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| Ezra Zion Reagan |
The Ezra Zion Honor Series Reagan is one of two cigars that was launched in 2012 by Ezra Zion Cigars. Ezra Zion Cigars is a new boutique cigar company that launched just prior to the 2012 IPCPR Trade Show in Orlando, Florida. Coming out of the show, the company definitely made an impression on the attendees. Ezra Zion is a company that was started by three friends. The company name is derived from the names of two of the partners’ deceased children. The name and company logo honor their memory. Recently, Ezra Zion Cigars became the sixth cigar company to enter into a distribution agreement with Gary Griffith’s Emilio cigars. This allows the team at Ezra Zion to continue to focus on production while leveraging the growing distribution arm of Emilio Cigars. I recently had an opportunity to sample one of Ezra Zion’s blends – the Ezra Zion Honor Series Reagan. Overall I found this to be an excellent offering. No doubt Ezra Zion will be a company on the move in 2013.
The name Reagan should be no surprise as it is named after the 40th President of the United States – Ronald Reagan. There is a video on the Ezra Zion web-site in which the partners talk about why they chose to honor President Reagan with a cigar.
Let’s take a closer look at the Ezra Zion Reagan cigar itself and see what it delivers.
Blend Profile
The focus of the current Ezra Zion releases is around Nicaraguan puros. This applies to the Reagan and Ezra Zion’s other cigar, the Inception. As per the Ezra Zion web-site, the tobaccos that are used on the Reagan are termed “Grade ‘A’ Nicaraguan tobaccos aged 5 to 6 years”.
Wrapper: Nicaraguan 2006 Cuban Seed Sun Grown Habano
Binder: Nicaraguan 2006 Cuban Seed
Filler: Nicaraguan 2007 Cuban Seed Seco, Viso, and Ligero
Vitolas Available
At this time the Reagan is available in two sizes:
President: 6 3/4 x 54
40th (Boxpress): 6 x 52
Appearance
For this cigar we smoked the Reagan President vitola. This is an impressive looking cigar from a tobacco and packaging standpoint. The Reagan has a coffee bean colored wrapper with a nice colorado red tint to it. There is also some darker marbling in the band. The band has an oily complexion. The wrapper seams are well hidden, but some veins are visible.
There are two bands on the Reagan. Both have a gold font and black background color scheme. The primary band features the logo that pays homage to the two deceased children of the company owners. The primary band features the “EZ” logo in the middle – surrounded by a shield. There are two gold angels to the left and right. Below the shield it says “EZRA ZION” in gold. The remainder the band has gold and black striping around it.
The second band is a footer band with the same gold font and black background color scheme. On the band it features “REAGAN” in large gold font. Below that text is the text “Honor Series” in gold scripted font. There are gold leaves to the left and right. The top and the bottom of the band has gold trim.
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| Footer band of the Ezra Zion Reagan |
Preparation for the Cigar Experience
For my experience of the Ezra Zion Reagan, I went with a straight cut into the cigar to remove the cap. I then moved on to the pre-light draw. The dry draw notes provided me a mix of chocolate, leather, and spice. Overall I considered the pre-light experience to be satisfactory. At times point, I was ready to remove the footer band and begin the cigar experience of the Reagan.
Flavor Profile
The start to the Ezra Zion Reagan provided a nice mix of flavors to start. I definitely was able to detect a mix of earth, cedar spice, chocolate, and cherry sweetness. It took a few minutes but it was the earth and chocolate that moved to to the forefront while the cedar spice and cherry notes were secondary.
As the cigar progressed through the first third, the earth notes took center stage as the primary note. The chocolate flavors were secondary while the cedar spice and cherry notes took on more of a tertiary role. As a tertiary flavor, the cherry was subtle, yet still contributed to the flavor profile. From time to time, the cherry also had some natural tobacco qualities to it.
In the second third, the cedar spice became more of a classic black pepper and started to have an increased presence. At the same time, the chocolate notes also moved back to a primary flavor and alternated with the earth notes as to which was in control.
By the last third of the Reagan, the earth and chocolate notes continued to alternate as to what was the primary flavor. By this time, the chocolate notes had more of a cocoa powder flavor to it. The pepper notes were closely behind, but the Reagan never became an overwhelming spice bomb. The natural tobacco sweetness still was present as well.
At the very end of the Reagan, the pepper and natural tobacco notes were the main flavors. The resulting nub was soft to the touch and cool in temperature.
Burn and Draw
From a burn perspective, the Reagan did require some touch-ups along the way to keep the burn line straight. There were no major canoe or tunnel issues, but it did require more touch-ups than I expected. The resulting ash was a salt and pepper color. I ‘ll describe the ash as “firm”, but not overly tight. There was some minor flaking along the way. The burn rate and burn temperature were both ideal.
From a draw perspective, the Ezra Zion Reagan performed flawlessly. This was a cigar that was an enjoyable smoke to puff on.
Strength and Body
Overall, I would not describe the Reagan as an overpowering cigar from both a strength and body perspective. This is a cigar that I describe as a classic “medium-medium” cigar. In other words, this cigar is medium strength and medium-bodied. This provides just the right amount of strength and right amount of flavor. The strength and body complement each other perfectly creating a nice balance between both of these attributes.
Final Thoughts
Overall, the Reagan is a very nice smoking experience. This is not going to be an “in your face” spicy and bold Nicaraguan puro. What this does show that a Nicaraguan puro can be a nice “medium-medium” cigar. The subtle qualities of this cigar’s strength and body really help to define this cigar’s character. This is a very good cigar for the novice enthusiast looking to smoke something in that “medium-medium” category. Experienced cigar enthusiasts will enjoy many of the flavor nuances this cigar brings to the table. As for myself, this will be a cigar I smoke again.
Final Thoughts
Burn: Good
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Medium
Body: Medium
Finish: Good
Assessment: Nice to Have
Score: 90
Source: The cigar for this assessment were provided by Emilio Cigars . These samples were initiated by Emilio Cigars in order to provide feedback. Cigar Coop is appreciative for the sample, but in no way does this influence this review.
