By now , most of us have heard of Riste Riatevski, the owner of Jas Sum Kral cigars. It seems like only yesterday when he hit the market with his famed Red Knight cigar over 5 years ago. He made waves with his innovative CBD infused Nuggs cigar last year and though that was special, he teased the introduction of a new line extension to the Kralot blend last year into this. Well folks, I got my hands on the latest Kralot and I am here to tell you it is one of his best creations yet. Riste was kind enough to give me a sample at this years TPE 2020 trade show and I am here today to offer a review of it. This is the first cigar of 2020 that I also offer a video review of.
This new line extension is expressed in a 7 x 44 vitola and has a blend described as:
- Wrapper – Mexican San Andrés
- Binder – undisclosed
- Filler – undisclosed
The latest Kralot will hit the market later this year and will carry an MSRP of $12.00. Like the original, the latest is hand rolled at Tabacalera de Aragon in Nicaragua.
It should be noted that in the video I made an error saying the original Kralot was made at the Noel Rojas factory, Riste corrected me and noted that the original was also made at Tabacalera de Aragon.
Pre-Light Examination
The Kralot 7 x 44 is long dark brown cigar that is light on veins. There is a light grit to the San Andrés leaf along with a touch of marbling. The cigar is solid in the hand from head to foot with tight packing.
There is a single large, golden ornate band that adorns the cigar and proudly declares it as the Kralot in white letters. The band also has a white letter “R” on either side. The company logo is just above the Kralot name along with “Jas Sum Kral” printed in tiny white letters on a black ribbon below the logo.
Running the Kralot along the nose, I picked up rich floral notes along the barrel but not much off the foot.
Once the cap was sliced straight, I took in a few cold puffs that offered earth and butter notes through an easy draw.
I used my triple flame torch lighter to warm the foot to an even orange glow and took in the first puffs of peppery smoke that was full and thick right off the first puff.
Cigar Review Notes
- Thick and creamy smoke right off first puff the Rich screams smoke
- Peppery burn on the retro-hale
- Hint of earth graces the palate
- Cinnamon notes quickly form
- Nice white ash forms on a thick char line
- Cedar notes brighten it up
- Natural sweetness completed the introduction profile
- Cocoa aroma
- Richer earth notes enter
- Nice oiling on the wrapper
- Cocoa moves in the palate and morphs into a dark chocolate
- Dry fruit notes enter
- A nut nuance intrigues my palate
- Strength is currently medium
- Ash fell after a long run revealing a perfect burn cone – not always the case with small ring gauge cigars
- Spice picking after the ash fell
- Earth is a core note
- Aroma shifts to more of a spice
- Strength moves up midway
- Nut aroma
- Herbal notes enter late in the burn
- Slight off burn deep in the journey
- Strength is solidly full
- Burns hot to touch in the final
- Total Smoking time was 1 hour and 25 minutes
Overall, the latest 7 x 44 Kralot from Jas Sum Kral was a spectacular cigar that had a complex flavor profile with a growing strength that eventually hit full near the end. The construction was pretty much flawless with the only negative being that it burned a bit hot to the touch in the final, and it did have a slight off burn deep in the journey. This is most certainly a box worthy cigar. I rate this a solid 96.
Point Deductions: (-1) Off burn deep in the journey; (-1) Burned hot to the touch deep in the final
Bonus Points: (+1) Buy a Box; (+1) Large Oiling on the burn line; (+1) Complex in flavor and aroma; (+1) Long Ash
