A Brief Cigar Review - Don Benigno

Hand-made in Costa Rica, Don Benigno cigars are quite popular in Great Britain and in South America, much like Padron Anniversary’s in the United States. The tobacco origin and makeup is not easy to find, nor are the cigars themselves, at least this is true for the USA. Don Benigno were recommended to me by Steem user @ats-david, he mentioned how his friend enjoyed them. Time for me to try my first.

Wrapper: Not disclosed
Binder: Not disclosed
Filler: Not disclosed
Vitola: 6.5 x 42 Cervantes  
Price: $8.50

Pre-light

The milk caramel hued wrapper has a light sheen of oils, and is smooth as silk. It appears to be perfectly constructed, and probably is considering a punch cut provides an ideally loose draw in this small ring gauge stick. 

The diligence of the cigar roller is exhibited by the way the front of the cigar is flawless, compared to the back where the leaf is a little less uniform. Presentation is important, not only in appearance, but it shows there is care during the cigar creating process. It reminds me of a chef assembling a dinner plate, he presents it as artwork, while hiding imperfections. Sure it may taste the same all slopped together, but the experience would suffer. 

The pre-light aroma has a light sweet raisin note, while the cold draw gives a wheaty note plus the same raisin. 

Flavors and Smoke

The flavors develop as quite a mellow profile. The main nuances of toasted almond, cedar, a hint of chocolate, and a hot pepper much like cayenne, but I would not rate this as a spicy cigar so far. The pepper is hot but there is not a large amount of it, I can retro-hale the full draw with ease. There is ample smoke produced by the Don Benigno, although it is not a cloudy cigar, at least currently.

I recently heard from more than one casual source, that the Don Benigno has Cuban tobacco in it's blend. They do not advertise this as true, as it would result in the cigar being banned from the United States. 

I am capturing zero flavor nuances that are typical of Cuban tobacco, and the ash is quite light. Unlike the dark gray and black ash found on burning Cuban cigars, due to the soil mineral content in Cuba. Though I imagine it could contain a small amount.

The Don Benigno is burning at a brisk pace, which is neither good or bad, it simply took me by surprise. The burn line is perfectly razor sharp, the construction is impeccable.

The profile remains mostly mild and mellow without much change. The main notes still remain and overall have an earthy tone, but it all plays OK together, without an offensive overbearing note trying to control the flavor party. 

Closing in on the last bit, the strength of the Don Benigno has picked up slightly, but it's not incredibly noticeable. What has caught my attention, is the profile changing into a citrus and floral bouquet of flavor. There is an underlying sweetness that accompanies these flavors, and it compliments the spicy bite. 

There is hardly a lingering taste on my palate. This is a very crisp and clean smoke.   

Final thoughts:

The Don Benigno was much milder than I anticipated, this really threw me for a loop and I am not quite sure what to think exactly. I debated waiting until I smoked another to complete a more accurate review, but I can always revisit it, I bought a couple of each size. Don't get me wrong, the cigar was good, it seemed to lack something, or perhaps I did. The construction was A+, there wasn't any offensive notes, yet it left me wanting something more. I guess I am just hard to please today.

I have a feeling my palette was in need of a stronger flavored cigar after the steak dinner I made. I made matters worse by pairing this mild cigar with a coffee stout from a local brewery.

I need to revisit the Don Benigno with a proper pairing, and after a lighter dinner, or as a midday smoke. This goes to show choosing a cigar is dependent on more than just "eeny, meeny, miny, moe."

Anyway, if you’re the type of smoker who is constantly looking for something new and interesting to try, pick up a few Don Benigno. They are not widely known or available, but I found some at nhcigars.com.

My emoji rating for Don Benigno Cervantes: 🙂
(🤢😖☹️😕😐🙂😀😋🤗😍)

Smoke time: An hour and 20 minutes.
Cigar paired with: Three Creeks Coffee Stout (wrong pairing, way to dark)

Price opinion:  I would be more comfortable spending a couple dollars less.
Recommend/buy again? Probably

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