Originally published at Tiki Bar Online
Ray, 5.5” x 44 ring gauge / MSRP $6.00
For part 3 of my look at Felix Assouline Cigars, I decided to go with the cigar that is described as “our nod to the old traditions of yesterday,” the Havana Sunrise Reserve. This blend is being made in 5 vitolas, all box-pressed and uses Nicaraguan and Honduran fillers, an Indonesian binder and a Habano 98 wrapper. As with the others in this series, the two samples I smoked were sent by Michel Malek, Executive Vice President for Felix Assouline Cigars. If you haven’t already, please check out my reviews of the EGO and Ringo blends.
Havana Sunrise sounds like a drink…maybe rum and orange juice with some grenadine? The band on the Havana Sunrise Reserve reminded me of the Oliva Master Blends band for some reason…maybe just the framing of the picture or something. It is nice, though, with an image of the sun rising over a tobacco field, surrounded with brown, red, black, and gold accents. The cigar felt smooth and oily under my fingers and it had a golden brown color. The aroma from the wrapper was pungently earthy; the foot had more sweetness in its earthiness. The prelight draw was very good and tasted of earth and an almost syrupy sweetness.
After firing up the Havana Sunrise Reserve, I got a grassiness right off the bat, along with some underlying sweetness and a bit of pepper spice. The pepper spice came through a bit better on the retrohale on the first few puffs, but mellowed out very quickly. Soon I tasted cedar notes creeping up until they were just about the foremost flavor in the cigars. By the end of the first third, cedar and pepper spice were about all I was getting on the palate, while the nose was nutty and little sweet.
In the second third, the cedar was tempered a bit by a flavor of earth and black coffee coming through. The pepper remained about the same, continuing a nice burn at the back of the palate. Construction was very good; I had an excellent draw, fairly even burn line and solid ash.
In the last third, the flavors of earth and cedar were pretty well balanced in the Havana Sunrise Reserve, although I feel like it could have used more sweetness. Body was medium to full and strength was about medium. For myself, it had a bit too much cedar, but if that’s something that’s in your wheelhouse flavor-wise, this could be the perfect cigar for you. The price is easy on the wallet and the build quality was great, so really it’s just a matter of whether or not you like the blend.
Body: 7/10
Strength: 5/10
Complexity: 5/10
AFP Scale
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 3.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 8.5/10