Cigar Review: Felix Assouline EGO Ocean Blue – Rogue Wave Cuadrado – Rated 91

At this years IPCPR I visited the Felix Assouline cigar company and got to meet Felix and talk about his cigars. You can see the chat we had here. The company rolled out a number of new SKUs to the market at the show and one of those was a line extension to their popular EGO line. The new blend is known as the EGO Ocean Blue. After our talk, Felix presnted me with a number of cigars to review on Stogie Press and included n that package was the Felix Assouline EGO Ocean Blue Rogue Wave Cuadrado a simply gorgeous 7 x 48 Box Pressed Belicoso.

The Felix Assouline EGO Ocean Blue line is a Nicaraguan puro with a blend described as:

Wrapper: Nicaragua (Habano 98)
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua

The Felix Assouline EGO Ocean Blue line includes a complete portfolio of vitolas all named with references to storms. Each vitola comes packaged in 10-count boxes. MSRP ranges from $9.00 to $15.00.

Rogue Wave Redondo (7 x 48 Belicoso) MSRP $9.00
Rogue Wave Cuadrado (7 x 48 Box Pressed Belicoso) MSRP $9.00
Monsoon (6 x 50) MSRP $9.00
Perfect Storm (5 x 52 Box Pressed Perfecto) MSRP $9.50
Tsunami (6 1/2 x 54) MSRP $10.50
Cyclone (6 1/2 x 54 Belicoso) MSRP $11.00
Tempest (6 x 58 Torpedo) MSRP $12.50
Hurricane (6 1/2 x 56) MSRP $13.00
Typhoon (6 1/2 x 56 Figurado) MSRP $14.00
Barbaro Redondo (9 x 56) MSRP $15.00
Barbaro Cuadrado (9 x 56) MSRP $15.00

For this review I sampled and reviewed the Felix Assouline EGO Ocean Blue – Rogue Wave Cuadrado.

Pre-Light Examination

The Felix Assouline EGO Ocean Blue Rogue Wave Cuadrado is a thin box press belicoso that had silky smooth dark chocolate-brown wrapper, sharp edges, and an expertly finished cap.

The cigar is adorned with a bright blue and silver band that has the word “EGO” centered prominently and “Felix Assouline” printed in a silver scroll underneath. The band pops on the dark background of the wrapper so it will catch your eye on humidor shelf.

Running the cigar across the nose, the barrel is void of any aroma and there is a hint of nut off the foot.

Once I sliced the tip to open it up I gave it some cold draw puffs which had a tight draw and graced the palate with notes of sweet nut and light pepper.

i chose to ignite the Felix Assouline EGO Ocean Blue Rogue Wave Cuadrado with a dual torch lighter, warming the foot as I rolled it about to get the foot glowing.

Cigar Review Notes

Felix Assouline EGO Ocean Blue Rogue Wave Cuadrado

The first puffs offered a fine volume of smoke
Fruit and coffee notes begin the journey
Just a hint of cinnamon spice backs up the fruit
Salt and pepper ash evolves
Sweetness enters as the coffee note intensified
Ash dropped after about 2 inches into the burn
Smoke continues at a full volume
Centered but inward burn cone
Fruit (plum) notes join the mix
Oils grow on wrapper
Ash is getting flaky
I tapped the ash and noticed the burn cone was off centered
Very smooth, almost ingestable smoke
Woody aroma wafts off the foot midway
Gentle spice notes move in as the sweet coffee notes lay in the background
Cedar notes add to the flavor complexity as the spice increases
Medium plus in strength
Total smoking time was 1 hour and 40 minutes

Overall, I rate the Felix Assouline EGO Ocean Blue Rogue Wave Cuadrado a 91. This cigar had a plethora of flavor giving it a full body. I especially enjoyed the cinnamon spice and plum notes with the ever-present sweetness. The construction had some minor issues as reflective of the inward burn in the first third and the off centered burn in the second third, along with the flaky ash that started to appear. Even with these mild flaws, the complexity of flavor had me intrigued enough to say I would buy a fiver of these.