Taboo Limited Reserve Havana

Brand: Taboo
Cigar: Limited Reserve Havana
Shape: Figurado
Size: 6.5" x 54
Wrapper: Nicaraguan
Filler: Dominican
Binder: ?
Price: $6.99

Appearance: 8
Construction: 7
Taste: 7
Value: 8
Overall: 7

I picked up a sampler that included the three different wrappers of the new Limited Reserve line from Taboo Cigars -- Connecticut, Havana, and Maduro -- all in the unusual figurado shape. Today I decided to light up the Havana and give it a whirl.

The appearance of the cigar is pretty good with a medium colored wrapper tapering to the ends of the figurado. There was one big vein running down the length of the cigar that was a bit off-putting but all in all it's a nice looking cigar.

Pre-light aroma was leathery and the cigar had a very solid almost heavy feel. It was hard to get it lit as the draw was very tight at first but things loosened up after it got going. There were some major burn issues at the start with the burn line cutting almost a V shape up one side of the cigar. Quite a bit of touching up with the torch was required to get things nice and straight again.

Initial flavors were very mild with leather and smoky wood flavors and aroma. As smoking progressed the faint hint of dried fruit appeared but in general the cigar remained fairly consistent tasting from beginning to end. I detected no spice or pepper flavors and the cigar packed very little kick so I would classify it as a mild smoke.

After the difficulties at the start I was glad to find that the Taboo LR Havana figurado held together nicely right to the nub. The draw remained a bit tight but I had no trouble keeping the cigar lit and the smoke flowing. The smoke that was produced was fairly light and dispersed quickly.

The figurado is a nice fat cigar and I was content to leave it in my mouth most of the time while smoking. It has a real nice feel to it and at no point was I worried that all my chomping would cause it to unravel. This cigar can take some serious abuse it would seem.

One thing of note is that the cigar while being very mild on the palate has a wonderful aftertaste. I can't quite put my finger on what the flavor is but I was in no hurry to rush off to the normal post smoke routine of teeth brushing and mouth rinsing.

The Taboo Limited Reserve Havana figurado is a unique looking cigar and makes for an enjoyable smoke. I can't say that the mild flavor profile is my cup of tea but now I'm eager to try out the Connecticut and Maduro wrappers. I would love to have some of these LR figurados on hand so now I just need to settle on which of the three I like the best.