Tonight we review the second in blend from Ohana Cigars – The Friends and Family Line which features 7 year aged tobacco with a light Habano Rosado Oscuro wrapper encasing all Nicaraguan binder and filler. Like the “First Generation” Line, the Friends and Family is a limited production cigar. Ohana produced only 3000 of these sticks which are available in 10 count boxes.
The Ohana Friends and Family comes in 4 violas:
- Toro
- Perfecto
- Short Robusto
- Corona Gorda
We received the Toro vitola from Ohana Cigars for this review.
Examining this shiny reddish-brown beauty of a stick you will note the light veins and tight seams of the wrapper. It is a well packed cigar with a nice weight to it. The barrel is firm and smooth to the touch. There is a sweet tobacco scent on the foot from the well aged leaf. The band is classic in design, the same as the First Generation line.
Ohana First Generation
There is wet hay flavor during the dry draw with a touch of sweetness that is just begging me to fire this stick up and give it a whirl. But first I need to cue up some Santana to relax and enjoy this fine stogie. I love the art on this album cover, it seemed appropriate for Friends and Family.
Ohana Friends and Family
Once fired up, the first few puffs of the Friends and Family provided a decent amount of spice that hit me in the back of throat. The draw was decent, initially delivering a moderate amount of smoke. As it burned through the first inch there is tangy and spicy smoke, like an orange flavored beef Szechuan meal, a wonderful mix of flavors as the smoke volume cranks up to high. The smoke is at what I describe a “ring consistency”. In other words it is the kind of smoke volume I consider perfect for blowing smoke rings.
This is not a long ash contender as the salt and pepper ash fell after the first inch and I learned it falls consistency throughout the burn. I am glad I have a wardrobe of smoking shirts when I sample new cigars as I am always trying to carry the ash as long as I can.
The spice faded after that first inch and now I am getting a milk chocolate and creamy flavor, with a hint of grapefruit like a high IBU India Pale Ale. This would go well with an IPA for sure. The finish is long on the palate at this point. The sweet Santana riffs and bongo sounds fill the Stogie Press lounge tonight mixing well with the sweet aroma coming off the foot of the Friends and Family cigar.
By the middle of the 2nd third, it transitions to sweet dried fruit background that is just delicious as it blends so well with the sweetness that has developed in this stick. There is a lot to be said about well aged tobacco and I give credit to Ryan Rodriguez from Ohana Cigars for not sacrificing on his selection of the leaf used in the Friends and Family blend.
The flavor profile maintained itself throughout the rest of the burn with perhaps a hint of wet leather as it got close to the end.
Overall the Friends and Family from Ohana cigars is a stick everyone should try if they can. The burn was perfect and the flavor was delightful. The sad part is once they are gone they will no longer be available.
Ohana Friends and Family