Sibling Rivalry Part Deux: ECCJ - The Brothers View

[themadurokid]

Illusione ECCJ

Size: 5 5/8 X 46
Wrapper: Nicaragua
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua

It’s been awhile since my last review but…I’M BACK to duke it out with my big brother once again!!! Here’s my take on my first Illusione, the ECCJ! Let’s get down to business.

Appearance: This stick has a beautiful dark auburn wrapper, almost like the lacquered chest I’m typing on, a few veins, but no soft spots to touch.

Prelight: Great draw, perfect resistant, with a faint taste of sweet hay and turbinado sugar.

Light: DAMN! The flavors crank up incredibly! As I toast the foot, I feel like a toddler getting blitzed by a pro linebacker!

First Draw: Caramel and espresso start beating the crap out of my tastebuds, and are soon joined by toasted nuts and cream.

First third: The cream blends with the caramel and nuts creating a nougetty flavor. The cigar starts building a muddled grey ash. The aroma of this thing is sick. One second I’m getting a little cedar, and BAM! Black walnut chunks me in the nose! It’s playing with me. Sticking and moving. I messed around and let it go out, but, to my delight, when I re-lit the flavors picked up with the momentum of a runaway train! I don’t usually like re-lighting, but with this stick, I’m tempted to recommend it. A few minutes after this, Hazelnut decided to join the party and grooved her way down the soul train line with her girl “Ceda”. She slipped behind the crowd when reached the end, but Ceda stayed behind to entice me with here moves.
Second third: As we approach the 2nd third, I notice just how creamy and smooth this smoke is. Espresso hangs in the background, and the nuttiness is still there as well. It’s accompanied by some spice and fruit. The combination reminds me of the White House cinnamon applesauce I used to devour as a kid. I’m pretty impressed with the burn on this stick. I have about an inch and a half of ash and it’s burning pretty sharp as well. Ashing it not to long after this revealed a perfectly formed cherry.
Halfway: I’m getting toasted nuts, espresso, caramel, butter, and cedar all balancing beautifully in the rich creamy smoke. I just realize that I haven’t spit once. At this point, I can’t find anything to complain about with this stoagie. When I exhale through the nose, I get a combo of butter, apple, and raisin that reminds me of my grandmother’s bread pudding without all the sugar.
Final Third: In the final third, the cedar has begun to dominate the other flavors. The sugar has faded. The toasted nuts, espresso, earth and butter all remain though, as well as the spice, but the spice has grown noticeably faint. I can already tell, however, that I will soon be nubbing the crap out of this thing! As we enter the homestretch, the espresso, cedar, toasted nuts, and cedar are still going strong. Each draw has the same clean finish it has had since the start of the race. This thing STILL tastes fantastic! Had my camera not died on me, you may have gotten a sh*t and a giggle out of seeing me burn the tips of my fingers trying squeeze every last drop of goodness out of this stoagie! The damn thing had me looking like I was smoking ash! Well that about wrapped it up folks. As much as I liked the cigar, I don't think another puff would've worth the second degree throat burns.
Conclusion: This was a dang good cigar! Had a great draw, pillows of smooth velvety smoke, a nice burn, and the flavors did not disappoint. If you can get your hands on one, please do! You won’t regret it. Thanks for reading…The Maduro Kid

[lakeside toker]

Great review and pics. I love these. Wish I would have bought more than one box.

[themadurokid]

Originally Posted by lakeside toker

Great review and pics. I love these. Wish I would have bought more than one box.

Thanks brother. You're definitely not alone on that thought! I'm gonna see if I can't find some more of these...if that doesn't work I might have to talk my brother into selling me some of his!

[Starz26]

So I just picked up a box from OCT 08 and compared it to another box from sep 08. The sep box has the "15th" on the top and the Oct box does not. The Oct box is a little bigger. Anyone else notice this?

Oh, completely agree with the review. GREAT smoke!