It’s that time again, the Cigar Clowns have received their 3rd drop of rare and un-circulated cigars. This time the Clowns have given it a name – Carletto – and added a band to the cigar also. The drop will be available for Cigar Clown members to purchase staring this coming Friday September 18.
The Cigar Clowns team sent me a couple of these Carletto’s to review before they went to members. I smoked both of them and today I present you the review of the Cigar Clowns “Carletto“.
Who is Carletto?
The name “Carletto” was chosen to pay homage to Hubert Jean Charles “Charlie” Cairoli, an Italian -English clown, impressionist and musician. Charlie was born in Affori, Milan, Italy to a travelling circus family of French origin, he began his performing career at the age of seven, under the name ‘Carletto’.
Cairoli was distinguished in his act by wearing a red nose and a Charlie Chaplin-style bowler hat, eyebrows, and costume, and a moustache slightly larger than Chaplin’s. He rose to prominence in the United Kingdom in the 1970s owing to his frequent television appearances, not least on his long-running children’s show Right Charlie!. He was said to be the best-known clown on British television at one time, and had a career that spanned well over forty years.
In February 2000, Cairoli was awarded a posthumous Lifetime Achievement award from the World’s Fair circus newspaper. It was presented to his widow Violetta by ventriloquist Keith Harris, in the presence of the television personality Jeremy Beadle.
The Cigar Clowns – Carletto
As with all Cigar Clowns drops, there is limited information about the Carletto. What we do know is, the blend is described as:
- Wrapper – Habano
- Binder – Nicaraguan
- Filler – Nicaraguan
The Cigar Clowns Carletto is expressed in a (5 x 54) Robusto vitola and they are sold to Cigar Clowns members in 5-packs at a price of $45/pack plus shipping. You have to be a member of the Cigar Clowns Facebook Group to gain access to these cigars.
The factory and country of origin is not disclosed.
Pre-Light Examination
The Cigar Clowns Carletto is a well constructed robusto vitola that has a silky smooth medium to dark brown habano wrapper with just a few noticeable veins. It is solid to the touch and squeeze, from head to foot. The wrapper has a mild oily sheen and it is finished with a simple cap.
As noted, the Carletto actually has a band applied to it, unlike the previous two Cigar Clowns drops that came naked. The band uses a black, gold, white, and red motif with a picture of a clown (which is meant to resemble Carletto) in the center of a red circle, that is bordered by a gold ring with red and white dots around it. The name “CIGAR CLOWNS” is printed on the bottom..
I ran the Cigar Clowns Carletto across the nose and detected a lightly pungent and curing barn aroma along the barrel while the foot exuded dark chocolate and raisin notes.
I sliced the cap straight across the shoulder and proceeded to give the Carletto some cold draw puffs. The draw was nicely restricted and offered notes of raisin and nut, with a hint of cinnamon spice.
With the pre-light much to my liking, I reached for my double flame torch lighter to warm the foot to an even orange glow and drew in the first puffs of pepper laden smoke, that especially hit the nasals on the retro-hale. Follow along as I burn this clown to ash.
Cigar Review Notes
- Early pepper burn off the first puffs especially on the retro-hale
- Sweet plum notes appear on the palate as the pepper pulls back
- White ash forms on a medium char line with a mild wave
- Draw is tighter than I like delivering a medium volume of smoke
- Cocoa aroma wafts off the foot making the lounge smell like my wife’s brownies being baked
- Ash fell in a decent chunk revealing a flat but centered burn cone
- Cream notes enter that blend well with the still present fruit
- Coffee nuance rounds out the early burn
- Dark chocolate notes take control of the profile midway
- Natural sweetness adds to the pleasure
- Butter and spice find their way in deep in the second third
- Spice takes over down through the final
- Medium in strength
- Total Smoking time was 1 hour and 40 minutes
Overall, the Cigar Clowns Carletto did not clown around and was a no joke smoke. It delivered on flavor and aroma and kept the palate interested from puff to puff and foot to nub. It did have a tighter restriction to it and delivered a medium volume of smoke. While the burn had some waves during the journey, it never needed a touch-up . If you are a Cigar Clowns FB group member, get you hands on a five-pack of these gems, they are worth the $9.00/cigar. If you are not member, send me a FB Message and I will invite you tot he group so that you too can join the journey to find the perfect cigar with the rest of the Clowns. I rate the Carletto a 91.
Point Deductions: (-1) Wave in Burn; (-1) Flat burn cone; (-1) Medium Volume of Smoke
