there was a unanimous endorsement that Manzanita, meaning ‘little apple’ in Spanish, describing the tiny, apple-like fruit, was perfect.”
Blend and Origin:
Wrapper: Undisclosed (Habano Hybrid)
Binder: Undisclosed (Habano)
Filler: Undisclosed (Pelo de Oro, Corojo 99 & Ligero)
Factory: Tabacalera AJ Fernandez Cigars de Nicaragua S.A.
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
The cigar has a reddish wrapper and has a nice feel in the hand.
The test draw after cutting the cap was good. The initial flavors at light up were cedar, a lot of citrus peel, brown sugar, a drop of orange citrus, nutmeg, leather, and black coffee. There was a nice amount of black pepper rated at 7 1/2. Nice start.
At the first third (29 minutes) the citrus peel is a little tangy. It's sweet with the brown sugar. The nutmeg is a little elevated and it's thick and chunky. There was still light leather and a black coffee base. If you hold the smoke and let it out slowly you will get a wisp of caramel. From the light up through the first third the cigar improved. The finish is citrus peel, brown sugar, nutmeg, and pretty good lingering black pepper. The cigar is medium bodied. I rated the first third 94.
As I moved through the second third (1 hour 6 minutes) the nutmeg really rose, along with the leather. The notes are citrus peel, brown sugar, nutmeg, leather, and black coffee. But the nutmeg made the biggest gain with the leather elevating but not quite as much as the nutmeg. The cigar is still medium bodied. The finish is leather, nutmeg, and a little brown sugar with pretty good lingering black pepper. I lowered the second third score to 92.
The cigar lasted 1 hour 29 minutes. In the final third I had more of a cedar and brown sugar with the nutmeg, leather, and black coffee. The cigar seems to be a little better since the elevated nutmeg reduced somewhat. The lingering black pepper became quite elevated and nice. The finish is nutmeg and brown sugar with that very nice lingering black pepper. The cigar ended at medium bodied. The cigar made some minor improvements but not enough to change the score. I held 92 for the final third. Nice cigar.
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