By now, if you are serious cigar smoker you have seen and even may have tried the Leaf by Oscar line of cigars. You know the ones I am talking about, those beautiful specimens of rolled leaf preserved in a tobacco leaf instead of a cellophane sheath. Well, one of the men behind that creation, and factory owner, Oscar Valladares, introduced his new cigar at the 2016 IPCPR, simply named, “The Oscar”.
Oscar Valladares worked with Island Jim Robinson from Leaf & Bean to create the original Leaf by Oscar, which was a smashing success. I guess you could say that Oscar took that to the bank this past year when he decided to create The Oscar Habano, a brand owned by Oscar himself.
Following with the novel concept of encasing the cigar in a tobacco leaf, Oscar decided to vary that concept slightly and only cover the cigar from the foot to the top of the band with a candela leaf. Once that sheath is slid down, the candela leaf makes the turquoise colored band pop.
The Oscar Habano blend is described as:
- Wrapper –Ecuadorian Habano
- Binder – Honduran
- Filler – Honduran & Nicaraguan
The Oscar Habano is available in 3 vitolas and comes packaged in a unique box made from cigar molds, each housing 11 cigars.
- Robusto – (5 x 50) MSRP $11.00
- Toro – (6 x 52) MSRP $12.00
- Gordo – (6 x 60) MSRP $13.00
The Oscar Habano is manufactured at Oscar Valladares Tobacco, located in Danli, Honduras. The factory was founded in 2012 by Oscar Valladares, Hector Valladares and Bayron Duarte.
For this review I sampled both the Oscar Habano Toro and Gordo.
- Gorgeous dark brown, silky wrapper with a light sheen
- Triple cap
- Beautiful band – makes me think of an island vacation moment
- Pre-light aroma was black tea
- Earth and red pepper was delivered on the cold draw
- Initial puffs hit me with a nice pepper shot that opened the palate
- Coffee notes follow as the pepper fades
- Pepper still lingering
- Solid salt and pepper ash
- Floral and spicy nut aroma builds
- Cherry and cedar notes shows up after an inch or so
- Spice builds in second half
- Wrapper is oiled up well
- The cherry lingers on the palate
- Sweet tea adds to the cherry and spice midway through the second third
- There was a slight wave that required a touch up but did not affect the experience
- End of second brings an herbal note to the profile
- Final offers sweetness down to the nub
- Strength was medium plus
- Total smoking time was 1 hour and 20 minutes
Overall, the Oscar Habano was a pleasant smoking experience with some interesting and delightful flavor transitions. The burn was near perfect on the Toro, but I did have some issues with the Gordo. When I met Oscar at the IPCPR he was offering some delicious aged rum at his booth so I actually paired one of these with a Captain and Coke which went very well.
The Oscar Habano
I actually really like the wrappers on these Oscar cigars – definitely going to keep an eye out for this one. I bought the Leaf by Oscar Connecticut Lancero a few months back. I was a little worried about how effective it really was at protecting the cigar and have to say I am impressed – much more than a marketing play I think.
You are right on Clay. It was brilliant. Thanks for reading StogiePress- Boston Jimmie
I have tried numerous cigars and all can say is the Oscar Habano is my pick for cigar of the year for 2017
It is certainly a fine cigar !