Onyx Reserve Mini Belicoso

Country: Dominican Republic
Length/Ring: 5" x 52
Shape: Petite Belicoso
Wrapper: Maduro

Appearance: This was one firm, dark looking little box-pressed Belicoso. Though there were no pronounced veins present, this cigar is a tad on the rustic side, and a bit toothy. In general, it seemed well constructed, and evenly packed.

Pre Light: The cigar clipped easily, I clipped it very low on the tapered end and the prelight draw seemed fine, despite the small opening. The aroma of this unlit cigar is very earthy. Pre light draws had more of that earthiness, as well as some black pepper.

Burn/Draw: This really was one well constructed little belicoso. Even though I clipped really close to the point on this cigars, the draw was never an issue, and it produced decent amounts blue grey, cool smoke. The small space to draw through also did a good job of focusing the flavors on the palate, which added to the experience. Burn was solid and self correcting, did not have to touch up once. Over all, the burn and draw highlighted the good construction this cigar had.

Flavors: It seems to me, in reviews that I have read, that people seem to be pretty divided on the merits of the Onyx Reserve. Some people think they are quite tasty while others just don't seem to see what all the fuss is about. In my case, I guess I come out on the positive end of the spectrum. This is a middle of the road cigar, priced correctly with a middle of the road price. This cigar imparts dry notes on your palate, there is not much sweetness (if any) to this stogie at all. I wonder if this is why it garners such divisive opinions. The main note I got from this cigar is a rich earthiness. There were some other, less powerful notes that floated in and out (woodiness like a burning campfire, white pepper, richness like dark roasted coffee, and a note that I can't quite describe that seemed to trigger my saliva glands), but the base note of this cigar was solidy, earthy. I think this cigar makes for as good change of pace cigar, if you like something dry and earthy every now and again it just might be worth a try.

TomC