Providencia Cigars, that little Texas cigar company consumers have come to love for their consistent and flavorful craft, annually releases a limited production cigar to celebrate St. Patty’s day. Known as the Shenanigans cigar, it is one that many of the company’s followers look forward to each year. I received samples of this blend last year but, due to a death in my family, I did not get to it in time to discuss it before St. Patty’s day. I decided to hold the review until this year so today I present my review.
The Shenanigans blend described as:
- Wrapper – Candela/Oscuro Habano
- Binder – Indonesian
- Filler – Nicaraguan/Honduran (Jalapa, Jamastran, Trojes regions)
They are expressed in (6 x 52) toro barber pole format and carry an MSRP of $10.99. They are available in a single cigar format and can be found at the Underground Cigar Shop & Lounge until they are sold out.
Pre-Light Examination
The Providencia Cigars Shenanigans is a beautifully constructed barber pole. The oily, dark brown oscuro leaf perfectly contrasts the green candela. Even without the colorful band it would pop on a shelf. The cigar has excellent packing and is solid to the touch with no soft spots. It is finished with a simple but well applied cap. On a special note, if you look at the foot, you will notice a sliver of green candela leaf in the bunch.
The band that adorns this is colorfully vibrant with shades of green and the company’s logo proudly displayed on top and the name Shenanigans below.
Running the cigar along the nose, I picked up a mildly pungent and herbal note along the barrel while the foot is quite enticing, offering butter cracker and pepper notes.
Once I sliced the cap straight across the shoulder, I gave it some cold draw puffs that I found to be nicely restricted and offering a growing black pepper.
With the pre-light examination out of the way, I used my double flame torch to warm the foot and drew in the first puffs of light pepper and herbal notes. Follow along as I burn this one to ash.
Cigar Review Notes
- Light peppery and herbal notes to start
- White as forms on top of a mildly wavy burn line
- Fruit notes develop
- Ash fell in a decent chunk revealing a nicely formed burn cone
- Cinnamon adds to the fruit moving into the second third
- Natural sweetness wraps the fruit
- Coffee notes add to the pleasure
- There is slight bitterness deep in the second third
- Herbal butter notes enter in the final third
- Mild spice grows down to the final
- Medium Strength
- Total Smoking Time was 1 hour and 40 minutes
Final Analysis
The Providencia Cigars Shenanigans was a tasty, delectable cigar that showcased the blending of candela and habano wrappers. With early pepper and herbal notes the cigar transitioned beautifully into cinnamon and fruit notes that were wrapped in a natural sweetness. The was no hiding of the herbal notes from the candela, but rather they were embraced and blended with notes of pepper and later butter notes. This is a very pleasurable smoking experience and is most certainly grabbing a fiver of before they are sold out this year. I rate this a solid 93.
Point Deductions: (-1) Mild Wave; (-1) Slight Bitter Notes
Bonus Points: (+1) Consistent and pleasurable across multiple samples
