Who the hell are the Cigar Clowns you ask? Well, they are group on Facebook and Instagram (6 friends who grew up together in Brooklyn NY and have love for the leaf). The group of cigar enthusiasts are on a journey to find limited, ultra rare, premium cigars, from many different farms and manufacturers. Each drop of cigars are aged between one and five years and have never hit the open market.
Once you join the Cigar Clowns group, the founders invite their members to join the journey of rare cigars, and when they get a new drop of rare cigars, members are invited on a first come first served basis to order 5-packs of them. The cool part of this? Once you order, you are added a mailing list that gives you first dibs of the next drop before new members.
Nick Marzigliano, one of the founders of Cigar Clowns told me:
“Every run of sticks we put out will be different sizes and blends. The sticks will always be ultra rare. We are on a journey to find the perfect stick.
No regular line of cigars like other groups.”
The Cigar Clowns reached out to me a few weeks ago and sent me a couple of cigars that were part of their latest club mailing. The cigar was unbanded and the only information I received on it, was that it was a limited run, ultra premium cigar that has a blend described as:
- Wrapper – Habano
- Binder – Nicaraguan
- Filler – Nicaraguan
The factory of origin was not disclosed. The cigar itself is a corona vitola that measured (4.75 x 42). I was told these have been sold out, but when they were available, they cost $30.00/5-pack ($6.00/cigar). I promised the Cigar Clowns team I would review these anyway, just to help my followers understand the kind of special craft these guys are locating and offer as part of their group.
So let’s see what the Cigar Clowns have to offer.
Pre-Light Examination
This particular cigar from Cigar Clowns was a medium to dark brown corona that has a slight gritty (toothy) wrapper with a touch of marbling through the leaf. There were just a few noticeable veins, tight seams, and it had a solid feel in the hand. The presentation was finished with a simple cap.
As I ran the vitola across the nose, I picked up a light spice aroma along the barrel and a touch of barnyard off the foot.
My double blade Xikar was perfect for slicing the cap straight across the shoulder. I proceeded to take some cold draw puffs that had a decent restriction while offering and earthy and gentle pepper set of notes. Actually, as I continued to cold puff, I noted the pepper grow a bit more on the palate leaving a lingering red pepper flake note.
It was time to fire it up which i did by warming the foot with a single flame torch, to bring it to an even orange glow, as I drew in the first puffs of peppery smoke.
Follow along as I burn this unknown cigar to ash and let’s see what ultra rare is like.
Cigar Review Notes
- Initial light hits with a pepper shot to the nose
- Hint of cocoa enters as the pepper morphs into more of a cinnamon note especially on the retro-hale
- Solid white ash forms on a thin char line
- Full smoke volume continues since the first puff
- The burn is exquisitely well behaved
- Dry fruit enters to add to the interest
- Ash fell after about an inch of burn, revealing an well formed burn cone, especially for a corona vitola
- Maple syrup aroma fills the air around me
- Earthy notes enter as the spice has toned way down moving into the second third
- Dry cocoa powder enters deep in the second third
- Spice notes reenter in the final
- Medium in Strength
- Total Smoking Time was 1 hour and 20 minutes
Overall, this unknown cigar, from the Cigar Clowns, was quite the pleasurable smoking experience. This complex cigar started with deep peppery notes, but once that pulled back, the flavors and aromas developed and transitioned beautifully through the journey. Smooth and flavorful with a pristine burn down to the nub, this was a cigar I wish there were more of.
It is sad these are no longer available, but now that I have experienced what the Cigar Clowns have been locating, I look forward to what they have coming. This cigar was only $6.00 and I can’t recall when I had such a fine cigar for that price. I highly recommend all cigar enthusiasts check the group out on Facebook. If you need an invite to the group, send me a Facebook message. This is a solid 96 rated cigar in my book.
Point Deductions: NONE
Bonus Points: (+1) Pristine Burn; (+1) If they were available, I would suggest you buy a box
