Announced in March of 2021 and showcased at this years Tobacco Plus Expo (TPE), the CURAMUS is a cigar that was specially crafted for M.W. Robert V. Monacelli, Grand Master of the Most Ancient and Honorable Society of Freemasons for the State of New Jersey. The Freemasons are the largest and oldest fraternal organization with a mission to:
“Promote a way of life that binds like-minded men with the principles of Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth in order to serve God, Family, Country, Neighbor and self.”
As Freemasons themselves, Hiram & Solomon Cigars owners have donated, through their cigar sales, 10’s of thousands of dollars to Masonic charities including the Shriners Children’s Hospital.
The CURAMUS is hand crafted at PDR Cigars, a boutique modern factory in Tamboril, Dominican Republic. This is the first time Hiram & Solomon has used Abe Flores and his factory in the Dominican Republic. The word CURAMUS is latin and roughly translates into “to take care” which is what Freemasons are charged to do.
The CURAMUS has a rich multi country blend described as:
- Wrapper – Pennsylvania Broadleaf Natural
- Binder – Mexican
- Filler – Dominican Corojo, Dominican Criollo 98, Pennsylvania Broadleaf
The CURAMUS is expressed in a single (6 x 52) Toro vitola and comes packaged in a 20-count, classic Cuban style box. Each box carries the seal of the Procigar – Association of Dominican Cigar Manufacturers as a being a genuine product. This is also the first time the company has used Boveda packs in each box to ensure the proper humidity. MSRP is set at $10.00/cigar. Production was limited to 450 boxes.
For this review, I sampled numerous CURAMUS cigars over the past few months, which I received from the company for reviewing on Stogie Press.
Pre-Light Examination
The CURAMUS is a slightly rugged looking cigar with a medium reddish brown wrapper that has some slight marbling to it and a few noticeable veins. The cigar is firm to the touch from head to foot. The head is expertly finished with an almost quad cap.
A single band adorns the cigar that integrates the name Curamus along with the New Jersey Freemasons logo and gives credence to M.W. Robert V. Monacelli, Grand Master of the Most Ancient and Honorable Society of Freemasons for the State of New Jersey. The bottom of the band declares this as Hiram & Solomon Cigars product along with the phrase 2B1ASK1 on the bottom, an invite to all who may wish to be a Freemason.
Running the CURAMUS along the nose, my aroma sensors detected a fresh spiciness along barrel along with a sweet apricot fruit and earth off the foot.
Using a double blade cutter, I sliced the cap straight across the shoulder and proceeded to give it some cold draw puffs that were spot on with restriction. The palate was graced with notes of light pepperiness and an exotic spice that I later discovered was Vetiver, which is most closely related to Sorghum but shares many morphological characteristics with other fragrant grasses, such as lemongrass, citronella, and palmarosa.
Well this is turning into a unique experience right from the get go. A few more cold puffs to get the palate used to Vetiver and it was time to warm it up and proceed with the journey. My double flame torch was perfect to get it ignited as I drew in the first puffs of peppery smoke. Follow along as I burn the CURAMUS to ash.
Cigar Review Notes
- Medium black pepper burst starts the journey
- White ash forms on a wavy, thick char line
- Sweetness and Vetiver notes begin to evolve
- Slight off burn develops but does not require a touch up
- Once the ash fell it revealed a flat but centered burn cone.
- Malt like aroma wafts off the foot
- Savory notes join the profile moving into the second third
- Coffee and sweet cream notes midway
- Spice increases with another dose of Vetiver
- Finishes with a pleasant almond note
- Medium Strength
- Total Smoking Time was 1 hour and 45 minutes
Final Analysis
The Hiram & Solomon CURAMUS was quite the unique and flavorful cigar with its exotic Vetiver spice that was ever present from pre-light down through the burn, which only added to pleasure of balanced notes sweetness, malt, coffee and almond. It took me a number of samples to wrap my head around what the exotic note was, but once informed by Fouad’s wife, Romy, that it was Vetiver, I locked in and found it to be enjoyable as it kept appearing in the profile. I especially enjoyed the sweet almond note in the final third to finish the journey. The construction was solid with just a small wave in the burn and mild off burn. These are a box buy and I rate it a 93.
Point Deductions: (-1) Mild Wave; (-1) Slight Off Burn; (-1) Flat Burn Cone
Bonus Points: (+1) Pleasurable and consistent across multiple samples; (+1) Buy a box
