Noel Rojas has become a pretty big name in the cigar industry since his humble beginnings more than a decade ago. One of the projects that slipped by me…because I wasn’t buying many cigars online at the time…was an online-only cigar called Havana Nights, available in Connecticut Shade, Habano, and Maduro wrappers. This is a long-filler premium cigar, albeit available for pretty ridiculously low prices by today’s standards.
Today I’ll be looking at the Connecticut Shade version of Havana Nights. All these blends are said to use long-leaf Nicaraguan tobaccos from Condega, Jalapa, and Somoto, along with a Nicaraguan Habano binder. This version has an Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade wrapper leaf that had a relatively dark gold appearance, smooth almost papery feel, and a clean, sweet hay aroma. The wrapper continues as a closed foot, so there really was no aroma on the foot. The cold draw had a mix of cedar and hay, with more minor notes of earth and white pepper.
Once fired up the Havana Nights Connecticut had a nice hay and citrus mix of mild-to-medium-bodied smoke with a nice light peppery left on my lips after each puff. The retrohale was a more intense pepper burn along with notes of natural tobacco. I’ve had one or two other Connecticut Shade wrapped sticks from Rojas and I would judge this one as definitely “not bad.” It wasn’t amazing (as I recall the Street Tacos with the Conny to be), but it was a solidly good cigar for an estimated $5 sticker price.
