Ernesto's Humidor No.1 Edicion Colorado

Okay... So we continue the journey with the second of a trio of cigars offered by E.P. Carrillo. The first offering, the Connecticut, was nice. But it left me wanting a little more. Next up is the Edicion Colorado.

The nuts & bolts:
Wrapper - Ecuadorian Sumatra
Binder - Nicaragua
Filler - Nicaragua
Size - 6 inches x 54 ring gauge

Giving this vitola the once over, I pass it underneath my nose and get a heavy dose of barnyard hay - a somewhat heavy, decadent scent. The wrapper has a reddish hue along with a fair amount of tooth on the surface. It has a nice firm feel to it, with no soft spots and just the right amount of give when squeezed between thumb and forefinger. I decide to use a v-cut, and slice the cap cleanly. Taking a cold draw, I get a sweetness in the draw with a hint of red pepper - very promising.

Lighting up, I am greeted by a large volume of smoke and a full yet balanced combination of sweetness, espresso and black pepper. The first few puffs give a fairly powerful dose of flavor and kick. Right out of the gate, I am enjoying the hell out of this cigar. The flavor, body and strength are all what I would classify as solid medium to just south of medium-full, and very well balanced. There are notes of caramel in the background dancing around the main players of espresso and pepper.

After the first inch, the pepper subsides a bit as the caramel note evolves into more of a bread and toasted almond flavor. The burn, so far, has been spot on. 

As I enter the middle portion of the cigar, the flavors and strength remain steady and true, with the espresso and bread flavors maintaining their dominance. But now, an additional creaminess creeps in. Nearing the halfway point, the burn begins to waver just a bit, but quickly corrects itself with no need for any touch-ups.

Past the midway point and beginning to enter the final third of the cigar, there is a slight shift in the strength, which ramps up to medium-full. The flavors shift a bit as well, with a cedar character revealing itself while still maintaining a nice balance with the espresso, almond, bread and pepper already present. The ash is a mottled medium-grey and firm.

The draw on this cigar has been superb throughout, and remains so all the way to the end. Nearing the end, some of the complexity subsides, but the cigar never turns bitter. The strength ends up being medium-full-plus at its zenith, with the body and flavor reaching the upper side of medium-full. I finally lay the cigar down to fade away peacefully as I think to myself, "So THIS is what Ernesto smokes." Very cool!

In retrospect, while I found I found the Connecticut edicion to be okay, this Edicion Colorado really lived up to the 'hype', and provided the experience which I was expecting and looking forward to - a complex, very rich and flavorful smoke with nice balance. I would gladly buy a box of these or, at the very least, make a point to keep several in the humidor to enjoy on a regular basis.

I'd give the Colorado a solid 3 out of 4 stars!