The little cigar company in Texas, Providencia Cigars has just shipped one of their latest creations, the Kill Shot. This cigar adds to the story of company founder Jim Faber, by taking us back to that fateful day on a youth soccer field in Honduras, where Jim was almost abducted at gun point. Though there was a gun shot or two, nobody on the field was injured and Jim was able to get away as his abductors fled. Jim did however, need to leave the country that adopted him years earlier.
The Kill Shot is available in a single 6.5 x 42 Corona Larga vitola and has a blend described as:
- Wrapper: Sumatra Colorado
- Binder: Indonesian
- Long Fillers: Nicaraguan Ligero/Honduran
The Kill Shot comes packaged in a beautiful 10-count white box with an MSRP of $85.00/box. You can order these direct from the company’s online retailer page here.
The Providencia Cigars Kill Shot is a break from the company’s standard offerings of Toro and Torpedo vitolas, in the 6 x 52 ring gauge area. This time, the company went with a Corona Larga, which is a longer style corona measuring at 6.5 inches. The smaller ring gauge is always a challenge to get the profile you want and proper burn qualities, but the company had success with their “Infringement” lancero so they knew they could make the 42 ring gauge for the Kill Shot. They have also expanded some their lines to to now include lonsdale, corona, robusto and corona larga vitolas.
Providencia Cigars also has a coffee that is grown in the Honduran fields -also called the Kill Shot – and is described as a perfect pairing with this cigar. As for this review, I drank water through the review process.
Pre-Light Examination
The Providencia Cigars Kill Shot is a dark tan cigar with a light reddish hue depending on the how the light shines on it. It has some slight veins and a few bumps and it feels solid to the touch. It is finished with a simple cap. Looking at the foot, I am intrigued by the dark leaf that is swirled in the roll.
The cigar is adorned with a single band, that uses a black and white target as a backdrop with the the company’s logo is proudly centered with the bold words “KILL SHOT” directly below . There are two different caliber bullets (one one each side) pointing toward the name. There is also a red bull’s-eye separating the “Kill” and “Shot”
Running the Kill Shot along the nose I picked up a mildly pungent and fermented aroma along the barrel but not much off the foot.
I sliced the cap with straight cut and took in a few cold draw puffs that was just on the edge of open as opposed to mildly restricted. The draw offered notes of mild pepper and a touch of earth.
With the preliminary inspection out of the way it was time to warm the foot and start the journey of the Kill Shot. The initial puffs off the ignition were light hits of pepper with an underlying sweetness. Follow along as I break the Providencia Kill Shot Down puff by puff.
Cigar Review Notes
- Initial puffs of light pepper and natural tobacco sweetness
- Full volume of smoke, right out of the gate
- Nice clean burn
- Pepper pulls back to a gentle spice wrapped in natural sweetness
- Hint of fruit joins the profile
- Salt and pepper ash on thin char line
- Cream notes adds to the pleasure with a continued gentle spice and fruit mix
- I understand why they say this would pair well with coffee
- Ash held for a little more than an inch before falling and revealing a sharply pointed and hard burn cone
- Enticing syrupy aroma is developing off the foot
- Spice increases a notch with a butter component entering as it moves through the second quarter
- Strength is slowly moving up, reaching medium, well before the midway point
- Spice continues to be the predominant note through the rest of the cigar with nuances of cream, fruit, and sweetness moving in and out
- Smoke burned a tad hot in final
- Medium plus in strength
- Total Smoking time was 1 hour and 25 Minutes
Overall, the Providencia Cigars Kill Shot was pleasant smoking experience and one I would agree is a perfect pairing with a rich cup of coffee. Though the profile was predominantly spice, there were plenty of inviting nuances like cream, fruit, and sweetness to keep it interesting through the journey. From a construction and burn perspective, it demonstrated a fairly well constructed cigar, however when the ash first fell it had a sharp pointed cone. It also burned a tad hot in the final. I enjoyed the profile of this and would say it is one of the stronger offerings in the company’s portfolio. I would certainly suggest picking up a fiver of these. I rate this a 92.
Point Deductions: (-1) Salt and Pepper Ash; (-1); Sharp Pointed Cone; (-2) Smoke Gets Hot in Final
