I almost want to title this review “My Last Amazon Basin,” but I’m not sure yet. I was shocked by the price tag when I bought this latest release…pushing $15 these days…or even more if a store starts looking at it as an “allocated” product. When the cigar was released in 2014, it retailed for $9.25, so it has increased in price by a whopping 56% over the years. “So what? Everything else has gone up, too!” you might be saying. I don’t know about you, but my paycheck hasn’t increased by 56% over the past decade…and I can point to a lot of cigars whose prices haven’t increased nearly that much over that time frame. So I guess what I’m looking for is a reason to ignore future releases…or to be joyful when they come out and fork over the cash.
The basic story is the same as it was then…limited Brazilian Bragança tobacco, along with an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper, Nicaraguan binder, and fillers from Colombia and Dominican Republic. The “band” is a small rope of tobacco, looking very rustic. The wrapper was oily and smooth with an earthy aroma. The foot had a damp earthiness with cocoa powder and coffee overtones. Once I clipped the head, the cold draw was excellent and had a really interesting sweet note that I remember from other times I’ve smoked this blend…almost a dark fruit note of some kind, but it’s hard to get more specific than that.
Once lit, the Amazon Basin had that dried dark fruit flavor up front, while notes of cedar and earth played supporting roles and pepper spice provided a nice accent. Honestly, I don’t think anything has changed…this is still a really excellent smoking experience and I do think I will be buying them for years to come…even if the price has inflated faster than many other sticks on the market. ::sigh:: take my money…
