The year was 1502, Christopher Columbus discovered Nicaragua and that only led to some great things here in the 21st century. One of these is the 1502 from Global Premium Cigars (GPC).
I was turned on to the 1502 Emerald by Jim Files of Jimmy’s Cigar Lounge in Melbourne Fl. I was looking for something new and he pointed out the 1502. Jim also explained to me that he GPC line of cigars was picked for distribution by the Emilio Family. I have to say thanks Jim for turning me onto a great cigar and I have to try the rest of the 1502 line. I learned that there are 3 different blends in the 1502 line, 1502 Emerald the “Fina Fuerte” (Fine Strong), 1502 Ruby of medium strength and 1502 Black Gold with strongest character.
As far as the 1502 Emerald, the GPC website notes that:
“In its creation, 1502 Emerald , “Fina Fuerte” (Fine Strong) was the main quality that most inspired us. Our master blender had created this cigar from a combination of carefully selected and aged tobacco leaves. It has a subtle strength, with flavor and aroma that could only be achieved with the blend of Corojo Habano de Nicaragua, long fillers from San Andres – Mexico and fields from Estelí and Condega in Nicaragua.”
The are three vitolas for this stick:
Robusto: 5 x 50
Toro: 6 x 50
Torpedo: 6 1/2 x 52
I sampled the Toro. It had a beautiful brown wrapper with a tint of redness in it. There were minimal veins in the wrapper and it was lightly boxed pressed. As I clipped it and did a dry draw there was not an overwhelming complexity in taste but more of a woody flavor.
I fired it up, and from the first puff to the nub there was rich creamy smoke throughout. Early spice that quickly melted into hints of coffee and cocoa and an overall sweetness. The retrohale was smooth and not overly spicy, which of course made this quite an enjoyable cigar. The sweetness continued through the 2nd half and then gave way to a resurgence of spice and a touch of earth which ended the stick down at the nub.
The burn was even throughout, with a nice medium grey ash. and no hot spots detected during the 1 hour of puffing. I paired this with Peter Frampton Live, “Do you feel like I do” and an evening espresso. The draw was perfect, as exhibited by the rich puff of creamy smoke I was continuously getting. I have to thank Jim Files of Jimmy’s Cigar Lounge for turning me onto to this along with Gary Griffith and the Emilio Family for distributing it and of course, Global Premium Cigars and Enrique Sanchez Icaza for creating such a fine stick.