Gasparilla Pirate Churchill

[Don Fernando]

Now this is a mystery cigar to me, I don’t know where its made, who makes it (although I have an idea), what year it’s from, what the blend is and what the msrp is since I can’t find any information online about this cigar. Another mystery is how I got this cigar, I really have no idea. But all the mystery makes reviewing this cigar extra fun, since I don’t know what to expect, my opinion can’t be tainted by reading other reviews or people telling me about this stick.

All information I have is from the cigar ring, which says ‘henco a mano’ so it’s a handmade cigar and ‘Florida’ and that throws me off the trail on the manufacturer since a sticker on the glass tube mentions S. Plasencia Tobacco 1885 so I would have guessed Honduras or Nicaragua and as far as I know Plasencia doesn’t have a factory in Florida. The sticker also mentions “Gasparilla Pirate Fest, official collectible premium cigar” and on that info I did find that this cigar must have been given out or sold in Tampa at the Gasparilla Pirate Fest that is held there every year. And I have been in Tampa a few times, but never during the Pirate Fest, and that will probably never happen either, and I know for sure I haven’t bought this cigar during my visits there so its still a mystery how I got it.

The cigar comes in a glass tube, as mentioned before, with a transparent sticker with golden print that makes it hard to read. The size is 7×48 and the vitola is called Pirate. The cigar feels good although the triple cap shows some curves. The wrapper has a chocolate color and has a lot of tooth, it feels a bit like sandpaper. The ring is gold with a black circle and a white pirate ship in the circle. Under the black circle it says Gasparilla in black letters. Above the black circle there is a cutout in white with some green, red and golden party decorations. On the back the ring is red, green and gold with golden letters honcho a mano Florida. To be honest, the whole color scheme makes the cigar look tacky. And then the aroma, have you ever been to the toilet of a pub or venue at the end of the night, or the next morning before the cleaners did their job? If you have, then you know what I’m talking about. It’s strong but not pleasant.

I cut the cigar with my xikar cutter, the cold draw is good. I hardy taste anything, just a little dry tobacco. I lit the cigar with my soft flame and taste an acidic coffee. After three puffs I also taste a little sweetness. After half an inch it’s lemon with some honey and that’s it. After a third I still taste the lemon but now with a faint chocolate and some musty cedar. The final third is wood with a little bit of pepper.

The salt and pepper colored ash is not firm at all. The smoke is thin and medium in amount. The burn is good though, just like the draw. The cigar is medium bodied and medium flavored. The smoke time is a boring hour and forty five minutes.

Would I buy this cigar again? No! Boring! This is a typical event cigar for tourist who normally don’t smoke cigars. It’s not a bad cigar, just boring.

Score: 73

including pics: https://cigarguideorg.wordpress.com/...arilla-pirate/