Popular Post Deeg Posted August 31 Popular Post Share Posted August 31 This week's "from a laundry room in Kyoto" review is the Illusione Epernay Le Grande, a 6 x 46 Corona Extra (one of my favorite sizes). Illusione Epernay, like all Illusione as far as I know, is a Nicaraguan puro (though rolled in Honduras). I've found Illusione to be among the most consistent (in a good way) cigars around. And the Epernay specifically is a line you often see mentioned on lists of the most "Cuban-like" non-Cuban cigars. With Habanos priced out of reach for so many of us these days, that sounds like quite a draw. The Le Grande has a beautiful medium Colorado wrapper, with one large vein and no imperfections. I store them at 65% and have found that seems to work pretty well. These have been sitting for about 3 months in my tupperdor. I usually prefer a V-cut but went with the guillotine today. Pre-light was graham cracker, biscuit, and a bit of cedar. Draw and burn are almost never an issue with Dion Giolito cigars and this is no exception. Burn was maybe the slightest bit uneven and I gave it a couple of quick touch-ups but apart from that, perfect as usual. Body started out light-medium, and gradually progressed to medium. You often hear of white wine notes in the Epernay (thus, the name) and there is a bit of a crisp Chardonnay quality to this - more on the oaky side than a Chablis. Consistent throughout the 75 minute smoking time was a nice milk-chocolate sandwich cookie element. Over the first third that dominated, to be joined later by a rye bread note. There's a bit of barnyard to this too - an element of Cuban "twang" I actually don't get in Habanos as often as I used to. In the second and final third a grilled meat note emerged, very nicely pairing with the winey aspect. Cedar was more of a presence in the second half of the cigar than the first. Is this "Cuban-like"? Somewhat yes to my palate - maybe a bit of Upmann in there. Fairly complex and nuanced rather than a flavor bomb. Nicaraguan puros are naturally going to pack more of a kick than Cuban tobacco, but the Epernay doesn't leave you unconscious by the side of the road - it has some delicacy to it. It's a clean, "on-profile" smoke that delivers what it promises, pretty much every time. And at about $6-7 a stick by the box a great value (as Illusione usually are) in the current cigar landscape. Very good indeed - 90/100. 13 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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