Cigar Review: Illusione MJ12

Cigar: Illusione MJ12
Size: 6 × 54
Wrapper: Nicaraguan
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: $10.52 at The Hill Cigar Co.

A couple of months ago I stopped by my favorite cigar shop in St. Louis as I wanted to pick up a few things for the weekend. One of Jay’s (general manager) recommendations that weekend was the Illusione MJ12. The Illusione brand is one that I have had limited experience with and Jay said it had become a recent purchase by many in the shop. As a certified licensed tobacconist, I usually trust Jay’s recommendations.

Taking it out of it’s aluminum wrapper and giving it a look over, I did find a tiny chip in the wrapper. That was the only issue I found prelight. One thing I did detect right away was a strong aroma of hay and straw as soon as I pulled the cigar from the aluminum. As with any cigar of this ring gauge, I typically will use a punch and did here. However, I did find that it would take my second consecutive draw in a group of draws on the cigar before any substanial smoke would come out. My first flavor notes included strong pepper and spice that hit all around the palette, classified in my mind as full bodied. It wasn’t overpowering but definitely noticeable. These flavors stayed for a solid 20 minutes before finally mellowing out, leaving some leather notes in their place. Those flavors stayed with the cigar until the last inch and a half, where the strength of the cigar increased a touch and the spice notes returned to finish the cigar out. Set aside some time in smoking this cigar as it took me 2:25.

I noted above that it usually took me a few draws to get any reasonable amount of smoke out of this cigar. While smoking, I saw a decent sized pocket inside of my lit cigar, likely being the culprit as to why I had draw issues. I also had to relight the cigar a few times; I would venture a guess to say that the air pocket within the cigar played a part in that.

By-The-Numbers
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 1/2
Flavor: 4.5/5
Value: 0.5/1
Total: 8/10

To recap the Illusione MJ12:

• While in my mind an 8/10 isn’t a home run, this is still a great cigar. The draw issues were a big part to the parts knocked off.
• This is a great example of a great full bodied cigar with lots of classic Nicaraguan flavors that you can enjoy for a long sitting.
• For me, the price point is right at the top of my budget and would consider finding an online source for this for a few dollars less. With that said, this is an enjoyable cigar and will be reexamining it again in a few months to see if it will redeem itself.

As always, thank you very much for reading and I look forward to the next time I can share my thoughts with you.