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Man O' War Ruination 10th Anniversary

Description

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10 years of ruining the competition!

Man O’ War first marched out of AJ Fernandez’s factory ten years ago, and took the CI Nation by storm. Ever since the mighty flavors and bold blends entered our territory, we’ve been glad to quarter them in homes without putting up a fight. And when our scouts gave word that a new blend was on the rise, we gathered the troops and got ready to snatch as many as we could.

The Man O’ War Ruination 10th Anniversary is a sight to behold. It all starts with the Ecuador Habano wrapper leaf, dark enough to blot out the sun. This imposing leaf is wrapped around a core of Nicaraguan and Honduran Ligero, bursting with power, earthy & leathery notes, and spice. This blend is full-bodied and ready to wage war on the competition, so if you like heavy cigars, add these to your cart before they’re gone! 


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Size
Pack
In Stock
MSRP
Price
Qty
Cart
Profile
Shape
Gordo
Wrapper
Ecuador Sungrown
Origin
Nicaragua
Flavored
False
Pressed
True
Has Tip
False
Binder
Nicaraguan
Filler
Honduran,  Nicaraguan
Sweet
False
Box-Pressed Gordo (6.0"x60)
Box of 10
In Stock
$154.00
| save $38.01 25% off
$115.99
Profile
Shape
Gordo
Wrapper
Ecuador Sungrown
Origin
Nicaragua
Flavored
False
Pressed
True
Has Tip
False
Binder
Nicaraguan
Filler
Honduran,  Nicaraguan
Sweet
False
Box of 10 + Lighter
In Stock
$193.99
| save $73.00 38% off
$120.99
Profile
Shape
Gordo
Wrapper
Ecuador Sungrown
Origin
Nicaragua
Flavored
False
Pressed
True
Has Tip
False
Binder
Nicaraguan
Filler
Honduran,  Nicaraguan
Sweet
False
Profile
Shape
Gordo
Wrapper
Ecuador Sungrown
Origin
Nicaragua
Flavored
False
Pressed
True
Has Tip
False
Binder
Nicaraguan
Filler
Honduran,  Nicaraguan
Sweet
False
Box-Pressed Gordo (6.0"x60)
Pack of 5
Backordered
$77.00
| save $9.01 12% off
$67.99
Profile
Shape
Gordo
Wrapper
Ecuador Sungrown
Origin
Nicaragua
Flavored
False
Pressed
True
Has Tip
False
Binder
Nicaraguan
Filler
Honduran,  Nicaraguan
Sweet
False
overall rating 4.78 out of 5 True { } True { } True { } Based on 269 Ratings
Customer Reviews of "Man O' War Ruination 10th Anniversary"
5 out of 5
5 Star
218
4 out of 5
4 Star
43
3 out of 5
3 Star
8
2 out of 5
2 Star
0
1 out of 5
1 Star
0
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Jacob J.

The 10th Year's the Charm

Jacob J.

Sadistic satisfaction for the serious stogie chomper.

Look, I’ll be honest. I love tobacco. I smoke pretty much constantly from when I wake up to when I go to bed, and I like to follow the great Mark Twain’s advice when it comes to cigars: “Eating and sleeping are the only activities that should be allowed to interrupt a man's enjoyment of his cigar”. If it’s waking hours in Pennsylvania, you can bet I’ve got a cigar or a pipe fired up in my hand. 

Naturally, this means I generally gravitate to more full-bodied selections. I’ve been smoking for a good long time now, but until I got snagged by Cigars International from a small b&m in Arizona I haven’t tried too many of the CI Nation favorites. It’s not that I had anything against them (we’re all just retailers trying to bring an amazing product to people who will appreciate it, after all) it’s just that they had never really crossed my radar. Fast forward to March of 2019, and I’m pretty much settled into a great new career with CI when the Man O’ War Ruination 10th Anniversary crosses my desk. I knew this brand had a reputation for being on the stronger side, so I couldn’t wait to get it lit.

Before this, I had never tried the original Ruination, or any Man O’ War for that matter. I knew they’re made by AJ Fernandez, and AJ had already scored a few places in my ‘Top 20’ regular rotation list (it’s hard for me to pare it down to less than 20). I also knew as soon as I cracked the cellophane that I had been doing myself a major disservice by not seeking this brand out sooner. The wrapper is a deep hickory-brown Ecuador Habano leaf showing an almost perfectly uniform color, with very finely gritty oils and almost no veins or seams to be seen. It’s almost hard to get a good look at because this things absorbs light like a black hole. My sample is very hard to the touch with a fairly sharp box-press, showing corners but no hard edges. I like candy-bar box-pressed cigars so sharp you could cut yourself on them, and this isn’t quite that defined but it is close. 

The aroma from the foot is surprisingly muted, with some dark fruit and leather just barely apparent. Ditto for the wrapper, but with more of chocolate-wood note. It also made me sneeze, which is always an indication that a cigar will suit my tastes. I opted for a straight-cut, and the cold draw is creamy with a touch of vanilla sweetness, and a background of chocolate, leather, and earth that leaves a peppery sensation on the lips. 

This stick takes a bit of patience to light, but your patience will certainly pay off. I lit carefully to avoid overheating the foot, and was greeted right off the bat with a fair amount of spice at the tip of the tongue, slowly radiating to every part of my palate with every subsequent puff. The flavor profile is dominated by a sort of woodsy-savoriness, with lots of tree bark and barbecue notes and a constant undercurrent of pepper and earth. The smoke production is solid, and I can retrohale about half the smoke for a distinctive extra dimension of charred wood and cream.

The profile loses a lot of its edge and the strength begins to dwindle approaching the second third. There's a nutty note that slowly moves toward the up-front flavors, and the toastiness evolves into more of a smooth graham-cracker note. 

The dense white & black stacked ash clung for an impressive 2 ½ inches before falling with an audible plop into my ashtray, the burn remained razor sharp while building the next 2 inches. I’m very happy with the quality of construction of this sample, especially considering the larger ring gauge, since 60+ usually gives me less-than-stellar performance. No touchups or relights required at all, making this a very relaxing cigar conducive to kicking back and getting comfy. 

Past the halfway point, the flavors are mostly savory and earthy, with a deep chocolatey finish. There is also a subtle emergence of mineral/graphite notes, which is a common thread among almost all of my favorites. The profile in the final third of the Ruination 10th Anniversary exhibit a perfect balance of cream, earth, and graphite. I’m surprised toward the nub by a bit of an herbal, almost tea-like note, seated firmly in the background and barely detectable.

It’s been a long time since I’ve had a cigar that burns well all the way down to the finger burnin’ nub, but I found myself poking a match into the side so I could keep on puffing on it after it was too small to hold. I finally toss it in the ashtray with about a half inch left, an hour and 45 minutes after I first put the flame to the foot.

Overall, I greatly enjoyed my experience with the Man O’ War Ruination 10th Anniversary, and can now safely say that I’ll be putting in an order for the some of their other lines.


Scott W.

History Was Not My Favorite Subject…

Scott W.

Let’s face it, we all have our preferences for brands and manufacturers. Our store regulars at CI Hamburg can probably tell you that mine are, in no particular order, AJ Fernandez, Southern Draw, Perdomo, and Padron. I have to admit, though, that I have sometimes bought a cigar just because it has a catchy name. The original Man O’ War Ruination by AJ Fernandez happens to be one of those cigars, and by getting caught in that simple trap, I found myself with a new addition to my go-to cigar lineup. I wondered, would the 10th Anniversary Ruination join that list, or would my expectations for the blend end up being ruined?

This box-pressed gordo is wrapped in a dark, oily, Ecuadorian Sungrown Habano wrapper. Soft leather and sweet aromas waft off the wrapper, while the aromas I get at the foot give a spicy warning that this is not the standard Ruination blend, but one intending to have more heft to it. Fair enough. Seeing that the blend has Nicaraguan and Honduran ligeros in the filler has me wondering just how strong this cigar is going to be. I have to admit, the broad ring has the coolest color combo to date in the Man O’ War lineup. A stunner, indeed. I want one poster-sized, signed by AJ, and framed for my man cave, if I am ever allowed to have one.

I give the cigar a straight cut with my twin guillotine cutter and toast the foot. I am greeted by softly tanned leather, natural sweetness, earth, and gently warmed yet creamy cedar on the palate. The retrohale delivers sweet cedar, white pepper, and sweet baking spices. I am genuinely shocked at how well-balanced everything is, and I am barely ½ inch into this cigar. The body of the cigar is definitely full, but the smoke has a creaminess to it that I am not used to getting on most of the full-bodied cigars I have enjoyed, which I am hoping will not work to deceive me as I am gauging this cigar’s strength. The draw is nothing short of perfect, by the way, which is always appreciated.

Honduran tobacco seems to be a double-edged sword for my palate. I have had blends heavy on it that seem to bring unpleasant bitterness that overwhelms the other flavors, while other Honduran-heavy blends have no trace of it whatsoever. This cigar is showing none of the bitterness noted above, but I am guessing that it is providing some of the earthiness in the cigar. Whatever the case may be, the blend works very well, and the flavors have remained balanced and consistent as the first 3rd winds up. Construction and burn are very good thus far.

The band is quite broad on this cigar, so I decide to remove it as I begin the second 3rd. No major changes present themselves, but I am beginning to notice the strength beginning to climb. The blend did say ligeros (plural), after all, so that is not coming as a huge surprise. This cigar is not for those desiring an hour or less of smoking time, as I am halfway through the cigar in just over an hour. While that is certainly less time than the 6 Day War between Israel, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan in June of 1967, you still want to plan for more time than less if you want to enjoy a Ruination 10th Anniversary. 

One thing I have been thinking about is what beverage I would enjoy with this cigar. Something sweet, spicy, and having a woody note to it as well… a bourbon… like Elijah Craig. I can see the notes of each being very complimentary to each other…like Bogie and Bacall, Sonny and Cher, and Shaq and Kobe. Well, maybe not Shaq and Kobe…

Entering the final 3rd after an hour and a half, the strength continues to build. I notice a creamy coffee note joining the other flavors, and I am struck by how well it is balanced against them. In my opinion, far too many cigars with higher proportions of ligero are overly peppery and coat my palate with an oily sensation, but this blend is doing none of that. I don’t like to overuse the word “refined”, but that is exactly what this cigar has been as it has burned. When a manufacturer designates a blend as an Anniversary blend, I feel that you should be getting something special, not just having an excuse to use that word and slapping it on the product. AJ has definitely created something special here! 

It’s not a trap to see the words “10th Anniversary” on this cigar, but if somehow, in some way it is, it’s a trap you want to get caught in. Over and over again. Get more than one of these, get a 5-pack, a box, or more… consider yourself ruined if you don’t!

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