“KSG” King of Small Gauge, that is what Noel Rojas calls himself these days. We just had Noel on the 20th Episode of Taking It To The Nub this past Saturday and he explained how he is focusing primarily on small ring gauges and will be opening a new factory soon in Nicaragua and will be training torcedors to roll the small ring gauge cigars.
This is the third review of the newest craft coming out of Noel Rojas and Tabacalera Flor de San Luis S.A., his partner factory. The Rojas KSG is a limited production (7.5 x 38) lancero and comes packaged in 14-count boxes. Noel told me that they limited production to just 5,000 cigars and the MSRP has been set at $12.00/cigar.
The Rojas Cigars KSG blend is described as:
- Wrapper – Ecuadorian Habano Maduro
- Binder – Nicaragua (Somoto)
- Filler -Nicaragua (Somoto & Undisclosed)
If you are curious about what Nicaraguan Somoto leaf is, Noel told me that Somoto is a small region in a canyon just outside of Honduras that grows a limited amount of tobacco. Noel has fallen in love with the leaf and plans on featuring more of it in future projects.
Pre-Light Examination
There is no doubt that the Rojas Cigars KSG is a gorgeous lancero with its oily, reddish clay brown wrapper. There are practically no veins running along the silky smooth barrel. The cigar is completed with an expertly applied triple cap that finished with a small twist of leaf and also a closed foot. Solid to the touch, with no soft spots, the KSG has just an amazing construction throughout.
There are two bands that adorn the cigar. The primary is the Standard Rojas logo band and the secondary declares it as the “KSG” printed in gold on a red background just below the primary band.
As I ran the Rojas KSG along the nose, I picked up a sweet and pungent aroma along the barrel and delectable light chocolate notes off the foot that were further enhanced as I gave it a gentle squeeze to loosen the cover.
There are a couple of ways to open up a lancero like this. You could bite the twisted nipple off or you can slice the cap. I went with the latter and sliced the cap using my double blade cutter. Once opened up, I proceeded with a few cold draws puffs to see what the KSG had to offer. The draw was excellent and it delivered sweet and peppery notes. Did I mention that the wrapper on this had been aged for five years? It shows through all the pre-light examinations.
Well, it was time to get the journey started. I reached for my double flame torch, but then gave a second thought and chose to use the soft flame of a lit cedar spill instead. The closed foot took to the flame well and the foot quickly warmed up to an even orange glow as I drew in the first puffs of nasal opening pepper.
Cigar Review Notes
- Started with an early pepper burst opened up the nasals for the journey
- Light grey ash forms on a medium thick and slightly jagged burn line
- Cocoa aroma quickly starts wafting off the foot
- Smoke is solidly full
- Ash fell early, revealing a flat but centered burn cone
- Dark chocolate notes take front and center
- Leather notes fill in the background
- Aroma shifts to a maple syrup note
- Mild spice develops nearing the midway point as the strength increases
- Caramel notes join the mix
- Sweetness grows with continued dark chocolate notes
- Black Pepper notes fill out the profile down to the final
- Medium Plus in Strength
- Total Smoking Time was 1 hour and 40 minutes
Overall, the Rojas KSG lancero was a flavor filled cigar that an experienced cigar enthusiast would certainly enjoy with its complex and balanced array of notes throughout the journey. It started with a strong pepper blast that opened the nasals on the first retro-hale and then quickly settled into a core of sweetness and cocoa that morphed and grew through the 1 hour and 40 minute experience. It did have a wavy burn throughout but never required a touch-up. This is certainly worth grabbing a fiver of and I rate this a 93. If you can’t find these in your local brick and mortar, you can get them at the Underground Cigar Lounge online.
Point Deductions:(-1) Wavy Burn Line; (-1) Flat Burn Cone
Bonus Points: (+1) Complex and Balanced
