Cigars.ie

Mini Piramides

As we have said before, the trend of Habanos is to release cigars that are either long and thick, or short and thick. Thick cigars sells well, and we barely see anything new with a ring gauge smaller than 50. 2009 saw the arrival of another short and thick cigar, this time in a pyramid shape, the Bolivar Petit Belicoso, Limited Edition 2009. The Petit Belicoso (or petit pyramid) was an unusual size for the Habanos portfolio, and there was only one cigar that I could relate it to; the Romeo y Julieta Petit Piramide, Edicion Limitada 2005. The new shape was followed through in the Regional and collector’s editions too in 2009, where five more vitolas of a similar size were released! Not a size that would catch my attention, I decided to put the two Limitada mini-piramides is the test.

The Romeo y Julieta Petit Piramide was released in 2005, being the 5th Limited Edicion vitola of the brand in successive years. Measuring 127 by 50 ring gauge, it was an innovative size at the time, and was released in dress boxes of 10 and 25. The Boilvar Petit Belicoso on the other hand was released in 2009 and was the first Limited Edition Bolivar. Measuring 125 by 52 ring gauge, the Bolivar is marginally shorter than the RyJ, but with a larger ring gauge. Both these cigars have had some time to rest, with the Petit Pyramid having a four year advantage, and its time to burn them up and see how good those mini-piramides are.

Romeo y Julieta Petit Piramide EL 2005

Appearance & Construction 13 /15

The Romeo y Julieta Petit Piramide is a very well constructed cigar. It’s highlight has to be its wrapper, with its warm reddish tone and the brown freckles. Oily and smooth, the wrapper has some veins along its length, and a strong, fruity aroma of red apples. The bunch is solid, but the cigar feels light to touch. Prelight draw is good.

Flavour & Body 21 / 25

The initial draw gives a punch of strong, woody flavours with a touch of charcoal. After a minute or two, the cigar calms down, maybe a little too much, with earthy and woody flavours. The body is surprisingly mild and the flavours seem to have no real depth. On the second third, the flavours get slightly amplified. Medium body, with an array of forest flavours; earth, wood, grass and wild flowers, but still not strong enough for me. In the last third some more flavours join in the mix, with cedar, coffee and chestnut closely following the predominant earthy taste. Although the cigar showed some complexity, its mildness did not really match to what you would expect in an Edicion Limitada.

Draw & Burn 20 / 25

The draw is on the tight side all the way through, with the cigar not delivering enough smoke. The burn is even, but very slow. The ash is flaky, dark grey in colour, and falls off quite often, almost in every half inch. On the last third the cigar becomes even harder to keep lit, with several touchups required, as well as a faster smoking pace.

Overall 30 / 35

The Romeo y Julieta Petit Piramide is a cigar that definately looks great. It is not however for the smoker that prefers an intense cigar rather than a milder one. It shows some complexity, the flavours though seem muted. Not great for an Edicion Limitada that has now been on the shelves for five years. It could however appeal to people with different taste than mine, or maybe Habanos could consider re-releasing them in an aluminium 5 pack, as the sucessor of the ladie’s favourite Julietas!

Total 84 / 100

Bolivar Petit Belicoso EL 2009

Appearance & Construction 13 / 15

The Bolivar is a beautiful cigar, with a smooth, oily brown wrapper that has very little veins. The bunch is solid, without any softer spots or knots. With a close look on the foot, the cigar looks overfilled and feels heavier than its rival. “Not another plugged one…” I mumble. A snip on the tip of the torpedo and, surprisingly, the prelight draw is perfect.

Flavour & Body 20 / 25

There is a lot going on in this cigar, from the very first draw, where bitter espresso fills your mouth. A couple of puffs later, the Petit Belicoso settles down. Complex flavours of coffee, wood and peat are noticeable, with a long and spicy finish, with tones of black  pepper. On the second third, the cigar changes profile completely. It turns sweeter, with toffee and chocolate kicking in, while wood and peat are still there, but less noticeable. The finish is also warmer, and reminds me of white pepper. The last third is not the cigar’s forte; an acidic taste appears and settles in, becoming stronger as you get nearer to the butt, accompanied by not-so pleasant flavours of ash and coal! An early finish, not a good one, in a cigar that showed some promise at start…

Draw & Burn 22 / 25

The draw is very good all the way through. The burn is even, with good combustion, helping the cigar to deliver plenty of smoke. The ash is thick and solid, light grey in colour, and reaches more than an inch in length. Towards the end, it gets harder to keep it lit and the cigar does not deliver as much smoke as it did on the start. With the lighter on hand, I managed to smoke up until the last inch -which is about a quarter of the cigar thrown away!

Overall 29 / 35

I have smoked a few petit belicosos since they came out, around this time last year, and i have to say that I haven’t enjoyed any of them. It is a decent cigar, with some complexity, it looks good, it draws very well and it burns evenly. Is that enough to justify the Edicion Limitada label and its price tag? My answer is no… I would rather spend my money on the bigger Belicoso Fino and buy a pint with the change!  Although it started well and promising, the finish was bad. If it was a double corona, you would think “ah well, at least I got an hour’s enjoyment out of the half cigar”. But in this Nub-style Bolivar, half of the cigar is only about 30 minutes of smoking time. I hope they get better with time, because right now they don’t really worth the dosh!

TOTAL 84 / 100

Interestingly, I managed to score both cigars with the same score. Although both cigar looked great, their tasting profiles had some problems in both. The Bolivar started smoking well but then started the decline, while the Romeo didn’t really get going for me at all! The size did not seem to help any of the two cigars either. The Romeo on the one hand could have been helped by a larger ring gauge and some more tobacco stuffed in it, while the Bolivar would have been a lot better if it was… a Petit Belicoso size. I could not recommend any of the two, but if I had to choose one, I would go for the Bolivar, simply for the fact that it was enjoyable until the halfway mark. Thats not to say that the Romeo was bad, it was just not good enough as you would expect from a Limited Edition.