These hit the dock about 2 months ago, I loved the original box-pressed El Mejor, albeit slightly inconsistent but they were a hearty Nicaraguan puro with a beautiful and tasty Nicaraguan maduro wrapper. Now that they seem to have fallen off the face of the earth, this new "Espresso"-version appeared. The fact that it was called "Espresso" scared me for some reason, but now I'm smacking my head against the wall wondering why I didn't sprint to the dock when they appeared. "You idiot!" I've said to myself 20 times (after each cigar) as I burned through a whole bundle of the torpedos last week.

About 2 weeks ago, I was scanning the website and saw that 3 out of 4 sizes were already out of stock. Wait a second, could that be correct, they just came in??? Something doesn't smell right, could I have just missed a true bargain, our customers finding them out before I did. So, I reached deep into my nickel jar (and for about $2 a stick, I didn't have to reach far) to try for myself a sample or two of this strange phenomenon. Needless to say, those two didn't last long and I was quickly hoarding my own supply before the vultures cleared out the Torpedo size as well.

This is a genuine winner, the term "Espresso" characterizes its coffee-bean dark and oily Mexican maduro wrapper, there's no flavoring as the name might imply. Square-pressed much like the original, the gentle draw and ease of which you capture the complete flavor of this blend fills your senses quickly. The maduro wrapper offers a sweet start and spicy finish that lingers. The body is soft to medium with a delightful sweet aroma that quickly fills the room. I sense a slight coffee undertone, attributed to the typical richness of Nicaraguan and Honduran tobaccos. And rich it is, like smoking a Guinness Stout, so if you like your cigars flavorless and ultra-gentle, skip this one. That's not to say it's strong, quite the opposite actually. You could smoke these all day without impairing your equilibrium.

These probably go enormously well with a hearty steak dinner, personally I paired it with a cheese-steak lunch and I couldn't be happier. The most wonderful aspect of this cigar is that the flavor holds steady throughout. Lately, I've been looking less for a cigar that "changes" as you smoke it. Perhaps I'm getting old and boring, but consistent has been more appealing to me. I like to know my slippers are in the same spot I left them this morning, so when I pick it up again after 5 minutes, I like to know it's the same it was before I set it down.

I'm not sure how this slipped my bargain-hunting paws, but I'm psyched to have been enlightened by a beauty that caught me off-guard. It'll never happen again, I promise.

Spark'em up,
Gonz