The Velvet Cigar

Posted By Elvis on December 11, 2007

Just when I think I’ve tried every cigar that I think I would like and have stocked my humidor with all my standards that I love, I get bored at work and start surfing the plethora of online cigar stores and feel compelled to take a flyer on something new. Most of the time this process leads to me spending a lot of money on various 5-packs of stuff I wish I would have only bought a single of. So there I was at cigardbid.com looking around and a cigar hit me that intrigued me years ago when I used to get the JR catalogues and they were hyping it – the Don Lino Africa series. Now I’ve never heard of Don Lino other than this cigar and in my mind I always thought these were crazy expensive for some reason, so I just ignored them like I would a Montecristo or Romeo y Julieta. Well, if they were expensive, they are now pretty damn reasonable and after I won a 5-pack for like $18, I couldn’t wait to try them. Suffice it to say, when I got my box of them today in the mail, you can guess how that original 5-pack went over.

Wow…these are amazing sticks. I first tried the torpedo size and when I started to look for a box to buy cheaply, I ended up winning a box of the size they call the Kilbasa. OK, it’s the Kiboko, but at 6×58 they should be called the Kilbasa. These suckers are huge and that’s what I lit up tonight.

Anyone who has read our reviews over the years know that Iron and I realy appreciate it when a cigar company truly makes an effort to make the stick look fancy and nice. In my mind, if they are going to that much trouble to make the box and the band brilliant then the cigar quality usually follows (yes, with the glaring exception being the CAO Vision). Anyway, the Africa comes in a highly laquered box and when you open them up the cigars are there in all their glory un-wrapped and ready to smoke. I am not a fan of the cello wrapper because I think if the cigars are put down to rest in their coffins for awhile before they go out to the public, the clean cigars will only feed off each other’s moisture, aroma and blend. I could be totally wrong, but it seems right.
The box is decorated with African scenes and there’s a big hippo on this size which I’m guessing is maybe what Kiboko means in African. The bands are beautiful….the giant “A” is draped with a zebra striped background and they look classy. It also really helps that the oily dark red-tinted wrapper looks good enough to chew on. This is one of the most beautiful sticks I’ve seen in a while.

The aroma coming from the box is heavenly and when you first light up the cigar you immediately know this is a strong cigar and also a very different stick. Now I’ve bitched on these pages that every new cigar that is full bodied lately is chock full of pepper and that’s a little too agressive for me. This cigar has a power that is subtle, but the thickness of the smoke and the finish tell you it’s going to be a big boy stogie without burning your tongue and mouth on black pepper. This just has a real pleasant taste that fills the palate and stays in there long after you’ve puffed out the smoke. Like a good wine, you can still taste it long after you swallow. It’s always hard for me to pick out words to describe the taste, but I would say this has a bit of leather…a bit of earthiness and evens breaks into that “spice” quadrant of the famous cigar tasting wheel (there’s a link on this page if you’ve never used this wonderful tool before) without touching the pepper element. The cigar burns cool and is very consistent…although I wouldn’t plan on nubbing the Kiboko size…it might make your head spin after enjoying the stick for two hours the way it is. It sounds like this is a very limited cigar…here’s what one retailer says about it:

This blend from Don Lino is one of the most unique available. The Don Lino Africa blend gets its name from the rare African filler used by blenders from the famous Miami cigar company to bring out its unique rich aroma. This tobacco is further complimented by tobaccos from Honduras, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, and Mexico bring many aromas to the palate. Finished with a habano wrapper that was set aside in 1999 with this cigar in mind, it will please even the discriminating aficionado. Made in sparing supply, each box of 25 features a highgloss humidor style finish dipicting African scenery.

I can’t think of a drink that would go well with this cigar…you really don’t want to muddle the unique flavors of this baby with anything else. I smoked it with only clean pure bottled water at my side. Seriously…try and find yourself some of these. I have to laugh because I honestly think I would pay between $15-$20 in Minnesota at a shop for ONE of these and I ended up, through patience at cigarbid, getting a whole box of 25 for $88! Holy crap…that’s around $3.50 per stick. At that price I could make them my everyday smoke…but it’s not everyday you want something so rich like this, so I will keep them and smoke them sparingly. This cigar is in my running for cigar of the year for sure and got into the race in the nick of time.

Happy holidays all…..Elvis.

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Categories: Cigar Indulgence, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Nicaragua
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