Possibly the most surprising thing about the Sancho Panza Extra Chido is that despite its name sounding like a very popular and very cheesy snack food, there is no relation. When someone says “I’m buying Extra Chidos” they are in a cigar store, not the snack aisle of the grocery store. Aside from the confusion, though, it’s all cool.
What the Sancho Panza Extra Chido actually is…is…ugh, that sounds better when you say it than when you write it…is from their website, “a powerful blend of richness and complexity.” They combined Nicaraguan and Dominican fillers, with a Nicaraguan binder, and an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper leaf, then unleashed the blend on the world in three sizes. This brand is co-developed by Matt Booth (of Room101 fame) and Justin Andrews (who you may know from such brands as Diesel) and this blend had been out over a year by the time I was aware of it…I guess the brand is stealthy, like a ninja.
I got a rich mix of ripe earth and coppery notes from the wrapper, something I associate with La Flor Dominicana’s classic blends. The foot had more earth and hints of chocolate and yeasty bread. The cold draw featured some spicy pepper on the lips, and once I fired up the Sancho Panza Extra Chido, I got a really nice mix of dark chocolate, cherries, red pepper, and earth, all with the weird little metallic twang that I get so often from Sumatra wrapper leaf. In many cases that note is off-putting, but here it was blended so well into the complexity, that it was a great little accent.
I paired this with some Early Times Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon, another low-price overachiever. I was left with the thought that I really can’t believe people aren’t making a bigger deal of the entire Sancho Panza line-up…they’re all pretty great and they all have very reasonable price tags…but especially this Extra Chido blend. The way people are ignoring it just isn’t cool.
