Back in 2019, I started my Sinistro Cigars journey with the Last Cowboy, which led me to a number of this small company’s production cigars, most recently the El Burro. Late last year, I was gifted another one, the Sinistro Honchos which is not a cigar the company was originally planning to distribute, by the crew over at the Privada Cigar Club got their paws on it and convinced the dynamic duo, James and Coleman to let them sell it. The name Honchos translates to bosses in English, as in “The Head Honchos” – “The guys in Charge”.
I could go on and on and explain how this came to be, but it is best explained directly by the folks at the Privada Cigar Club:
“Sinistro is two young guys. James, the blender, and Coleman, the muscle. These guys do everything together. James lives most of the year in the Dominican Republic where he recently had his first child. Coleman lives in Pittsburgh (shout out!) where he runs the distribution. I often joke with them about their relationship. I like to bust their chops and they are good sports of course. But I was going through their portfolio of blends and band art about a year ago and what did I see? The band you are holding on this cigar.
If you know their work, it’s a lot of villain-type stuff. So this really caught my eye. It’s sunny and happy looking. I inquired and they said, “oh you can’t have that. That’s our cigar.” I said “what do you mean?” and he began to tell me that he and Coleman have their own “friendship” cigar. They only smoke it when they do blending sessions and visits to DR together. Of course, I had to try it, and when I did I knew I had to get it for you guys. With the cost of broadleaf and the argument that ensued to open this up to the club, I worked hard to obtain this. I hope you love it!”
So there you go, I don’t think there was any bloodshed but perhaps some arm wrestling and firm negotiations. It should be noted that the cigar itself has been aged 11 months with a blend described as:
- Wrapper: Broadleaf
- Binder: Dominican Piloto Cubano
- Fillers: Nicaraguan and Dominican
The Honchos is expressed in a single (6 x 50) Toro vitola and is available only from the Privada Cigar Club for a price of $13.00/cigar. The club started selling these in late 2021.
Pre-Light Examination
The Sinistro Cigar Co. Honchos is cloaked with a mottled, toothy and veiny, dark brown wrapper – what else would you expect from a broadleaf wrapper. The cigar is well packed with a heavy weight in the hand ringing the scale at a solid 15 grams. I noticed no soft spots along the barrel. A simple cap finishes the presentation.
The Honchos is adorned by a single band that presents a bright orange sunset with the name “HONCHOS” scrolled across the bottom along with “Sinistro Cigar Co.”
Running the barrel along the nose I picked up a rich and pungent fermented leaf note along the barrel while the foot offered vibrant fruit and vanilla cream notes.
Once I sliced the cap straight across the shoulder, I moved on to giving this one a few cold puffs that I found to be satisfactorily restricted while offering a light peppery burn on the lips and earthy barnyard notes on the palate.
Using my double flame torch, I warmed the foot to a bright orange glow, much like the sunrise (or sunset) on the Honchos band. The first lit puffs presented an easy on the palate, creamy fruit note to start. Follow along as burn the Honchos to ash.
Cigar Review Notes
- Very pleasant Fruit and cream start the journey
- White ash forms on top of a thick char line
- Slight off burn
- Fruit gets a bit tangy
- Ash fell revealing a flat and slightly off centered burn cone
- Dark Chocolate notes develop deep in the first third
- Savory spice notes evolve and begin to take the forefront of the profile
- Coffee joins mix moving into the second third
- Jagged burn and Flaky ash
- Woah!! A fizzy chocolate much like a NY Egg Cream (Don’t know about it – look it up) wakes up the palate and brings back memories of my childhood days in the local soda shop
- Sweetness evolves with a very easy retro hale
- Off burn again deep in second third
- Roasted nut aromas waft off the foot near the start of the final third
- Hints of oak and spice bring it to the finish
- Medium Strength
- Total Smoking Time was 1 hour and 40 minutes
Final Analysis
The Sinistro Cigar Co. Honchos is a cigar that I found to be pleasant in flavor with at best a medium strength. Certainly a cigar you could smoke any time of the day. I especially enjoyed the fizzy chocolate egg cream note that brought back childhood memories. Where this cigar looses points is in the burn with its flaky ash jagged burn and multiple off burns. I might try one again just because of the childhood memory it invoked. In the end I rate this an 87.
Point Deductions: (-2) Multiple Off Burns; (-1) Flat Burn Cone; (-1) Off Centered Burn Cone; (-1) Jagged Burn; (-1) Flaky Ash; (-1) May Try one Again
