“One thing that doesn’t change is that the Cayuquero continues to showcase this limited line (Draig) as something special. “

#18 – Draig Cayuquero by Emilio Cigars

Coming in at #18 on the 2013 Cigar of the Year countdown is the Draig Cayuquero by Emilio Cigars.  This is the second installment in Emilio’s annual limited release Draig line.

Emilio Cigars becomes the first company in 2013 to place two cigars in the Cigar of the Year Countdown.  In addition, this marks the first cigar on this year’s countdown to use a Brazilian Arapiraca wrapper.  Finally the Cayuquero marks the second year in the row that a Draig blend has placed on the countdown.  In 2012, the Draig K finished as our #15 Cigar for that year.

The concept around the Draig line is to produce a small batch, limited production cigar – using a different factory and a different blend each year.   The Cayuquero is a completely different blend than 2012’s Draig K release.  The  Cayuquero’s Brazilian Araparica  is a shade lighter than many cigars I’ve seen with this wrapper.  This is because wrapper is also lighter for an Arapirica because it is fermented at a cooler temperature.

The Cayuquero delivers notes of chocolate sweet citrus, natural tobacco and what I termthe “Gary Griffith Signature Spice” – namely a unique herbal spice.  This herbal spice could be detected on the tongue and on the retro-hale.  The strength and body both start out medium to full and progressed to full in the second half

Click here for our pre-release assessment of the Draig Cayuquero.  Click here for when we provided an assessment rating and score.

Blend Profile

Wrapper: Brazilian Arapirica
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan

Vitolas Available

The Draig Cayuquero will be available in the same three frontmark formats as the Draig-K:

Corona: 5 1/2 x 42
Robusto: 5 x 50
Toro: 6 x 50
Torpedo: 6 x 50

Recommended Vitola: Toro
Score: 94 (11/15/13)
Assessment Rating: 4.0 – Box Worthy

For more information on our vision and criteria for the 2013 Cigar of the Year countdown, see our December 2013 Editor’s Corner.