Murcielago Churchill

[Don Fernando]

I guess I got this cigar back in 2012 when I met Eric Espinosa at a small party at the Miami cigar lounge El Clique where I was hanging with Frank Herrera, Jonathan Drew, Jorge from Havana Sabor and some friends and since then the brand has disappeared and reappeared but with a rebranded logo and a little changed blend because Espinosa and his business parter Eddie Ortega parted ways after Rocky Patel discontinued distributing EO brands, or maybe Rocky Patel stopped because Eddie and Eric wanted to part ways, I don’t know all I know is that Espinosa now has a great factory, La Zona, in Esteli and gained control over the Murcielago brand.

But since this is the old blend I figure this one comes from the My Father factory where EO brands had their cigars made before La Zona started, but that’s no disqualification because My Father Cigars is one of the best factories in my opinion, yet La Zona is great too, uncomparable by size and location, My Father Cigars is impressive and the flow within the buildings is so well thought off yet La Zona has the charme of an old building, the coziness of a small factory and the best deck in the whole of Esteli to enjoy a cigar although the deck at Drew Estate isn’t too shabby either.

The 7 1/8×48 long cigar looks beautiful yet the Mexican binder in rough and that creates a very uneven surface underneath the oily and dark Mexican San Andres wrapper, that is pretty though without any real veins, just a few baby ones. The construction feels good and the cap is placed perfectly. My initial thought when I saw the ring was ‘Bacardi” because of the red background and the black bat. On top is says espinosa y ortega and murcielago at the bottom surrounded by a golden ring. Simple yet functional, but that Bacardi feel …. i’m not a Bacardi fan, for years I said I didn’t like rum because the only rum I tried was Bacardi and I missed out on some great stuff because of that. The cigar has a medium strong aroma that is a mix between manure and smokey wood, almost charred.

I cut the cigar and the cold draw is great with a peppery, mild acidic, raisin flavor. Right after lighting I taste coffee with some chocolate. The chocolate is growing a little stronger with pepper and some wood. Suddenly I taste a strong barbecue wood flavor with a hint of chocolate and a strong peppery aftertaste. After a third I also taste some mint with the pepper. Halfway the main flavor is wood with a faint chocolate flavor, with pepper and a fresh aftertaste. The pepper is slowly taking over. The last part starts with a peppery wood with still a faint chocolate. The pepper grows stronger and stronger and it might be the most peppery finish I ever tasted in a cigar.

The draw is great, the smoke is medium thick and medium in volume. The light colored ash is dense and quite firm. The burn is great, straight as an arrow. This is a full bodied and full flavored cigar, Nicaragua at its strongest but well balanced. The smoke time is little over two hours.

Would I buy this cigar again? I need to smoke the new blend, but would love some of these old ones too.

Score: 92
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