A brand I know nothing about except that they had some buzz about their 90 miles line, a blend I know nothing about so I went down to google and found on www.stogierate.com that this is a Nicaraguan cigar with an Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper with a Sumatra binder and filler from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. And that the size is 6 1/2 x52. And that their own website is down at the time of my google search.

On the website of Famous Smoke I found the story about the brand, founded in 1993 in Florida by Arnando Gonzalez who fled Cuba in 1980. In 1997 he opened a factory in Nicaragua where most of his cigars are made nowadays. The factory is now run by his daughter while Arnando operates farms in Ecuador where he grows different kinds of tobacco including the Sumatra and Connecticut Shade used for this cigar.

The wapper is a pale Connecticut shade and even though I am slowly changing my opinion on Connecticut Shade wrappers I still don’t like the pale look. The wrapper, except for the color, looks fine though, smooth and it has a velvet feel to it. The ring is boring and simple, yet of good printing quality. White with silver lining and silver green letters saying Flor de Gonzalez cigars, simple as can be. The construction feels good and the head of the cigar is very pointy, I like that. The aroma is medium strong and reminds me of a mix of tarred wood baking in the sun and charcoal, not a very usual smell, but also not completely unpleasant.

I cut the cigar, guillotine style, double blade. The cold draw is loose with a mild spicy and minty flavor. After lighting it with a jet fame I taste coffee with lemon. After a few puffs I taste a spicy harshness too, the flavors are not very refined. The flavors change to sweet, slightly harsh, wood and coffee. After a third I taste a minty fresh and sweet wood with a harsh edge. Halfway the cigar is peppery and still a little harsh. The final third starts with cedar, spice and a little honey.

The draw is a little loose but the smoke is fantastic, thick, full and a lot. The ash is light gray, firm, dense. The burn is a bit uneven though. The evolution is good and this is a medium bodied yet medium to full flavored cigar. The smoke time is an hour and a half.

Would I buy this cigar again? Even though this cigar doesn’t have the Connecticut mustiness I still won’t smoke it again. Harsh, unrefined, there is much better out there.

Score: 82

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