It is near the end of the holiday vacation here at Stogie Press, as I sit in the Stogie Press Smoking Lounge on a warm January afternoon listening to some smooth Muscle Shoals blues on Pandora. If you haven’t checked out this Pandora station you are missing out on some fine stogie burning music. Today I am reaching into the flavor of the 305 – Tarazona Guerrilla 305 that is. Born in the 305, a reference to Miami, the Tarazona Guerrilla 305 is an extension to the Tarazona 305 line.
The Tarazona website describes their creations as follows:
.. we are very passionate about the cigars we make. Our premium, long-leaf, hand-made cigars are each rolled to the highest quality by masterful rollers. We take pride in the quality and craftsmanship of every cigar that goes into every box of Tarazona Cigars.
The Tarazona Guerrilla 305 is a departure from previous Tarazona cigars which were made in Nicaragua. Eddie opted to make the Guerrilla at Tabacalera William Ventura in the Dominican Republic. It is constructed with a triple filler of Criollo 98, Corojo and Habana Vuelta Abajo leaf with a Habano binder and cloaked in a dark brown Habana Vuelta Abajo wrapper.
The Tarazona Guerrilla 305 is available in 6 Vitolas:
- Commando – 4 1/2 x 42
- El Capitan – 5×52
- El Jefe – 6 1/2 x 42
- El Comandante – 6 1/4 x 54
- Silverback – 6 1/2 x 60
- Blacksheep – 7 x 38
For this review I sampled the El Comandante.
The Tarazona Guerrilla 305 El Comandante has been resting in my humidor since July 2014 and it is time to fire this stogie up, no more waiting to taste the Guerrilla. I hope it does not fight me as the sweet sounds of the bluesy piano fills the air.
Examining the Tarazona Guerrilla 305 one first notices the dark marbled wrapper with some noticeable veins and seams It has a Raisinette scent on the foot. The band is bold, red white and black with a sketch of a Guerrilla wearing an army helmet emblazoned with the Tarazona logo biting down on a stogie along with some hand grenades and ammunition. Slicing the well applied triple cap, there is a sweet tobacco flavor with a wide open dry draw.
Upon the initial light, 
the smoke is filling up the morning air along with the sounds of James P. Johnson, one of the great Jazz Pianists of all time. The king of stride pianists in the 1920s. Make me wish this vacation was ending, but it’s been fun catching up on cigars and taking some cigar related road trips.
The smoke from the Tarazona Guerrilla 305 is fruity with a slight bite of pepper especially in the retro-hale. There is also a nut component in the background. The ash is toothy and the burn is only a tad wavy with a thick line. The ash is a med grey with some light brown hues. The pepper fades after the first inch and the strength is beginning to ratchet up a notch. Near the end of the 1st third a dry leather note enters the profile and a nutty floral aroma develops. The ash is holding tight and the wrapper is starting to show a light oily sheen.
The ash fell midway through the second 3rd and by the and of 2nd third a hint of vanilla entered the mix along with a wonderful sweet aroma. The strength moved up the scale some more to a high medium. The Guerrilla is playing with me but not fighting.
The flavor profile maintained through the final third. The Guerrilla was put to rest to the sound of King Oliver and His Dixie Syncopators.
Overall the Tarazona Guerrilla 305 is a delightful cigar – the flavor was decent not complex, the body was medium, as was the strength and the construction was solid.
Tarazona Guerrilla 305
– Boston Jimmie