Cigar Review: Guerrilla 305 by Tarazona Cigars

Vitola: El Jefe Flaco (Lonsdale)
Size: 6.5” x 42 ring gauge
MSRP $8.60
Received at Chattanooga Tweet-Up

Background

The other day I took a look at one of Eddie Tarazona’s latest, the Revolution 305, which was actually first released late last year. Today I’m looking at a more recent release of his, Guerrilla 305. Again, Eddie is using “305” as a running theme for his cigars (it was the name of one of his first releases and is the area code for Miami). Guerrilla 305 is a large departure for Tarazona Cigars in several ways.

Tarazona’s previous cigars have been made in Nicaragua. For Guerrilla 305, he opted to go with the Dominican Republic, specifically Tabacalera William Ventura, which also happens to be the manufacturing home of Robert Caldwell, Eddie’s fellow traveler for this smoke.

The packaging is very different from other Tarazona releases. While the Revolution 305 could be seen an an evolutionary step away from the original 3 releases from the company, this is just completely different.

And the attitude and impetus behind the cigar is different. Eddie wanted to make a cigar whose marketing protests the legislative and bureaucratic constraints being placed on the cigar industry by statists, so what better way than by using the imagery of going to war.

The initial release was made on Memorial Day weekend and it came in 5 sizes. It features a blend made of Ecuadorian HVA (Habana Vuelta Abajo) wrapper, Ecuadorian Habano binder, and “Criollo 98, Corojo and HVA” fillers. Interestingly the country of origin isn’t called out for the fillers. We can safely assume the HVA comes from the same place as the wrapper (Ecuador); because of the factory in which they are made, my best guess for the other fillers is Dominican. A second release will be made on Veterans Day 2014; it will be a Maduro version of the cigar, available in one size only. I smoked at least one other 305 Guerrilla before I lit up this review stick

Prelight

They say war is hell, but the trappings of war play quite nicely on this band. The Guerrilla of the brand name has become a “gorilla” in an Army of Tarazona helmet and smoking a cigar…probably Caldwell’s Long Live the King. The ape is flanked by rifle bullet arcs on either side and palm tree silhouettes, while the “305” of the name is flanked by hand grenades. Finally there are crossed machetes on the arms of the band as it wraps around to say “Tarazona.” This is a violent band…and I like it!

The wrapper leaf was oily to the touch, and a mottled dark caramel in coloration. The aroma from it was earthy, with a touch of leather and grassiness. I didn’t get much different from the foot, to be honest…maybe a little more grass and a little less earth. After clipping the head I got a very good draw that had flavors of hay, citrus, and earth.

Flavor

I set fire to the Guerrilla 305 and got immediate flavor notes of hay, earth and graham cracker on the palate, along with a nutty and mildly peppery retrohale. It opened up as a medium-plus bodied smoke and as I puffed along I started picking up some of citrusy sweet-and-sour interplay in the profile. It was quite interesting and I don’t recall it from the previous time I smoked it. I believe the other time I had one of these, it was not the first stick of the day, so it’s possible my palate couldn’t pick up on everything it had to offer.

During the second third, the hay and earth notes faded, replaced by nuttier flavors on the palate. The graham sweetness remained as did the citrus flavors. There was also a slowly increasing pepper burn on the back of the palate.

In the last third, the Guerrilla 305 picked up more citrusy zing and cayenne pepper burn, which overlaid notes of sweet hay.

Construction

The draw was just about perfect on the Guerrilla 305s I smoked. The ash was solid and lasted for half an inch or so. The burn line was wavy, but not terribly so, just necessitating a few minor touch-ups.

Value

This is not the cheapest of Tarazona’s lines, but it is probably the most complex and rewarding smoking experience if you pay attention to it, so I would say it’s worth it.

Conclusions

The Guerrilla 305 is not the strongest or most full-bodied of Tarazona’s offerings—that would be the Revolution 305. It is, however, the most complex cigar Eddie has put out so far. It had a great range of flavor from beginning to end, riding on a thick, oily smoke that was medium-plus in body. This is a cigar that needs to be enjoyed as your first smoke of the day, I believe; if you smoke other cigars before it, you may miss out on all it has to offer.

By-The-Numbers

Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9/10

Note: Eddie Tarazona informed me after publication that I had the price wrong. I had originally published that the price was about $11, but MSRP is actually $8.60, making this a much better value than I had originally thought. Buy one! Buy a box!