Camacho Blackout Limited Edition 2013

Following the launch of its successful “Bold Standard” rebranding campaign, Camacho Cigars would announce the Camacho Blackout Limited Edition 2013.  This would become the brand’s first new line since the announcement of the “Bold Standard” campaign.  The Blackout is a limited production line that is being launched in five sizes.   The cigar was showcased at the 2013 IPCPR Trade Show and was launched this Fall.  Recently I’ve smoked this new release.  Overall I found this a cigar that does fit nicely into Camacho’s “Bold Standard” campaign, but more importantly will satisfy those cigar enthusiasts who have been happy when the brand’s direction.

There are two distinguishing factors of the Camacho Blackout Limited Edition 2013 – one is around the fact that it is using tobaccos from four different crop years. The other is around the fermentation process of the wrapper.

When we previewed the Camacho Limited Edition 2013, we described the tobacco crops used:

“The cigar will use tobaccos from four different years: Wrapper grown in 2006, binder from 2009, and fillers from 2003, 2008, 2009.  According to Camacho Cigars: ‘The rolled cigars where then aged together another 2-years, when the normal marrying process is normally just a few months.'”

Camacho also provided information on the fermentation process:

“(The) Wrapper, which was picked from the top 2/3’s of the plant, was fermented differently than most tobaccos. A process known as “press-fermentation” was used by placing additional weighton the top of the “pilones” (piles where the tobacco ferments), which intensifies the internal temperatures. The tobacco is worked hard, but carefully, then allowed a longer than usual resting period once packed in bales for aging. Leaves from the top 2/3’s of the plant get additional sun ripening, which boosts the level of sweetness with additional sugars being creating during the process of photosynthesis. The heavy oil noticed on this wrapper leaf is as a result of the plants natural defenses, protect itself by creating more oils to fend off the sun’s glare.”

In terms of how this cigar comes together, let’s take a closer look at the Camacho Blackout Limited Edition 2013:

Blend Profile

The Camacho Blackout Limited Edition 2013 is made at Agroinustrias Laepe S.A. in Honduras.  It features tobaccos from three countries:

Wrapper: Honduran
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Brazilian, Honduran, Nicaraguan

Vitolas Available

As mentioned, there are five vitolas in the line..  The cigars are packaged in boxes of 20.  There are 1,000 boxes per format for a total of 5,000 boxes and 100,000 cigars.

Robusto: 5 x 50
Toro: 6 x 50
Churchill: 7 x 48
Figuardo: 6 1/8 x 42 x 54
Gordo: 6 x 60

Appearance

For this cigar experience, I sampled the toro size of the Camacho Blackout Limited Edition 2013. The wrapper has a chocolate color  – with some darker marbling on it. The wrapper has a somewhat silky complexion to it.  There are some visible veins, but the cigar’s dark wrapper color does a good job at hiding the wrapper seams.

The Camacho Blackout Limited Edition 2013 features two bands.  The primary band is in the design limited edition bands now featured on Camacho Cigars.  The Blackout has a dark gray background with black font.  Featured prominently on the band is the text “BLACKOUT”.  It features a grid like pattern below the “BLACKOUT” text”. Below that is the text “THE LIMITED EDITION”.  Below that is the new CAMACHO style logo, and below that is the text “GUARD IT CAREFULLY”.  On the right side of the grid is the new Camacho Scorpion logo.  The remainder of the band has black adornments.

There is also a footer band with the dark gray color and black font.  It features the text “BUILD BOLD” along with some scorpion logos.

Preparation for the Cigar Experience

For my smoke of the Camacho Blackout Limited Edition 2013, I went with my usual choice of a straight cut.  After removing the cap, I commenced with the pre-light draw.  The cold draw provided a mix of cocoa, earth, and some cedar spice. Overall, I considered the pre-light draw of the Blackout to be excellent.  At this point, I was ready to light up the Blackout and see what the smoking phase would bring to the table.

Flavor Profile

The start to the Camacho Blackout Limited Edition 2013 had a mix of red pepper, earth, and dark chocolate notes.  As the flavor profile took form in the early stages, the red pepper and earth moved into the forefront while the dark chocolate became a background note.  The pepper also played a prominent role on the retro-hale.

As the Blackout moved through the first third, the earth notes took second stage and the pepper joined the dark chocolate in the background.  I also detected some citrus notes in the background.

In the second third, there was a slow increase in the red pepper as it moved back toward the forefront.  Once the Blackout moved into the final third, the spice notes took over as the primary flavor.  As the smoking experience of the Blackout moved into the “back nine”, I found the cigar to be spicy.  There was a little bit of harshness at the end.  The resulting nub was slightly soft to the touch, but cool in temperature.

Burn and Draw

In regards to the burn, overall I found the Blackout did require a little maintenance.  There were a few points where the burn line was a little uneven. There were a few points where it did need a touch-up to keep the burn line straight. While it wasn’t an excessive amount of touch-ups, the Blackout needed a little more TLC needed to keep the burn on track.  The resulting ash was white in color.  There were a couple of points along the way where I did feel the ash was slightly loose. The burn rate and burn temperature were both ideal.

Burn of the Camacho Blackout Limited Edition 2013

I did find that the Blackout had an excellent draw.  I found the draw was very easy to handle.  It didn’t require a lot of work to open it up, yet it wasn’t on the loose side.

Strength and Body

From both a strength and body perspective, I definitely found the Camacho Blackout Limited Edition 2013 to fit into Camacho’s “Bold Standard” profile.  The strength of the Blackout starts out in the medium to full range and by the second half, this cigar is full strength.  The flavors follow a similar pattern starting out medium to full-bodied before progressing to full-bodied in the second half.

Overall, the strength and body both counter each other nicely and neither attribute had a significant edge over the other.

Final Thoughts

Overall the Camacho Blackout Limited Edition 2013 provided a good smoking experience. Camacho has invested quite a bit in their “Bold Standard” marketing campaign and this cigar seems to be a good fit into this model.   Since it is definitely bolder, this is probably a cigar that is geared more toward the seasoned cigar enthusiast.  Right now this is a cigar I would still encourage one to try. If some of the shortcomings on the “back nine” and glitches with the burn clear up, this could progress to a Fiver in time.  Still this cigar delivers enough in terms of good flavor and is worth checking out.

Summary
Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Medium to Full (Full 2nd Half)
Body: Medium to Full (Full 2nd Half)
Finish: Good
Assessment: 2.5 – Try One
Score: 88 

References

Price: $11.50 (SRP)
Source: Purchased
Stogie Geeks Podcast: Episode 73
Stogie Feed: Camacho Blackout Limited Edition 2013 Toro