REVIEW: Ambos Mundos Sumatra

I didn't have much time this week to smoke cigars, so I went digging into my cooler for something that I have smoked a bunch of -- after all, if I had to cut this stick short, I felt I could pretty much write the review from memory. Today's cigar is another stick from Pete Johnson (@tatuajecigars on twitter) and Don Pepin Garcia. The Ambos Mundos comes in two different wrappers (Nicaraguan Habano, Ecuadorian Sumatra) and both are designed to be long-filler budget sticks within the Pete Johnson lines of cigars. To achieve the price point, Pete used a lower-grade tobacco than he normally uses for his projects.

A Quote from the New Havana Cigars Website about the tobacco: Using a lesser grade tobacco of the same varieties used in other Tatuaje cigars, Ambos Mundos provides a great smoke at a great price point.  The lesser grade means that there may be color variations and such that didn't make the cut for other production sticks.  But these are hand rolled the same as their older siblings. 

Like I said before: I have smoked a fair share of these cigars, so it's safe to say I knew what to expect. This particular stick was given to me by Dan (@NHCDAN on twitter) in a promotional three pack that he had featured in a special months ago. Big thanks, as always, to Dan for the cigar. If anyone is looking to buy some Ambos Mundos, please visit his site New Havana Cigars and this link will take you to the Ambos Mundos page.

On to the review:

Specifics

Vitola: Robusto #2
Length: 5
Ring Gauge: 50
Wrapper: Ecuador Sumatra
Binder: Ecuador
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: Around $4.50 each in boxes of 25
Smoking Location: My back deck
Beverage: water

Pre-Light 

My Ambos Mundos was a very rustic looking cigar. The wrapper had a few different tones of brown in color and was quite toothy. When I rolled this cigar in the palm of my hand, I could tell that it was evenly packed, but it also has a few bumps here and there sticking up out of the filling under the wrapper and binder. This stick wasn't going to win any beauty pageants, however, what I did really like about the appearance of this stick is the band. In my professional opinion, this is how a simple,well designed band should look. The look is nothing flashy, yet it looks complete and professional. The pre-lit aroma coming off of my Ambos Mundos was woodsy and earthy. I clipped the single-capped head and the cold draw tasted of sweet tobacco with some nice peppery spice on the finish.

First Third

The first third of my Ambos Mundos started exactly how I remembered this cigar. The flavors were mild to medium in strength and tasted evenly of black pepper and leather. The finish on this cigar is a little rougher than you would expect of a Pete Johnson cigar. It tickled my throat a little bit harshly, but never lasted more than a few seconds, barely taking away from any enjoyment. The body of the cigar was medium with a burn, as you can see in the photo, pretty much as straight as you can get. These cigars might be made with a lower grade tobacco, but the Pepin/Johnson construction quality was not lessened at all.

Second Third 

The second third of my Ambos Mundos again brought no surprises to me. This stick was consistent to all the other Ambos Mundos cigars I have smoked and remained consistent to the first third. The flavor profile was set at an evenly balanced black pepper and leather. The strength of the flavors did increase maybe just slightly, but were in no way a overpowering presence on my palate. The finish seemed to clean up a bit  at this point into the cigar and I no longer got any discomfort in my throat. The burn was still perfect and the body of the stick remained a medium.

Final Third and Final Thoughts 

There is not much to add to this review in the final third that hasn't already be written above.  The flavors of my Ambos Mundos stayed consistent with the first and second third with black pepper and leather. The body was medium all the way through and the cigar never needed any touch ups with my lighter.

My final thoughts on the Ambos Mundos Sumatra? Well, I did have time to smoke my entire Ambos Mundos tonight and I'm happy to say I enjoyed the hour or so I had with it. I know this goes against a lot of my other reviews where I state that I like really complex cigars, because I honestly do prefer them that way, but the Ambos Mundos is a good, you-get-what-you-get, no-frills-no-shocker stick. I think these cigars are great for any new cigar smoker and great for when you have some friends over and just want to smoke something that will be good and not distracting. I see myself smoking some more of these at the football tailgates coming up this fall.

Would I buy it again? I will buy more of these cigars in the future. I don't think I would buy them to sit by myself and have a smoke, but I would buy them for parties or sharing with friends.

Would I buy a box? I would buy a box of these to share at a big event like a wedding or something like that because the price is very affordable. But just for smaller events, or my consumption, I'll stick to 5 packs.

Dan