REVIEW: Illusione MK Ultra

Hell to the yes. I finally got to sit down and smoke the new Illusione MK Ultra and today I get to talk about it.  Before I went to the IPCPR tradeshow this year, I told everyone that the number one cigar I wanted to get a sample of was the MK Ultra. Jonathan Drew even made it a point to grab me an Ultra at the Fumar Smoke shop grand opening in Reno, NV the night before the show began. Thank you, Jonathan, for thinking of me. I ran into Dion Giolito (owner of Illusione cigars) on the first night of IPCPR at the Brothers of the Leaf party where he slipped me an Ultra in a much bigger size. I asked him what he thought of the cigar and he had this to say:

Quote Dion Giolito: This sticks are just awesome. They are full of flavor that I love and have an extra boost of power that will make a lot of people very happy.

For more information on the MK Ultra, and all of Dion's new offers from Illusione, please check out the video interview we did with him that last months IPCPR here.

Time for the "teaching machine" to take to fire. (teaching machine is the nickname of this cigar)


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

Specifics

Vitola: Corona
Length: 5 1/8
Ring Gauge: 42
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Corojo.
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price:  $7.80 in full boxes of 25
Smoking Location: New Havana Cigars
Beverage: nothing

Pre-Light  

The Illusione MK Ultra had a pristine wrapper. The dark brown color with reddish hues was almost uniformly even all around the cigar. The veins were there, but they were small and actually added to the look of the stick. This is not something I normally would think when it comes to the aesthetics of a cigar, but in this one it just worked. The pre-lit aroma was slightly sweet from the wrapper, but the open foot had a very deep earthy musk. I clipped the cap and the cold draw was free with just a slight tug of resistance. The flavor was nice natural sweet tobacco . I forgot to mention in the intro that the MK is my favorite size and blend in the regular Illusione line so yeah, I dig the size.

First Half  

The "teaching" begins on the first puff of the MK Ultra. My palate was bombed right away with a spice that quickly coated both my tongue and the roof of my mouth. To the people thinking 'bombed' is a bad thing, this was quite the opposite. The spice was strong, but it was extremely tasty and had a soft characteristic to it. There was no burning or unpleasant feeling going on. Something of interest (and Dion mentioned it in our video) is that, even with all the power coming through, this cigar does not hit your throat. About ten puffs in, the spice mellows out a bit and I was greeted by a warm woodsy flavor mixing in. It was not cedar, nor oak, just a refined non-descriptive woodsy flavor. The strength of the cigar is in the lower full range at this point.

Second Half and Final Thoughts  

The first thing I want to mention right away that I didn't put in the first half of this review was look how black the ash was on this cigar.  I mean that is B-L-A-C-K! But don't let it scare you away because if the first half wasn't good enough, the second half was where I got what I wanted. The flavor profile on the second half switched over to the classic Illusione flavor I love with tastes of black cherry on the front mixing with an earthy spiciness on the finish. The difference between this and normal Illusione with similar profiles is this one ramped it up to 10 in flavor power. Most of the time I describe flavors with terms like "hints" or "a touch of" but not in this cigar. This one told me what the flavor was and there was no denying it. At this point the strength of the cigar was in the full range, but nothing that makes me feel uncomfortable or lightheaded. The cigar did need one re-lite, but they are very new, so that could have been the issue.

My final thoughts on the Illusione MK Ultra? I hyped this cigar for months in my head before it came out. I did the same thing with the Nosotros last year.  I am very happy to say that unlike last year, this stick was exactly what I was hoping for and passed my self-projected hype with flying colors. Strong classic Illusione taste ramped up into a  more powerful cigar. It's not going to knock over a seasoned smoker with nicotine (always a good thing in my book), but you will feel it and it's relaxing.

Would I buy it again? I will be keeping a stash of these on hand at all times and since it's a full production, that shouldn't be to hard to do.

Would I buy a box? It's not the cheapest high quality, small cigar you will find out there, but if you have the cash I say it's box worthy for sure. I'll be grabbing one when I get some extra scratch.

These cigars went on sale today at New Havana Cigars. When i was over there he had a pretty good stash of these but I am guessing this first delivery will go pretty quickly.
 
Dan

REVIEW: Tatuaje La Casita Criolla

This is my first review back from the trade show so I'm going with a cigar that I've been looking forward to ever since Pete told me about it at Smoke Inn's Great smoke last February. The Tatuaje La Casita Criolla is a 100% broadleaf cigar made at the My Father factory in Esteli, Nicaragua. The stick comes in three sizes -- none of which top the 48 ring gauge, which is a nice departure from the trend of the big-sized cigars most companies are putting out these days. (Side note: I've actually started to turn to the dark side and like some of these beastly sized smokes, but I digress.) I had a lot of time to hang out with Pete Johnson (owner of  Tatuaje) and ask him about this blend.

Quote Pete Johnson: I wanted to do something different and something that pays homage to the broadleaf cigars made in the U.S. many years ago. These stick is a lot different than anything else we have put out and I really hope it is as widely accepted as some of my more core lines are.

I want to thank Pete again for all his time he spent with me and my partners at Cigar Explorer during the crazy four days of the Vegas trade show. He is a great guy in the industry and is truly honest and face value.

Enough of that.. let's get down to what really matters.

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

Specifics

Vitola: Corona
Length: 5 1/8
Ring Gauge: 42
Wrapper: Broadleaf
Binder: Broadleaf
Filler: Broadleaf
Price:  $5.40 in full boxes of 25
Smoking Location: New Havana Cigars
Beverage: nothing

Pre-Light  

The La Casita Criolla I grabbed out of one of the fresh boxes at New Havana Cigars has a beautiful dark wrapper. Dan Welsh (@NHCDan on twitter, owner of NHC) told me that there has been some difference in shades between boxes, but for the most part they are all as nice a looking as this one. The dark brown color is consistent all around the wrapper and has no blemishes. The band on this cigar is the original artwork of the old Cuban brand of cigars by the same name with a Tatuaje twist. I have to say I dig it. It's a very graphical band, but does not come off as showy or too flashy. It's different enough to stand out on the shelf, but not tacky. Well done. The pre-lit aroma screams classic broadleaf. I got a lot of the dark earthy smells, mixed with some dark berry/blackberry scent, especially at the open foot. The cold draw was nice and free and had a rich leather taste with a lot of sweetness left on my lips.

First Half  

Lighting this La Casita Criolla was a breeze and the flavor started pouring out from the first puff. This was exactly what I remembered from the first La Casita Criolla I smoked at the trade show. Lots of rich creamy leather flavor on the front with a smooth, almost syrupy sweet finish. The smoke felt so thick that it's one of those cigars you will love to chew on. The part that really blew me away is just how heavy the smoke felt on my palate, yet after you exhale, within ten seconds your mouth feels clean and refreshed. I really don't care for cigars that make my mouth feel coated from top to bottom with smoke flavor the entire smoking experience. I like a little break in between puffs, and this stick delivers. The strength was in the medium range and the construction was excellent.

Second Half and Final Thoughts  

The second half on my La Casita Criolla was pretty consistent with the first half (which was awesome) with just a slight change in some of the flavor. The finish was still very sweet and refreshing, but the front now not only had that rich leather flavor, but I was picking up hints of cocoa. It was a mild flavor, but added just a little bit of interest that I was not expecting. Something to note here that I didn't put in the first half is the characteristics of the ash on this stick. The ash on the broadleaf filler does NOT hold long in this size. I accidentally wore this ash twice while smoking the cigar. Make sure you are careful and knock it off at about the 1/2 inch mark. I smoked this cigar all the way until I burned my fingers. The strength never picked up and stayed right in the medium range and I never had any burn/construction issues.

My final thoughts on the Tatuaje La Casita Criolla? Ever since I got back form the show, I have been craving more and more of this cigar. If you've seen any of my IPCPR recaps on twitter or the message boards, you will already know that I called this cigar one of the top three of the show. It's not the most complex blend you will ever smoke from Tatuaje (remember this year's La Vérité) but it doesn't need to be.  It's very relaxing, easy to smoke and jam packed full of flavor. An absolute winner.

Would I buy it again? This is where things get even better. The price on these guys is fantastic. If you're a Tatuaje fan but normally lean towards the Red Label line because of cost, here is another option for you in the same price range.  Yes, I will buy more.

Would I buy a box? This is 100% box worthy and will be my next box purchase when they are back in stock. Dan Welsh told me he was getting more this week so check out his site if you're looking to grab some soon.

Dan