Illusione Nosotros

Out of all the cigars introduced at IPCPR this year the Illusione Nosotros was at the top of my list of must try smokes.  I’m a huge fan of what Dion does already with the other Illusione cigars, the Epernay line and Cruzado as well.  I’m also a huge fan of what Jonathan Drew has to offer in traditional cigars from Drew Estate.  The Liga Privada #9 is a fantastic cigar and both the La Vieja Habana and the Chateau Real are affordable and enjoyable sticks.

Many thanks to my friend Tracy at Truly Cigars in Marietta, GA for gifting me this cigar.  I mentioned to Tracy that I was excited to try it and he was nice enough to get a sample at IPCPR and give it to me.  There was a limited supply available at the show and this was the only one he could get, so I’m even more appreciative to have scored this cigar.  If you’re in the area stop by and see the guys at Truly Cigars – they’ll take good care of you.

Illusione Nosotros Robusto
Size:   5 x 50
Wrapper:   Nicaraguan Corojo 99
Filler:   Nicaraguan
Binder:   Connecticut Habano
Price:  8 sizes will range from $7.95 – $12.95

The details on this cigar are to the best of my knowledge based on the information I could find at the time of this review.  The cigars are not released yet, we can expect to see the hitting shops around October.

I didn’t want anything to affect the flavor of this cigar so I grabbed a simple glass of ice water and settled in for the test drive.  The construction of this cigar is excellent with a nice light to medium brown wrapper surrounding a very consistently firm cigar.  Pre-light aroma offered up fragrances of sweet hay and rich tobaccos.  The cigar cut and lit quite easily.

1st Third
The first puff on this cigar offered up some sweetness with a lot of spice and pepper, those flavors continued for about an inch and then the pepperiness mellowed out.  The draw was excellent, with just a slight resistance but still giving up copious amounts of smoke.  The burn was a little wobbly and although the ash did hold well it did flare and crumble a bit as I got into the cigar further.

2nd Third
Moving into the 2nd third of this cigar it began to settle into a consistent medium-strength flavor.  An exact description of the flavor was very hard to pinpoint but I would say it was a medium woodiness (not oak or cedar) with a very faint cream and vanilla.   It was an exremely enjoyable flavor.  The cigar burnt quite well with slight issues correcting themselves for the most part.

Final Third
The final third offered mostly the same flavors as the 2nd third, I didn’t notice much change as the smoke went along.  However I enjoyed the flavor so much that I was not at all disappointed that this was not a multi-faceted smoke.  Burn continued to teeter back and forth and required some minor touch-ups.   I smoked this cigar down until my fingers started to heat up on me.

Dion mentioned in an interview with the guys over at Stogie Review that these cigars were not quite 100% ready to go, he made this comment last week at IPCPR, saying they probably needed 1-3 more weeks to be ready.  I’ll definitely pick up more of them in October when they hit stores and will be curious to see the changes that a little more time offers these great smokes.

If you enjoy Illusione or Drew Estate cigars you’ll definitely want to try this one out.  I’d say it brings something new to both makers’ offerings and will likely be a welcome addition from fans of their current cigar selections.