This is the third in the series of La Hoya del Chan cigars portfolio. The previous two were the Connecticut Big Rubio, and the Habano Gran Toro. This one is called the Big Bro a 6 x 60 dark maduro.
La Hoja del Chan is a dream come true, for husband and wife team – Gaby “El Chan” and Liz. The duo wants all the hands that work the tobacco leaf in their home country of Puerto Rico to have the same opportunity to expose their products. They call it La Hoja del Chan, because they cultivate part of their product and at some point, want to be able to supply the WORLD with their native Tobacco Leaf.
The a La Hoja del Chan Big Bro Maduro has a blend described as:
- Wrapper – San Andres Maduro
- Binder – Indonesian
- Filler – Esteli/PuertoRico
The Big Bro comes packaged as singles and have an MSRP of $10.00/cigar. The company does note they can make 5, 10 or 20 count packs and hope this year to make 10 and 20 count boxes.
Pre-Light Examination
The La Hoja del Chan Big Bro Maduro is a solidly packed, dark brown cigar that has a mild oily sheen to it. It has some noticeable veins and a few bumps along the barrel. A simple cap finishes the presentation.
A single black and silver band adorns the cigar using the same design as the other two in the portfolio proudly presenting the name “EL CHAN” at the bottom along with a caricature of the brand owner, Gaby Cruz Ayala-Chan (El Chan), centered in the band.
Running the cigar along the nose, I detected a pungent fermented leaf aroma. The foot exuded an enticing baking spice note.
Using my double blade cutter, I sliced the Big Bro, straight across the shoulder and proceeded to give it a few traditional cold puffs. The draw had a decent restriction and offered notes of salted butter with a sprinkle of black pepper that starts to grow the more you cold puff it
Once I was done with the pre-light exam, I moved onto the rest of the journey by warming the foot with a triple flame torch, bringing it to an even orange glow and drew in an initial blast of black peppery smoke. Follow along as I burn the La Hoja del Chan Big Bro to ash.
For this review, I sampled two La Hoja del Chan Big Bro’s which I received from the company for the purpose for reviewing on Stogie Press.
Cigar Review Notes
- Initial puffs delivered a blast of black pepper and was a tad harsh through the early puffs
- A medium volume of smoke started to deliver a cherry note to sooth the palate
- Light grey and flaky ash begins to evolve on top of a wavy thick char line
- Smoke has pleasantly smoothed out after an inch of burn
- Ash fell early, revealing a well formed and centered burn cone
- Floral fruit aroma wafts off the foot
- The burn line continues to have a slight wave but never requires a touch up
- Lingering sour cherry note on the palate
- Smoke volume has opened up well
- Slightly tannic in the second third
- Dark chocolate notes evolve midway
- Bits of leaf are coming off the foot
- Spice notes enter and grow through the final
- Medium Plus in Strength
- Total Smoking Time was 1 hour and 40 minutes
Final Analysis
I found the La Hoja del Chan Big Bro Maduro to be decent cigar that I may smoke again. It did start of a little harsh but settled in with a tantalizing cherry note to the sooth the palate. Flavors and aromas developed through the rest of the burn, offering notes of floral, cherry, dark chocolate, and spice. It did get a bit tannic (astringent) deep in the second third, requiring some sips of water between puffs. Construction wise, it had a flaky ash and a jagged burn line, but never went totally off or required a touch-up. Deeper in the journey I was getting bits of leaf off the foot. I rate this an 88..
Point Deductions: (-1) Flaky Ash; (-1) Harsh Start; (-1) Jagged Burn; (-1) Tannic Flavor; (-1) May Try One Again; (-1) Bits of Leaf coming off the foot
