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| Camacho Liberty 2012 |
The first half of 2012 had been quiet for Camacho Cigars, but prior to the IPCPR they shipped their annual limited release, the Camacho Liberty Series 2012. Each year for the Liberty Series, Camacho puts forward a different blend and may vary the size. There is a limited allocation of these cigars that are made and once the cigars are gone, they are gone. One thing that distinguishes the Camacho Liberty series is that each cigar is packaged in an individual coffin-box. With the case of the Camacho Liberty 2012, I found this to be a solid cigar that provided an enjoyable experience.
The background is that the Liberty Series made its debut in 2002, and for the most part it has been one size, one vitola (the initial Liberty Series 2002 did come in 5 sizes, the 2004 edition came in two sizes). Since then blends vary, the cigar experience can vary. In 2010, we ranked the Camacho Liberty as our #9 cigar of the year. For 2012, there have been 2,000 boxes allocated – each with a total of 20 individual coffins for a total of 2,000 boxes.
Let’s break down the Camacho Liberty 2012 and see what this cigar brings to the table:
Blend Profile
A unique thing about the Camacho Liberty 2012 compared to other Liberty editions is that it takes its tobacco from a single vintage on a single lot. The country of origin is not disclosed, but we do know it is Corojo tobacco from 2008 that is used for all components of this cigar.
Wrapper: Authentic Corojo (2008)
Binder: Authentic Corojo (2008)
Filler: Authentic Corojo (2008)
Vitolas Available
The Camacho Liberty 2012 comes in the company’s unique 11/18 figuardo shape. The 11/18 gets its name from the birthday of the mother of former Camacho Cigars’ president, Christian Eiroa. The official dimensions are 6 x 48/54.
Appearance
The Corojo wrapper to the Camacho Liberty 2012 definitely has a rosado look to it. There are some dark spots on it, and definitely has an oily sheen. There are some visible wrapper seams and some visible veins. The packing of the tobacco is excellent in this particular figuardo. I’ve always found the 11/18 vitola a great figuardo because it doesn’t taper too much at the cap.
Each cigar is packed in an individual coffin. The cigar itself is wrapped in tissue paper.
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| Wrapping of the Camacho Liberty 2012 |
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| Coffin box of the Camacho Libery 2012 |
Like many of the previous editions of the Liberty Series, the coffin box is painted on the side with the sliding top. For 2012, the color of the paint is Red. In gold lettering it says “2012 – Handcrafted with 2008 Vintage tobaccos” (alphabetic text in cursive). On the side of the box there is a sticker indicating this is the 2012 Liberty Series with the number of the cigar in the series. (The picture above says 12,216)
The main band is standard Camacho logo, but with a red, gold, and black color scheme. Toward the bottom of that band, there is the text “2012” in gold font on a red oval background. Flanking to the left and right of that oval is a thin black stripe with “LIBERTY SERIES” in small gold font. There also is a red and gold footer band. That footer band features the text “Liberty Series 2012” is in gold font (the alphabetic text is cursive). On the back of the footer band is a Camacho “C” logo where the footer band connects to itself.
Preparation for the Cigar Experience
For my smoking experience with the Camacho Liberty 2012, I went with a straight cut into the cap. It was now on to starting the pre-light draw. The notes I got from the Liberty 2012 were not very deep – these seemed to be along the lines of cedar and wood. It wasn’t the most exciting dry draw I got, but then again I do not factor pre-light experience into an assessment or score, so no loss of points here. It was now on to toasting the foot of my Camacho Liberty 2012 and see what the cigar would bring to the table.
Flavor Profile
The start to the Camacho Liberty Series 2012 yielded me a combination of spice and some notes of cinnamon. The spice was more of a “cedar sweet spice”. As the flavor pattern evolved, there was a lot going on early. Some earth and bread notes joined the cedar sweet spice in the forefront. I could also pick up a little extra black pepper and cinnamon on the after-draw.
Later in the first third, the black pepper moved up into the forefront and replaced the cedar spice. The cinnamon notes, while not very pronounced provided some sweetness in the background.
By the second half, the black pepper and earth notes took control. The subtle cinnamon notes tended to emerge from the background every so often before retreating. As the Liberty 2012 came to a close, there definitely was some spice on the finish, but the notes were not harsh. The nub was not as ideal as I would prefer – namely soft to the touch, and slightly warm.
Burn and Draw
The 11/18 figuardo has for the most part has been one of the better performing figuardo shapes I’ve had in terms of burn and draw. The Camacho Liberty 2012, having this frontmark scored very well with these attributes. The burn remained straight for the majority of the smoking experience – requiring few touch-ups. The burn rate was ideal. Although, the nub was a little warm, there were no issues with the burn temperature. Except for the very end, the burn temperature was ideal.
The draw to the Camacho Liberty Series 2012 was outstanding. This made the Liberty Series 2012 a joy to smoke.
Strength and Body
The Camacho Liberty 2012 is going to provide the right amount of strength from a nicotine perspective. I assessed the cigar to be medium to full in strength. As for the depth of the flavor notes, there is some nice depth to these flavors. I assessed the Liberty 2012 to be a medium to full-bodied smoke. The attributes of burn and draw balance each other perfectly with neither the strength or body overshadowing each other.
Final Thoughts
I believe the Camacho Liberty 2012 is the first release by the Camacho brand since the departure of Camacho president Christian Eiroa. Overall, the Camacho Liberty 2012 scores nicely. I’ve had single leaf puros with some other cigars – and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. I can say it works very nicely with this cigar. This is a nice cigar for the experienced cigar enthusiast. Novice enthusiasts who want to graduate to something medium to full might find this a good cigar to smoke. This also makes a nice special occasion cigar for anybody. This is a cigar I would definitely smoke again before supplies run out.
Summary
Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Medium to Full
Body: Medium to Full
Finish: Good
Assessment: Nice to Have
Score: 90
Source: The cigars for this assessment were purchased from Outland Cigars in Charlotte, North Carolina.
