Cigar Review: Asylum 13 Pandemonium 52 Ring Gauge – Rated 95

If you are a fan of Nicaraguan Puros, and enjoy a long smoke, than I would say, look no further than the Asylum 13 Pandemonium. Introduced at the 2019 Premium Cigar Association (PCA)) trade show, the Pandemonium is Tom Lazuka’s boldest and strongest blend so far. The blend is easy to explain – 100% Nicaraguan leaf and hand crafted in Nicaragua. They are distributed by C.L.E. Cigar Company.

The Asylum 13 Pandemonium is expressed in three 8 1/2 inch long vitolas and come packaged in 20-count boxes:

• Pandemonium 52 Ring Gauge – MSRP $10.50
• Pandemonium 60 Ring Gauge – MSRP $11.50
• Pandemonium 70 Ring Gauge – MSRP $12.50

For this review, I sampled one, Pandemonium 52 Ring Gauge cigar that I received at the Smoke Inn Great Smoke event in early 2020.

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Pre-Light Examination

The name Pandemonium, is defined as “wild and noisy disorder or confusion; uproar“, and that is what will come to mind when you see this monster of a cigar in a humidor. It is huge, and to some, may be even a bit scary in size. It just doesn’t seem to fit alongside the rest of the inventory in a humidor. A good part of the cigar is covered with a white tissue paper sleeve with the name Pandemonium printed along the length of the sleeve.

Once the sleeve is removed, your eyes will gaze upon the oily dark brown wrapper that is amazingly clean of veins for such a long cigar. It has a light marbling throughout the leaf with a mild tooth, and is firm to the touch all along the barrel. The presentation is finished with a well applied triple cap and a single band that declares this as an Asylum 13 product using a black background and bright red lettering.

Running the long barrel along the nose, my nasals were greeted with sweet and floral notes along the barrel. The foot presented similar notes with an added touch of citrus.

I sliced the cap, straight across the shoulder, and proceeded to give it some cold draw puffs. With it being such a long and well packed cigar, I was amazed at the perfect draw I was getting from it. As I cold puffed, my palate picked up an array of notes including; mild red pepper flakes, fruit, sweetness, and earth.

Being impressed with the pre-light examination, I used my triple flame torch to warm the foot and drew in the first burst of peppery smoke that opened my nasals for the journey to come. Follow along as I burn this one to ash.

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Cigar Review Notes

• Initial light greets the nasals with a warm peppery burst
• The pepper burst was short and the smoke settles into buttery sweetness
• White ash begins to form atop a fairly even and medium char line
• Oils are already oozing on the char line
• Light spice and cedar notes along with a toasted caramel sweetness join the profile after an inch and a half
• Slight jag in burn
• Ash falls in a decent chunk with a centered and well formed burn cone
• Fruit aromas enter
• Dry leather mixes in
• Aroma gets sweeter
• Coffee notes blend in well
• Cocoa mixes in with continued sweetness
• Cedar notes appear deep in the second third
• Spice and sweetness complete the long 3 hour journey
• Full Strength

Overall, the Asylum 13 Pandemonium 52 Ring Gauge was an amazingly constructed cigar that provided 3 hours of pleasantly well balanced flavor and aromas from foot to nub. It had minimal burn issues with just a mild jag in the burn here and there and offered a perfect draw and full volume of smoke off each puff. The ash held for good chunks before falling and when the first chunk fell it displayed a decently defined and centered burn cone. This is one that the finest of palates would enjoy and perfect for watching a long baseball game. The price point is spot on, especially when considering the length of time you will enjoy this. I rate this a solid 95.

Point Deductions: (-1) Mild Jag in Burn

Bonus Points: (+1) Buy a Box; (+1) Excellent Oil Development