Illusione 88

Size: 5 x 52

Box of 25: $159.99 at Tex Cigars

Appearance/Construction: This little beauty was given to me by a friend at TexCigars. Filling in a Robusto size, this cigar has a very nice dark brown café colored wrapper, with no noticeable imperfections. The wrap is done well, giving the cigar a sleek appearance. A noticeable sheen from the slightly oily wrapper is another added bonus.

Flavors: Right off the bat I tasted the traditional Nicaraguan zesty spice that most cigar smokers associate with Nicaraguan tobacco. Muddled in was the start of a nutty taste along with slight woody taste. As the cigar progressed, the nuttiness moved to the forefront, along with a creamier flavor of dark coffee and chocolate. The woodiness was still muted at this point. In the final third, the woody flavor came back with a vengeance, and intermingled with the nutty and coffee flavors in a well balanced collage of flavors. I almost thought that the cigar would be too overpowering at this point, but the flavors managed to keep each other in check while accentuating the best of each flavor point.

Overall: This was simply an excellent cigar. I was excited to try it out over all the hype, but I have to say, it lives up to it. My advice: go out, try it, and then buy as many as you possibly can. Simply amazing.

-Agent 10

Also, many thanks to The Stogie Baby, AKA Agent 15 for the use of the photo.