04/19/2026
First Third - The construction of Notorious Ci**rs are rugged in appearance, but I think that is by choice. Huge veins in the wrapper, along with the texture of the Ecuadorian Habano 2000 to***co leaf looks like something an MMA fighter would smoke immediately after a victory before wiping the blood of his opponent off his hands. Beautiful gold and emerald band by the way.
I always cut ci**rs I am reviewing in Double-V to recognize the flavor and notes of the cigar during a Cold Draw. It also eliminates any misconception on the Draw quality of the cigar because a Double-V cut can be a happy median between a Punch and Straight cut.
Either way, I immediately noticed the combination of Dominican and Nicaraguan filler. The Dominican to***co provided the woody, earthiness that Dominican cigar patrons love, and the Nicaraguan to***co provided the subtle, sweet essence of chocolate that Nicaraguan cigar patrons love.
The Notorious has a Mexican San Andres binder which immediately hits the pallet in combination with the Dominican filler after lighting and full draw, further adding to the rugged impression of the cigar.
A little resistance on the draw, but the smoke is full bodied and clean. Chocolate and expresso sensations from the Nicaraguan to***co disappear quickly, and it doesn't take long to slip into full Dominican mode with subtle notes of citrus fading away into cedar and toasted nuts. Pepper levels are low in this cigar.
If you are a puro Nicaraguan cigar lover, this might not be the stick for you, but I can definitely see a medium bodied Dominican cigar lover having one of these in his humidor.