Back in 2012, two brothers of the leaf, Mike Rosales and Skip Martin, founded RoMa Craft Tobac. The duo made it their mission to be an ultra-boutique cigar company where they had their hands in all levels of production. The company sought out the best quality tobacco for their craft and relied on standards for craftsmanship and time to produce a product that consumers would buy. For those that don’t know, the name RoMa comes from Mike Rosales (Ro) and Skip Martin (Ma).
The first cigar to hit the market under the RoMa Craft Tobac banner was the Intemperance, a name that comes from the temperance movement which was a social movement against the consumption of alcoholic beverages back in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. During that period, the temperance movement became prominent in many countries, particularly English-speaking and Scandinavian ones, and it led to Prohibition in the United States from 1920 to 1933.
The line included the Intemperance EC XVII – and the Intemperance BA XXI which is the subject of today’s review. The Revenge vitola, which I sampled, is actually a cigar that was introduced to the BA XXI line after the initial line. It still one of three Limited Edition (LE) vitlas in the line. The roman numerals in the name represent the 18th amendment which was put prohibition in place and the 21st amendment which repealed the 18th.
The full Intemperance BA XXI line contains 8 different vitolas:
- Intrigue (4 x 46) MSRP $6.30
- Envy (5 x 50) MSRP $7.60
- Breach of the Peace (5 x 56) MSRP $8.30
- Avarice (4.5 x 52) MSRP $7.35
- Ambition (5.5 x 54) MSRP $8.15
- LE AWS IV (6.5 x 44) MSRP $8.30
- LE Vanity (5.5 x 37) MSRP $6.95
- LE Revenge: (5 x 56) Box Pressed MSRP $9.00
Most of these come packaged in 24-count boxes except the Limited Edition Revenge, Vanity, and AWS IV which come in 12-count boxes.The Intrigue comes in a 30-count box.
The Intemperance BA XXI blend is described as:
- Wrapper – Brazilian Arapiraca
- Binder – Indonesian
- Filler – Nicaraguan and Dominican Republic
These cigars are produced at the company’s Fabrica de Tobacco NicaSueno factory in Esteli, Nicaragua.
Pre-Light Examination
The RoMa Craft Intemperance BA XXI Revenge is a crisp box pressed cigar, finished with a simple cap, and cloaked with, a gritty and marbled, dark chocolate brown wrapper. The wrapper ends just shy of the foot exposing the binder. This, I learned, is to get the initial flavor of the binder and filler before you hit the wrapper.
Keeping things simple, the cigar is branded with a thin white band that declares it as the Intemperance in black lettering, The XVII uses the same band but the word Intemperance is printed in brown.
The aromas on this cigar include a lightly pungent fermented leaf along the barre. the foot exudes hints of cocoa and sweet citrus.
Once I sliced the cap with a straight cut, the cold draw was fairly open and offered notes of earth, a sprinkle of pepper, and a light tang.
So far, this is an intriguing cigar in looks, aroma, and taste. You what time it is then? It is time to turn this RoMa Craft to ash. A double flame torch does the trick, warming the foot to an even orange glow, to get things going.
Cigar Review Notes
- Full volume of pepper laden smoke off the first light especially on the retro-hale
- Cocoa notes break through the pepper
- Tangy notes fill out the early profile
- Off burn appears early on
- Butter and grassy notes enter after an inch
- Salt and pepper flaky ash develops on a thin to medium char line
- Burn straightens out
- Ash falls with a slightly off centered burn cone
- Floral aroma is developing
- Dry leather notes round out the second third
- Cedar notes enter at the start of the final third
- Off burn pops up again
- Aroma shifts to a cocoa
- Touch of bitterness enters in final followed shortly by a sweet nut down to the nub with lingering cocoa aroma
- Medium Strength
- Total Smoking Time was 1 hour and 20 minutes
Overall, the RoMa Craft Intemperance BA XXI Revenge had a terrific array of flavors and aromas from the pre-light all the way to the nub. I enjoyed the early pepper that faded into a delicious cocoa note to start. Palate pleasing was the name of this revenge game. Construction wise, it burned off in the first half inch but recovered to more of a wave. There was an off-centered burn cone once the ash fell. And a second off burn developed in the final third. This is worth a fiver to add to your midday smokes. I rate this a 91.
Point Deductions: (-2) Multiple off Burns; (-1) Salt and Pepper Ash; (-1) Off-centered burn cone; (-1) Flaky Ash
