Bella Dama Cigars has built its identity around a distinctive poker theme, and the Full House Anniversario No. 5 continues that concept while commemorating the company’s fifth anniversary. Bella Dama was founded by Chantel Leavitt, with the company’s poker-inspired branding drawing from her family’s connection to the game.
For the Full House Anniversario No. 5, Bella Dama went with a substantial 6 × 60 Gordo, featuring a dark Mexican San Andrés Maduro wrapper over Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos.
For this review, I sampled one Bella Dama Cigars Full House Anniversario No. 5.
Bella Dama Full House Anniversario No. 5 Specifications
- Country of Origin: Nicaragua
- Factory: Tabacalera Aragon – Estelí, Nicaragua
- Vitola: Gordo
- Size: 6 × 60
- Wrapper: Mexican San Andrés Maduro
- Binder: Estelí, Nicaragua
- Filler: Ometepe, Nicaragua
- MSRP: $18.00
- 10-count boxes
- Strength: Medium
Pre-Light Examination
The Bella Dama Full House Anniversario No. 5 is cloaked in a dark, marbled-brown wrapper displaying a nice oily sheen. The cigar felt firmly packed from head to foot and was finished with a decent cap. There were some noticeable veins and bumps running along the barrel, giving the cigar a somewhat rustic appearance.
Running the barrel along the nose did not reveal much in the way of aroma. The foot was considerably more interesting, offering a distinctive smoky, barbecue-like aroma.
After slicing the cap, I took a few cold draws and immediately noticed that the draw was a bit tighter than I prefer. The cold draw offered notes of pepper along with a mild chemical nuance.
With the pre-light examination complete, it was time to fire up the Full House Anniversario No. 5 and see how the hand played out.
Cigar Journey
The opening puffs introduced a somewhat tannic character along with sour fruit notes. A light grey ash quickly began developing on top of a thin char line.
Unfortunately, the tight draw experienced during the cold draw carried over into the smoking experience. Smoke production was medium at best, requiring more effort than I would have preferred to pull smoke through the cigar.
After about an inch of burn, a developing cream note began to soften some of the early tannic character. Dark espresso soon entered the profile, adding some depth and richness. The burn and ash were performing exceptionally well.
Deeper into the first third, a distinct bitter note developed on the palate. Combined with the tannic character, this created a fairly dry sensation heading toward the second third.
Moving into the second third, the tannic and drying character remained present. The Full House Anniversario No. 5 was proving to be a very slow-burning cigar.
Eventually, the ash fell in a solid chunk, revealing a decent burn cone beneath it. Coffee notes began to emerge and were soon joined by dark chocolate. An interesting salty sensation also entered the mix, providing some contrast to the darker flavors.
As the cigar progressed, spice notes joined the coffee, dark chocolate, and saltiness. There was more going on in the profile at this point, although the underlying drying sensation remained noticeable.
Moving into the final third, the cigar offered another transition as fruit notes began to develop. At the same time, the saltiness increased, becoming one of the more noticeable characteristics of the closing profile.
I eventually laid the Bella Dama Full House Anniversario No. 5 to rest after a lengthy 1 hour and 40 minutes of smoking time. Strength finished at a solid medium.
Final Analysis
The Bella Dama Cigars Full House Anniversario No. 5 was an interesting cigar that delivered some good flavor transitions over the course of a notably long smoking experience.
The cigar performed particularly well in terms of burn and ash, remaining well behaved throughout the journey. Flavor-wise, there were enjoyable moments of cream, espresso, coffee, dark chocolate, spice, fruit, and an increasingly noticeable salty quality.
There were, however, a couple of issues that held the experience back. The biggest was the tight draw, which limited smoke production to medium volume at best. The persistent tannic, drying character, along with periods of bitterness, also detracted from the otherwise interesting flavor development.
At $18.00, I would have liked to see a more open draw and a somewhat cleaner profile. That said, the cigar burned exceptionally slowly and provided nearly two hours of smoking time.
Based on this sample, I would categorize the Bella Dama Full House Anniversario No. 5 as a “Try a Sample.” There are enough interesting flavors here to warrant exploring another one, particularly to determine whether the tight draw was specific to the cigar reviewed.
The Full House Anniversario No. 5 played a few strong cards with its excellent burn, dark chocolate, coffee, fruit, spice, and intriguing salty notes, but the tight draw and persistent tannic dryness kept this particular hand from taking the pot.
