Cigar Review: Ortega Serie D

Today's review is on the first release from Eddie Ortega's new company, Ortega Cigars. At the end of January, Eddie publicly announced that he was leaving his partnership and previously successful company EO Brands to venture out on his own.

A quote from the official press release: “I’ve wanted to do this for quite some time and now is the right time,” said Eddie, who also said “Ortega will focus on developing long lasting brands at affordable prices. I have no interest in the so called limited release market, plenty of those are around. I’d much rather build solid brands that consumers enjoy and will be around for years to come,”

I am very happy for Eddie as a businessman and as a friend, and I can't wait to see what he comes up with in his new venture. I'm also very happy to hear that he will continue to work with the My Father factory to have his cigars made.  It's kind of sad to see that the O of EO brands will no longer be promoting the 601 line (a cigar I've smoked a ton of throughout the years), but I am sure they will continue on to make great cigars, also.

(Due to the size of this cigar, this review is only in two parts instead of the traditional thirds.)

Vitola: Corona
Length:  4.5
Ring Gauge: 48
Wrapper: Mexican San Andreas Maduro
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: $5.99
Smoking Location: New Havana Cigars
Beverage: Water


Pre-Light 

The first thing I want to mention about the Ortega Serie D is the band. I like the direction Eddie went here. It's not overly complex, but still very visually appealing and has a modern feel to it. The red primary color is a nice contrast to the very dark, almost black wrapper leaf on the cigar. As well as the dark color, the wrapper has a lot of oils and looked appetizing. The pre-lit aroma was faint, but what I could smell was just a mild hay note. The cap clipped without problems and the cold draw tasted strongly of raisin. 

First Half   

From the first full draw on the cigar, a ton of flavor was being produced. The front end of the profile was a very pronounced baking chocolate; slightly bitter, but in a good way. The finish had a lot of pepper and created an interesting balance to the bite of the front flavor. In my opinion, they matched very well. About an inch into my Ortega Serie D the peppery finish turned into a extremely spicy cayenne flavor. Now I will say that I had a wonderful jerk chicken dinner with my valentine before I smoked this cigar, so maybe some of that was still on my palette, but I have had this combo chocolate/cayenne in cigars before. If you've been reading this site for awhile, you might recall that I compared this flavor in another cigar to a specialty ice cream we have here in Columbus called Jeni's Splendid ice cream -- they make something called Queen City Cayenne that is very similar. If you have anything like that where you live, then you will know the flavor I am writing about. The construction was excellent and the burn perfect. I would put the strength of the nicotine in the cigar in the medium range.      

Second Half and Final Thoughts

The second half on my Ortega Serie D saw the spicy finish fall off and be replaced by a warm raisin flavor. This taste was similar to the cold draw but even more in your face. The front of the profile was still a very rich slightly bitter baking chocolate. When I pushed the smoke through my sinuses, the chocolate seemed to really coat them and make for a long lasting flavor. It's been an hour since I put this cigar down and I still can taste it. Some cases that is bad, but in this case, it is not. Getting to the nub, the finish started to develop some raw sweetness. It didn't last long, but was an interesting finish. Again, I had zero problems with the construction and the strength never rose above medium.

My final thoughts on The Ortega Serie D? For Eddie's freshman effort with his own brand, I say he aced the test. Though being a quick smoke in this short size, the smoking experience was a journey from a nice, rich dark chocolate, to a spicy palate teaser with a sweet finish. I don't tend to smoke a ton of heavy chocolaty cigars over and over, but this is one I could. There are enough other flavors happening that I would not be bored smoking through a box of these. I hear a lot of people at my local saying they want a "flavorful, medium strength cigar". This is one they would enjoy.

Would I buy it again? Yes

Would I buy a box? In ten count boxes at around 6 bucks a stick, it's a guaranteed buy for me.

Dan

J. Fuego 777 Corojo “Paka”

Tonight's review is a cigar that traveled a long distance to get to me. The J. Fuego 777 Corojo “Paka” is a special size of the 777 blend produced specifically for Tamura's Fine Wine and Liquors B&M in Hawaii. 

A quote from Tamura's Fine Wine and Liquors website: At our last smoker event with Jesus Fuego back in April, Jesus decided to create an "Exclusive" smoke for us at Tamura's. The "Paka" is based off the 777 Corojo blend, but was kicked up a little to add some more spice. It has a pig tail cap and a "closed" foot. The purpose of the closed foot is so the smoker can get a little more taste from the wrapper leaf when they first light the cigar. A limited batch was made to test it out, so if you're curious, get your stick today!

A regular patron of Tamura's confirmed that there were only 200 boxes of these made. My friend Jon (Fia on the BOLT message board) sent me this stick and I want to give him a very grateful thanks because I don't think I would have managed to get my hands on one any other way. On to the review.

Vitola: Robusto
Length:  4.5
Ring Gauge: 52
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Corojo
Binder: Nicaraguan Corojo
Filler: Nicaraguan Corojo
Price: $5.99
Smoking Location: New Havana Cigars
Beverage: Water


Pre-Light 

Just like the last review, I want to say this was a great size and shape cigar. The 52 ring gauge actually felt smaller and the closed foot at one end, and pigtail at the other, gave this stick a great look. The wrapper was a medium to light brown with a lot of oils. Interestingly, the cigar gave off almost no odor at the pre-light; a very slight smell of tobacco, but other than that, nothing. The pigtail clipped easily but the cold draw was nonexistent due to the closed foot. The flavor I did get from the tobacco on the head was very potpourri-ish.

First Third   

After torching a lot of the closed foot tobacco away, the cigar opened up nicely. I was a little nervous because this was one really "closed foot" and I thought the draw would be tough. Luckily I was proven wrong. The initial flavors I got were a lot of dry earthy tastes on the front with a sticky sweetness on the finish. Burning about an inch into the stick, I also started to get just a bit of pepper mixing with the sweet end. At this point, it was no where near the category of a spicy cigar, but there was a little pepper. The overall strength fell into the mild range.    

Second Third  

The only real change in the second third of my J. Fuego 777 Corojo “Paka”was on the front of the profile. The earthy flavors form the first third changed into more of a leather taste. For me this is a good thing because I prefer this flavor in cigars over earthy notes. The finish was still very sweet, with just a hint of pepper to knock it down. Still, at this point the cigar was in the mild strength range. If this was to be a beefed up version of the J. Fuego 777 Corojo it was not showing for me.

Final Third and Final Thoughts 

The final third of my J. Fuego 777 Corojo “Paka” had nothing new to add to the table. The flavors were the same as the second third and the strength also continued on in the mild range. I do want to point out how well this cigar was constructed. I only ashed this cigar three times and each of those was me knocking it off and not it falling off naturally. I never had to relight this stick and I never had any burning or tunneling issues.    

My final thoughts on The J. Fuego 777 Corojo “Paka”? This was a solid but average cigar. The flavor profile was there and the finish had a great balance, but it just didn't do much for me. It's a great cigar for people who like mild smokes or for people who are just getting into cigars because it is very easy on the body. That said, other than the cool shape, I don't really see any difference between this release and others in the J. Fuego 777 Corojo line. So seeking out this limited release would be more for the treasure hunt experience than the actual smoking experience you get from finding one, in my opinion. 

Would I buy it again? This is not my type of cigar, so I would not.

Would I buy a box? See above.

Dan