A few weeks ago I was contacted by Leonel Proveda, who works in Business Development for Global Premium Cigars, the company founded by Enrique Sanchez and better known as the makers of 1502 Cigars. He sent me a few new and/or unique sticks as a gift at Christmas, and for that I would like to say a big “Thank you!” It’s probably wrong to “review” gifts, so instead I just want to say a few general words about these, the first time I’ve had the Ruby and Black Gold blends in quite some time, and the first time I’ve ever been exposed to the 1502 Nicaragua blend.
Ruby
First up, I’m going with a blend I know I enjoyed the first time around, the 1502 Ruby. Ruby features filler and binder leaves from Nicaragua, specifically Estelí and Condega, along with a dark Ecuadorian wrapper. What I was sent was a Perfecto sold exclusively in the 1502 Lounges, of which two are listed on their website: in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and Lancaster, Pennsylvania. This Perfecto is of particular interest for two reasons: first, it is box-pressed (as are the other vitolas in the Ruby line, but box-pressing a Perfecto isn’t quite as common a practice); second, it is completely pointed on both ends, a look I can only remember previously from the Viaje Double-Edged Sword Perfectos. The wrapper leaf was silky-smooth and oily, medium-brown in color with darker mottling and tinge of red shot through it. It smelled mostly very earthy, although I picked up some cedar in the mix as well.
Black Gold
With Ruby having turned out stronger, I was a little nervous when I turned to Black Gold…Texas Tea…Oil, that is! Wait…not really oil, but the “Black Gold” moniker made me think of the Beverly Hillbillies. Oddly, in common usage Black Gold can refer to black pepper, coffee or marmite, in addition to oil. Or, in not so common usage…it’s a cigar with a dark wrapper! Filler and binder (double-binder!) are again from Nicaragua, while this cigar features a Maduro wrapper of unspecified origin. Wherever it hailed from, it was smooth, oily and redolent of earth and aged tobacco.
Nicaragua
A new addition to the 1502 line-up is their first Nicaraguan puro, fittingly called “Nicaragua.” According to this news piece at halfwheel, it consists of tobaccos from Estelí, Condega, Jalapa, and Ometepe and is made in Estelí. This cigar got a unique band rather than a variation on the one used on the original trio of blends, a light caramel-colored wrapper, and a partially closed foot. Judging from the timing of the sample I got, I would have to call this a “pre-release” sample, but it has the appearance of a final release so I would think there won’t be a lot of variation when the release happens.
