Sosa Wavell natural/maduro 5x50 Review

[KASR]

Introducing the Sosa. It is a Dominican cigar made in the Fuente factory under the supervision of Juan Sosa, one of the most respected cigar craftsman in the industry. Sosa is made with Dominican filler and binder with an Ecuador Sumatra wrapper and is known for its consistent quality and rich, smooth taste. Packed in cedar boxes of 25.


(that's my wife holding it...before you make a comment admiring my pretty nails darnit!)

OK, now that I got the particulars out of the way - let's REALLY talk about the cigar...

Inspection: The presentation of the stick was very nice, veiny, with its dark maduro wrapper. I was really looking forward to smoking this stick.

LIGHTING: Lighting the stick was easy as pie - it flamed up very nicely and the first draw was smooth and consistent.

First Third: This cigar was actually more mild than I thought it was. From what I understand, this cigar was supposed to medium to full flavor - especially since I opted for the maduro over the natural shade wrapper. A mellow, yet thick earthy tone was consistent the whole way through. Hints of a nice nutty aroma was perfect throughout - and the stick burned nice and cool the entire time. The draw was easy, providing a great plume of smoke everytime. The burn was consistent and even and never did I once have to re-light the stick. Maybe I'm just getting better at smoking it!

2nd Third: The cigar was cool and true even past the two inch mark. More flavor came through towards this portion of the cigar and alittle dryness was hitting my tongue - not from the cigar, but from the lack of having anything substantial to drink. I grabbed a water and wetted my whistle.

Last Third: With a little over an inch and half to go, the stick started to turn. The insides, burned a bit from the steady draws was no giving the stick a burned flavor - to which I decided to stop pursuing a constant, flavorful experience and placed the cigar down to die a respectful and dignified death.

Rating: 3-4 out of 5. Overall this was a very pleasant stick to smoke - I didn't have to fight with it that much or keep track of what I was drinking or needing something to munch on. One thing I did notice was how superbly the cigar was crafted - from the ash perfectly forming and falling, to the thick smoke each draw produced: this was a good cigar.

Flavor: as mentioned before, this maduro was alittle more mild than I would have preferred. When compared to a Camacho Coyolar or Diploma - even a La Gloria...this stick seemed pretty tame. But for tonight, that seem to suit me just fine, so in essence it was the perfect stick for the evening.

Burn/Ash: In my overall rating, I mention how well constructed this stick was. The ash was white and true and the first fallen ash uncovered a nicely burning cherry underneath. The craftman really knew what he was doing when he bound this one together

Buyability: Great. This is a great all-time smoker for the initiated...not that I am really one of those people - but I truly felt that if I could enjoy this stick, then someone with a more developed palate would have no problem having this stick in the early A.M. I plan on stocking a handful of these gems in the humidor and feel confident that it will compliment the collection perfectly. I would even send this stick on a bombing run or two....so look out!!!

Thanks for reading!


KASR

[Ermo]

Sounds good. Maybe I'll have to get one at the B&M.

[Poriggity]

Had one at my local shop yesterday, and I am planning on buying a box now.. I really loved it.
Mine was a Natural Pyramides #2 though.
Scott

[MCSmarties]

I just had a Sosa wavell natural yesterday and was VERY impressed.
My friendly local BM had picked it out for me, I paid $5.50 + tax.

Not to repeat exactly what KASR said earlier, here's my take on this Dominican robusto.

The wrapper is finely veined, looks like smooth brown leather with an nice oily sheen.
Even though it doesn't mean anything on the quality of the smoke, I think Sosa's huge band
is one of the prettiest I've seen. Strangely enough, their regular band looks actually more ornate
than their "special" (exclusive or super selection) ones!

Toasted the foot and lit it with my Nibo royal 44. Was fairly quick to light but not even all around,
had to touch it up a couple of times. After that, the burn was SUBLIME (more on that later).

The first inch or so had a very mild body but was already pretty flavorful and mellow.
After that, it became pure bliss. A very rich, creamy, smooth coffee aroma developed
(like a genuine italian Cappucino, topped with a nutty tinge) that lasted throughout the stick.

The draw was easy but not loose, ash stayed perfectly rigid for over an inch.
It produced fairly copious amounts of bright blue smoke and smelled like heaven!

And then, just as I was lost in my own little paradise, it started to rain!
Buckets of water, actually. I was sitting on the little uncovered balcony outside my apartment.
It got windy so I couldn't sit at the open window and let the smoke drift out.
Of course I'm not allowed to smoke inside (not that I'd want to anyway).
I cursed myself for not having settled onto the front porch and wasn't about to
carry a lit cigar + ashtray through the entire building... in short here I was,
getting drenched and trying to keep his wonderful cigar alive!

Well guess what: it NEVER went out on me. Despite my best attempts at shielding it, the
cigar did get hit with many big drops of water. The wrapper got pretty wet, there was gusty
wind - but the flavor remained very good and the burn almost perfectly even!
Truly a small miracle of construction IMO (then again, I'm not an experienced in-the-rain
smoker, so maybe that's normal for any good cigar... but I doubt it)

In the last third, a hint of spice showed up. The cigar became mellow and warm of course
but didn't burn hot - maybe the rain actually helped there! Hmmm, maybe I'm onto something...
finely ist your cigar with water while you smoke for a better experience?

Unlike KARS' experience, it never turned sour on me.
I finally had to let it go with less than 3/4" left (and change clothes, did I mention I got soaked?).

Overall, I liked this cigar very, very much. It was pretty flavorful for a mild-medium body and
easy to smoke - I think both a newbie like me and an experienced smoker would enjoy it.
Box prices online range $75-110, single sticks are more difficult to find and sell for about $4.

[Greenwit]

Very timely reviews! "Today's Cigar" had this one featured last weekend and I bit on it.

http://www.todayscigar.com/store/index/82

Should be getting it the next day or so. I remember buying a box of these many years ago and enjoying them. Wonder if I'll be reminded of the taste when these new ones arrive.

[MCSmarties]

Hey, thanks for that link!

Not sure what leather is supposed to taste like (I wear the stuff, I don't eat it )
but yeah, I guess there was some cocoa in it as well.

Hmmm... must... not... yield... to... temptation...