u/Fearless_Kitchen_573

Picked up a Joya Black robusto tonight not expecting much. Figured: solid budget Nicaraguan, $8ish, decent burn, move on with my life. Reader, I did not move on with my life. I am inspired.

First draws hit like a shot of espresso. Then molasses. Then the first third turned into a full pepper bomb, like dark chocolate with chile, the kind that lingers on the back of the palate and refuses to leave. End of the first third the retrohale opened up to fresh toasted coffee and I started paying actual attention.

Then the cigar pulled out a knife. Dark cherries with powdered sugar and butter. I literally said “holy shit” out loud to no one. Wrapper was caramelizing into something genuinely dessert-tier. Skor bar on the retrohale shortly after. Then a dry Hershey’s cocoa note on the back palate without even retrohaling. Then sweet cream. Then coconut. I was midway through the second third going “is this a cigar or a tasting menu.”

Started pacing 60+ seconds between draws because I didn’t want it to end. Mouthfeel got heavy and oily, the kind where the smoke just sits on your tongue and coats everything. Brewed up some Twinings Indian Chai for the last third on a whim and the cardamom did something insane; it pulled lavender and sweet orange out of the retrohale. Took me ten minutes of sipping and squinting before my brain finally coughed up the right reference: bergamot orange jam on msemmen bread, like a Moroccan riad breakfast I had on a family trip there some years ago. In a cigar. From Estelí.

Last inch went electric from the Nicaraguan ligero hitting peak combustion. Stood up too fast after. Worth it.

Anyone else getting these kinds of phases off it or did I just smoke the one good one in the box?

I’m pretty new to all this so take this with a grain of salt, but I smoked a Sobremesa Brulée right after lunch and somewhere in the last third the name just clicked. It’s a dessert for the sobremesa.

Picked it up because the guys at my local shop told me these sell out fast every time they get them in. Apparently they’re really popular with the locals. Now I see why.

Took my time with it. Straight cut, slow draws. I’ve been learning to give more time between puffs and by the last third I was at like 90 seconds between draws. Made a real difference.

First third was light and floral; chamomile, orange blossom kind of thing, with cedar underneath and almonds in the back. Got a dry pepper toward the end of that third, almost like paprika, which I guess is the signal it’s about to shift.

Second third got denser. The flowers backed off and it turned into more of a bakery thing; caramelized sugar, baking spice, a little leather. The smoke itself got way thicker mid-way through, which I didn’t know was a thing but apparently it’s normal when the cigar fully gets going.

Last third is where it got fun. Honey came in, then marzipan, and then — this is the part I want to share — it tasted like Canillitas de Leche. If you’re Guatemalan or have had them, you know. That milky, eggy, lightly toasted pastry. I sat there for a second like, wait, that’s exactly what this is.

Cool part at the end gave me amaretto, and right before I put it down, straight up crema pastelera. Pastry cream.

And that’s when it hit me. The cigar starts with crème brûlée — burnt sugar on top of custard — and ends with the cream that goes inside a pastry. Like it walked you from the outside of the dessert to the inside. I don’t know if that’s intentional or if I’m reading too much into it, but it felt like it.

The whole thing got me reading about Saka afterward. Dude clearly thinks about his cigars way past just the blend.

I don’t have a huge frame of reference yet but this is easily one of my favorites so far. Not because it’s strong or super complex but because it just knows what it is. Name, flavor, the whole vibe — it all lines up.

Paired this with a Guatemalan caturra extracted full body. Nearly smoked it to the nub, which doesn’t happen often.

First third had pronounced chocolate and a licorice note on the retrohale I wasn’t expecting. Subtle but clearly there. The whole cigar felt consistently elegant which I know sounds weird for a double ligero puro but it’s the right one. Flavors were pronounced without being aggressive.

Last third is where it got interesting. Retrohale shifted into cognac and marzipan. That almond-cherry sweetness made a lot more sense; the guys at the shop told me it’s 75% ligero. Concentrated and complex, never harsh. The “cool” flavor didn’t show up until the very end. Construction held all the way through.

Strength-wise, full without the head rush. They call it Doble Fuerte and mean it, but smooth is also accurate. Both things are true.

This one’s earned a permanent spot in my rotation.