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| EIROA by CLE Cigars |
Just prior to the 2013 IPCPR Trade Show, Christian Eiroa’s Fabricas Unidas announced a new cigar that would fit into its CLE line. The cigar has Eiroa’s family name and is appropriately titled EIROA. It has been documented that Fabricas Unidas was setup by Eiroa with the purpose of being a business incubator for people with great ideas to make a cigar, but CLE has become more of the personal sandbox for Eiroa’s blends. The EIROA is being positioned as a premium line within the brand. Recently I had an opportunity to smoke this cigar. After smoking EIROA, it was no surprise why this cigar sold out its initial allotment at the trade show. This cigar not only lived up to some high expectations, but it might be some of Eiroa’s best work to date.
In addition to being positioned as a premium line within the CLE portfolio, EIROA is being positioned as a bolder, full-bodied cigar. The EIROA was also launched with the CLE Plus, a cigar also with a full profile. In the announcement of both of these cigars, Eiroa commented: “In regards to these new blends Eiroa commented, “I am making the introduction of this new factory with two new blends that are representative of my passion for bold and full bodied cigars. These two new Honduran puros deliver strength and flavor like nothing I have ever done before; I believe in them enough to name them after my family and me: The EIROA and the CLE Plus.“
The EIROA cigar brand pays homage to the Eiroa family which can trace its roots in the tobacco industry back to 1916. This is when Generoso Eiroa landed a job as a boat captain for the Cuban Land and Leaf Tobacco company. Since then, the family has been in the tobacco business for four generations and nearly 100 years.
At this point, let’s break down the EIROA and see what this cigar brings to the table:
Blend Profile
As mentioned above, the EIROA is a Honduran puro:
Wrapper: Honduran
Binder: Honduran
Filler: Honduran
Vitolas Available
The EIROA will be packaged in boxes of 10 and carry an SRP of $8.95 to $10.95 per cigar.
Prensado: 4 x 48
Robusto: 5 x 50
Toro: 6 x 54
660: 6 x 60
Appearance
For this cigar experience, I smoked the Robusto vitola of the EIROA. The EIROA has a medium brown colored wrapper. Upon closer examination, some darker marbling can be seen on the wrapper’s surface. While there is a slight oily complexion to the wrapper, it also has a silky look to it. There are some visible wrapper seams and visible veins.
The EIROA features a red, gold, and black colored band. The band is highlighted by a red circular background. The center of the band says “EIROA” in gold. Surrounding the “EIROA” name is “SALUD”, “AMOR”, and “PESATAS” in a smaller gold font. There is a black ring surrounding the red circular background. On that ring it says “Tradicion, Tabacalera, and Calidad Superior” . There are red and gold pinstripes going around the back of the band. On the left side of the band is a gold rectangle on the pinstripes that says “HECHO 2013” in small black font. On the right side of the band is another gold rectangle on the pinstripes that says “DESDE 1916” in small black font.
The slogan “SALUD, AMOR, and PESATAS” translates to “HEALTH LOVE (AND) MONEY”. This is a old Spanish saying in which the Gallegos (Spaniards that lived Northwest Spain) felt was the key to happiness. The expression “Tradicion, Tabacalera, and Calidad Superior” translates to “Tradition, Tobacco, and Superior Quality”.
Preparation for the Cigar Experience
For my smoke of the EIROA Robusto, I went with my usual choice of a straight cut to remove the cap. After the cap was clipped, I proceeded to move on to the pre-light draw. The dry draw notes of the EIROA provided a mix of pepper, cinnamon, and natural tobacco flavors. Overall, I consider the EIROA to have an outstanding pre-light draw. At this time, I was ready to light this cigar up and see what the overall smoking experience would bring to the table.
Flavor Profile
The start of the EIROA has a mix of pepper and natural tobacco sweetness. This was a more unique natural tobacco sweetness – and one I could not draw a special analogy to. In the first half of the EIROA both of these flavor notes were on equal footing. As the cigar progressed through the first half, the spice got more multi-dimensional. The spice took on more of a baker’s spice quality on the draw with the pepper notes dominating the after-draw. The pepper definitely was prominent on the retro-hale.
As the EIROA moved into the second half, there were also some creamy notes that were present in the background. The sweetness definitely took the center stage in the second third. The pattern of the baker’s spice on the draw, and pepper on the after-draw/retro-hale still was very much prominent.
In the last third, the spice moved into the forefront and became the primary flavor. The spice now became more of a mix of the baker’s spice and pepper on the full-draw. The natural tobacco sweetness still was a secondary flavor while the cream was distant. The close to the EIROA was very flavorful – with no harsh flavors. The resulting nub was firm to the touch and cool in temperature.
Burn and Draw
The EIROA lives up to its reputation when it comes to quality construction – and this is reflected on both the burn and draw attributes. Overall the burn line remained relatively straight. While it wasn’t necessarily a perfect straight line, it still was a low maintenance burn when it came to touch-ups. The ash was tight with a classic salt and pepper color. The burn rate and burn temperature were ideal.
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| Burn of the EIROA |
The draw to the EIROA was outstanding. It had a minor touch of resistance – something that I consider ideal on a cigar’s draw. This made the EIROA a low maintenance and enjoyable smoke to puff on from start to finish.
Strength and Body
While EIROA is being positioned as a more full-bodied offering, this is not the type of cigar that is going to overpower you with nicotine. At the same time, it was will still provide enough pop to satisfy those who want more of a kick when it comes to strength. I assessed the EIROA to be a medium to full strength cigar.
As for the flavors, they live up to the full-bodied offering and that is where I assessed them at. Overall, the EIROA’s smoking profile has the body having an edge over the strength.
Final Thoughts
The CLE brand has proven to make many good cigars, but without a doubt the EIROA right now stands at the top. While this cigar sold quickly at the trade show, it really delivered in terms of quality and the overall cigar experience. For a Honduran puro, this is going to produce some amazing flavors. This is the type of cigar where even if one does not like Honduran tobacco, I would encourage that person to still try. I’d probably lean this cigar more toward an experienced cigar enthusiast as opposed to a novice. As for myself, this is not only cigar I would smoke again – but one that easily is worthy of a box purchase.
Summary
Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Medium to Full
Body: Full
Finish: Excellent
Assessment: Memorable
Score: 94
Source: The cigars for this assessment were provided by Fabricas Unidas. These samples were initiated by Fabricas Unidas in order to provide feedback. Cigar Coop is appreciative for the sample, but in no way does this influence this review.
Great review, I couldn't agree more. Here's my review of the IPCPR sample: IPCPR Cigar Preview: CLE Eiroa Robusto
A dear friend and fellow cigar smoker, with whom I trade fine cigars with on occasion, offered me my first EIROA a few days ago. I have been a mild/medium cigar smoker for 20 years, and normally make box purchases of this strength, in a few favorite brands. As I sat and truly enjoyed my gift Eiroa, my first praise was the ease of the draw, followed by the flavor difference between the two halves. I was surprised by the milder taste, not found by me personally, in other Maduro cigars I have tried over the years. I will be ordering a handful of these 660s to keep on hand with the mild to mediums taking up most of the space in my humidor! The EIROA was an unexpected and pleasant surprise.
As Mr Cooper said about Honduras cigars it is usually not one of my favorite blends but I give the Eiiroa ciigars I’ve smoked a ? up as quality taste and draw .