Peso CC - The BAUZA

[Blackham]

On a windy afternoon two weeks ago, I was strolling aimlessly through the busy local market of Trinidad, in my hand I'm holding a.. well.. you guessed it.. a Trinidad Reyes (btw my first Trini, very complex, different flavour in each segment). I was tired from a week of sitting in a cigar lounge / touristy tours / paladar dining, so that day I tried to blend in with the local as much as possible, but despite all the efforts I am still labelled as a tourist - my backpack, lonely planet guide book and my camera gave it away.

So I sat down beside this old gentleman around his 80's, smoking a cigar in a blue/white band. My original purpose was to borrow his lighter to touch-up my Reyes, and long ago I gave up asking about the source of peso cigars because 99% of the time it will lead to the "family working in cigar factory" story, but I could sense that Guillermo initiated a conversation without any intentions. We exchanged a few words, from my limited Spanish I found out that he used to be a fisherman when he was young, now he has a son working in Havana and his daughter's family is taking care of him, overall a very kind gentleman. When I was about to leave he offered me his last cigar in his pocket, I gave him a $20 CUP bill in return, he seemed joyous about it and we parted ways.

Bauza's the name on the band of the cigar, to be honest the appearance is ... disgusting. If the surface on the BHK has a resemblance of a white sandy beach, then the Bauza is like a warzone, or earthquake epicenter. Has veins like the foot of an old lady. White stains near the cigar band (which I sincerely hope it is glue carelessly applied). Feels spongy when you squeeze it. It also screams "I've got beetle eggs ready to hatch!!".

Later in the day I was waiting at the bar to meet up w/ a seller for a Tres guitar (another great story which will be told in near future). Seller was holding a familiar cigar, so I asked "are you smoking a Bauza?" "Yes, but no that's not how you pronounce Bauza". So how do you pronounce Bauza? It's like saying Sparta, you don't pronounce Sparta but instead you say SPARTAAA. You voice it out with masculine force, the seller said. BAUZAAA!!

During my stay in Trinidad, I've seen many people smoking the BAUZAA. Again my limited Spanish tells me that the brand is produced in some factory in Cienfuegos, and it is a local's favorite.

Since it is a special gift from a kind gentleman, I reserved one spot in my travel humidor for this cigar. I decided to light it up today, honestly I planned to toss it away after no more than 5 puffs, but I was pleasantly surprised.

First 1/3 : Heavy cream profile, think eggnog, tiramisu, peanut butter cookie. There's a strong citrus flavor alongside as well, like biting on the skin of a tangerine, bitter but refreshing.

Half way through: Creaminess started to die down, only the citrus flavor remain. I thought of pineapple soda, if you've had a Pinita in Cuba you'll know what kind of flavor i'm talking about.

The last ten minutes: the richness reemerges, reminds me of the Upmann Connoisseur no.1 I smoke a while ago. Round, campfire marshmallow, a bit of raw sugar cane.

When the flame reaches the "white stains" I had to stop because it is where it started to taste nasty, which is a shame because I was enjoying the cigar so much. This Bauza is a very good cigar to have, don't let the look and price fool you. Next time in Cuba remember to ask for a BAUZA!

[CaptainQuintero]

Nice! I have a friend bringing me back some peso cigars this week, hopefully I can shout out BAUZA! too!

[Ginseng]

Wonderful! Thank you for the story and the review. Pesos are a fascinating animal to me because they are closer to the lives of the typical modern Cubans than any export marca one can purchase at an LCdH.

Wilkey

[NJP]

Thanks for the story it has stirred a great curiosity of the Pesos.

[MrGlass]

That was a great read - thanks.

[Dbone]

Wow, great story. Thanks for sharing.

[mk05]

Bauzzaaaaa i think ive seen those floating around last year

[Charltonc]

Very nice to try the smoke of the average Cuban. Great review.

[cigcars]

I've had the pleasure of sampling a few "Peso" cigars from our Cuban friends courtesy of a very great forum member here! It was a very flavorful experience IMHO, generous Cuban flavor and aroma

[Colt45]

Thanks for the review

Guy has mentioned this one - it's his morning luxury cigar

[CanuckSARTech]

I've had a number of peso cigars while in Cuba on different trips, and the BAUZAAA!! is one of them.

They're not bad, considering what they are. They're definitely rustic, and don't have much of a flavour evolution or refinement about them. I find them very on par with a stand-between, right smack dab in the middle of black-tobacco cigarettes, and then refined Habanos cigars. So, they fill a niche, and fit a need, for the everyday Cuban. That twang is definitely there a bit with these, but it's just not what I'm used to now, so I can't overly stomach their rusticness or mongrel-like characters.

Good on ya for following up on this cigar though. Thanks very much for sharing. You have me dreaming of another trip to Cuba, hopefully soon enough with friends this fall, if I'm lucky. I can't wait!!!!!

[laficion]

Hi Blackham,

Here is a link to a thread posted by MontrealRon on his Cheap&Cheerful which

is about Peso cigars . Hope you'll enjoy.

http://www.friendsofhabanos.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=100839