Cigar Review: Room 101 Big Delicious
3 Apr 2013
Arturo Fuente’s Solaris. Tatuaje’s Anarchy and Apocalypse. My Father’s El Hijo. Padrón’s 1964 Anniversary SI-15. What do these cigars have in common?
They’re all part of the Microblend Series that’s sold exclusively by Smoke Inn, a Florida-based cigar retailer. Microblend Series is inspired by the growing popularity of U.S. microbreweries, harnessing how “limited production quantities allow for a greater emphasis to be placed on quality and consistency,†according to the Smoke Inn website.
To bring the Microblend Series to fruition, Smoke Inn has partnered with some of the most respected names in the industry to produce one-time limited batches offered in one size each. These cigars have garnered high reviews from my colleagues.
The newest addition to the Microblend Series will be Big Delicious, a large torpedo (6.25 x 54) with a shaggy foot that was crafted by Abe “Big Delicious†Dababneh of Smoke Inn and Matt Booth of Room 101 (see our previous reviews of Room 101 cigars here). The cigar’s 1970s-style marketing scheme is, to say the least, unique. This promotional website includes “The Adventures of Swanky White & Big Delicious,†a comic that chronicles the fictional making of the cigar.
Big Delicious is handmade at Tabacos Rancho Jamastran in DanlÃ, Honduras. It has a reddish Habano 2000 wrapper around tobaccos from Brazil, Honduras, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic. Pre-light notes are faint and the cold draw is smooth.
I don’t know if the torpedo shape contributes to this association but, as soon as I lit up the Big Delicious, I was reminded of a cigar I used to smoke quite frequently back in 2007: the Magic Mountain by Maria Mancini. That smoke also boasts a Habano 2000 wrapper, which is a cross between Cuban-seed corojo and Connecticut shade that imparts—in my opinion—an earthy flavor with a warm, lingering spice.
With a thick, damp texture, the slow-burning Big Delicious lumbers to the midway point. There, flavors of cayenne spice, leather, and coffee creamer build to complement the musty core. The draw opens significantly as the final third approaches. Throughout, the burn line is perfectly straight and the finely layered ash holds extremely well.
In all honesty, I’m not a huge fan of Big Delicious’ immense proportions or pseudo-gimmicky marketing campaign. But I can’t deny how well it smokes, or its endearing flavor of warm, approachable spice. Keep this in mind since pre-orders start on Friday and the national release party is April 26. The cigar will sell for $8.95 (or $134.25 for a box of 15), and it’s worthy of a very solid rating of four stogies out of five.
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photo credit: Stogie Guys