Nat Sherman Panamericana Cervantes

Back in October 2014, Nat Sherman launched a cigar called the Nat Sherman Panamericana to be its shop exclusive at their retail store – the Nat Sherman Townhouse in New York City. The cigar gets its name for two reasons: 1) it uses Central and South American tobaccos; 2) the cigar is also made in the “Panamerican” region of Esteli, Nicaragua at the Plasecnia factory.  Shortly after the Townhouse release plans were put in place to bring this cigar in as a part of the 2015 Tobacconists Association of America (TAA) Exclusive Series – meaning the cigar is exclusive to the 80+ retailers that make up the TAA. Recently I’ve had an opportunity to smoke the Nat Sherman Panamericana in the Cervantes vitola. Nat Sherman has been a roll for the past 3 1/2 years. With the Panamericana, this not only keeps to the high quality releases the company has been producing, but it delivers what I feel was a much needed home run for the TAA exclusives.

The TAA is a small group of retailers.  At press time the number of retailers listed is 82. As per their web-site, the TAA is defined as:

The Tobacconists’ Association of America, Ltd. is a trade organization established in 1968 by visionary retail tobacconists. By providing education, communication, research, advocacy, and member discount programs, The TAA works with our members and the industry they support to offer the tools and relationship building opportunities needed to maximize professionalism and success.

The TAA Exclusive Series is a series of cigars made exclusively for sale by the retail members of the TAA.  The following are the the new blends that have been added into the 2015 TAA Exclusive series.  With 10 new blends, and 15 total blends, this is the largest amount amount of cigars in this annual set.

* – Denotes cigar being released in multiple vitolas

Without further ado, let’s take a look at the Nat Sherman Panamericana Cervantes and see what this cigar brings to the table:

Blend Profile

The “Pan American” blend is highlighted by an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper along with aged Costa Rican tobaccos and three different tobaccos from Nicaragua.

Wrapper:  Ecuadorian Sumatra
Binder / Filler: Costa Rican, Nicaraguan
Country of Origin: Nicaragua (Plasencia S.A.)

Vitolas Available

The Nat Sherman Panamericana is available in four sizes. This is one of two of the new blends in the 2015 TAA Exclusive Series to have multiple vitolas. The cigar is available in understated slide top boxes of ten cigars.

Secretos: 4 x 40
Epicure: 5 x 50
Cervantes: 6 x 43
Julieta: 7 x 48

Appearance

The Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper of the Nat Sherman Panamericana Cervantes has a rich coffee bean color with a colorado red tint to it. Upon closer examination some darker marbling can be seen on the surface. The wrapper itself has a light coat of oil and a slightly bumpy feel to it. There are some visible veins, but the wrapper seams are well hidden.

The band is highlight with a gold shield with the initials “N S” etched on it. The shield sits on a red circular background that has a gradient effect that gets brighter toward the center. Above the shield is the text “NAT SHERMAN” in white font arranged in a curved fashion on the circular background. Below the shield is the text “NEW YORK” – also in white font arranged in a curved fashion. The red circular background is surrounded with gold trim. Surrounding that gold trim is a brown ring with gold circular adornments on it.  The brown ring is surrounded with gold trim with another red ring surrounding that trim. The left and right side of the band have a yellow background that has a gradient effect to lime green heading to the far left and far right.

Preparation for the Cigar Experience

I went with my usual choice of a straight cut to remove the cap of the Nat Sherman Panamericana Cervantes. I then moved on to the pre-light draw. The dry draw had notes of cocoa, light cedar, and an interesting sweetness that almost was like marzipan. Overall I was quite pleased with the pre-light draw of this cigar. At this point I was ready to light up the Nat Sherman Panamericana Cervantes and  awaited what the smoking phase would have in store.

Flavor Profile

The start to the Nat Sherman Panamericana Cervantes delivered a mix of coffee, cedar, earth, and a slight black pepper note on the tongue. On the retro-hale, the pepper was quite prominent.

During the first third, the coffee, earth, and cedar notes were primary. I found these three notes to alternate in intensity with the coffee having the advantage.  The pepper notes were still in the background, but prominent on the retro-hale.

As the Panamericana moved through the second third. I found the earth and cedar notes became more prominent in the forefront. The coffee notes moved into the background. Later in the second third, the pepper notes started to increase in intensity.

By the last third, the pepper took over as the primary flavor. The cedar and coffee notes were now secondary. Toward the end, I found there was somewhat of a spicy kick, but it never assaulted the palate. This is the way the Nat Sherman Panamericana Cervantes came to an end.  The resulting nub was firm to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn and Draw

Both the burn and draw scored nicely for the Nat Sherman Panamericana Cervantes. The burn path remained relatively straight from start to finish. While there was a slight curvature to the burn line, I didn’t find much jaggedness on the burn line. The resulting ash was a salt and pepper color. I found the ash to be on the firm side with the ash coming off the cigar in nice clean chunks.  The burn rate and burn temperature were ideal.

Burn of the Nat Sherman Panamericana Cervantes

The draw was not too tight, nor was it too loose.  This cigar didn’t require much effort to derive flavors.

Strength and Body

From a strength perspective, I found the Nat Sherman Panamericana Cervantes to be on the upper end of medium. For the most part, I found the strength remained in this range throughout the smoking experience. The flavors had some nice wight on the palate. I assessed the Panamericana Cervantes to be be a medium to full-bodied smoke throughout the smoking experience. When it came to strength versus body, I found the body had a slight edge for the duration of the smoke.

Final Thoughts

In 2014 the TAA Exclusive Series introduced eight new blends. In 2015, the number has increased to ten. While this is exciting for the cigar enthusiast, it seems a little questionable for the TAA to offer ten blends in an era where many of its members have little shelf space was it is. The other problem with the 2014 series is I thought the series as a whole was disappointing. In this author’s opinion, TAA cigars should be the best of the best and anything less than box worthy is disappointing. With the Nat Sherman Panamericana, the 2015 Exclusive Series is off to a great start.

I found the Nat Sherman Panamericana to be an enjoyable and flavorful smoke. I found the blend to complement the Sumatra wrapper beautifully – and the 6 x 43 Cervantes format fit like a glove. This is a cigar I’d recommend to an experienced cigar enthusiast, but certainly wouldn’t discourage the novice from trying.  This is a cigar I’d smoke again and it’s definitely a box worthy one.

Summary

Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Medium
Body: Medium to Full
Finish: Excellent
Assessment: 4.0 – Box Worthy
Score: 92

References

News: Nat Sherman Panamericana Line Becomes TAA Exclusive
Price:  $9.25
Source: Purchased
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