The Curivari Buenaventura NACS 5 is limited edition shop exclusive cigar to Nice Ash Cigars.  The name NACS 5 stands for “NICE ASH CIGARS SOUTH 5th Anniversary” and commemorates the fifth anniversary of the retailer’s Warren, Pennsylvania location (there are also locations Depew, New York and Fairport New York). The NACS 5 cigar is box-pressed lonsdale that is the eighth vitola to be released in Curivari’s Buenaventura line. It is also the second shop exclusive in the line. The cigar made its debut May 21 at a launch event at the retailer’s location. Recently I’ve had an opportunity to smoke the Curivari Buenaventura NACS 5. Overall I found this to be a excellent cigar that delivered a complete smoking experience.

Curivari Cigars was founded by Andreas Throuvalas, a cigar retailer based in Greece. After originally launching in Europe, it was in 2010 where he expanded his distribution into U.S. market. The Buenaventura line was introduced in 2012 as value-priced Nicaraguan puro. The name Buenaventura is Spanish for “good fortune”. In addition, it is also worth noting that Curivari has several other lines including: Seleccion Privada, Gloria de Leon, El Gran Rey, Reserva Limitada, Achilles, and Cafe Noir.

Without further ado, let’s break down the Curivari Buenaventura NACS 5 and see what this cigar bring to the table.

Blend Profile

As mentioned, the Buenaventura line is a Nicaraguan puro. The blend features tobaccos from Jalapa, Esteli, and Condega.

Wrapper: Nicaraguan
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Country of Origin: Nicaragua

Vitolas Available

There are six regular production offerings in the Curivari Buenaventura line. In addition to the NACS 5 being a shop exclusive to Nice Ash Cigars, the BV654 is a shop exclusive to Binny’s Beverage Depot in Illinois.

The NACS 5 offering is both the longest and thinnest vitola in the line. A total of 100 ten count boxes has been produced.

NACS 5: 6 1/4 x 44 (Nice Ash Cigars Exclusive)
BV500: 5 x 50
BV560: 5 1/2 x 56
BV600: 6 x 60
D7: 5 1/2 x 52
Mini BV: 3 1/2 x 50
Petit BV: 4 1/4 x 54
BV654: 6 1/4 x 54 (Binny’s Exclusive)

Appearance

The Nicaraguan wrapper of the Curivari Buenaventura NACS 5 is a medium brown color with a rosado tint. Depending on how the light shines on it will determine how much tint there is. The wrapper itself has a light coating of oil. There are some very thin veins and most of the wrapper seams are not noticeable. The box-press itself is firm. I categorize this cigar as having a slight softer / cuban-style press to it.

The band features a thick white stripe surrounded a thick gold stripe above and below it. On the white stripe is a maroon-colored oval. The “BUENAVENTURA” sits on that oval in white font with the letters getting larger toward the center of the word. To the left of the oval is the text “HECHO A MANO” in white font sitting on a maroon background. To the right of the oval is the text “SEMINAL A CUBANA” – also in white font sitting on a maroon background.

Preparation for the Cigar Experience

For the Curivari Buenaventura NACS 5, I went with my usual choice of a straight cut to commence the cigar experience. Once the cap was clipped, I moved on to the pre-light draw. The dry draw delivered notes of earth along with subtle plum and floral notes. Overall I considered the pre-light draw experience of this cigar to be satisfactory. At this point, I was ready to fire up the Curivari Buenaventura NACS 5 and see what the smoking phase would have in store.

Flavor Profile

The Curivari Buenaventura NACS 5 started out with a mix of earth, plum, cream, and a mix of black and white pepper. As the NACS 5 moved through the early stages the plum and earth notes moved into the forefront with the cream and pepper notes secondary. Meanwhile the retro-hale delivered a layer of black pepper notes with some plum sweetness mixed in.

Later in the first third of the NACS 5, the cream notes got more prominent and joined the plum sweetness in the forefront. The earth notes diminished somewhat and began to float back and forth between the forefront and background. Meanwhile, the pepper notes were further back as secondary notes.

By the midway point of the NACS 5, the earth notes were re-established as a primary note. The cream notes still very much were prominent. The plum notes now had also returned to its spot in the background joining the pepper notes.

For the last third, the cream and earth notes remained primary. There was a still increase in the pepper notes, but they didn’t quite reach the forefront. The plum notes were now almost out of the equation. This is the way the cigar experience of the Curivari Buenaventura NACS 5 came to a close. The resulting nub was outstanding – cool in temperature and firm to the touch.

Burn and Draw

Overall the burn performed quite well. I found that the Curivari Buenaventura NACS 5 maintained both a straight burn path and a straight burn line. The resulting ash had a salt and pepper complexion. I found the ash to be on the firm side, coming off the cigar in nice clean chunks. The NACS 5 did maintain an ideal burn temperature. As for the burn rate, I found each of the samples I had of this cigar burned quite rapidly. While the burn rate was less than ideal, I didn’t find it had any negative impact on the performance of the cigar other than resulting in a shorter smoke time (about 45 to 50 minutes in length).

Draw-wise, this wasn’t a loose draw nor was it tight. This was a low maintenance cigar to derive flavors from. While the cigar burned fast, the draw was still ideal and I’ve had cigars with less resistance burn slower.

Strength and Body

Strength-wise, the Curivari Buenaventura NACS 5 is not a power bomb, nor anything close to one. This is a cigar that was on the upper end of mild to medium for the first two thirds. By the last third I did find the strength level crossed the threshold into medium territory.

Meanwhile the flavors out of the gate of the NACS 5 were medium to full-bodied. However, the body does diminish by the middle of the first third as the NACS 5 becomes a medium-bodied smoke. While there is a slight increase in body in the last third, I still found this cigar maintained a medium-bodied profile until the end.

In terms of strength versus body, I gave the edge to the body throughout the smoking experience.

Final Thoughts

There are a couple of takeaways to note on the Curivari Buenaventura NACS 5. First up, strength-wise, this is a more dialed back Nicaraguan puro than many are used to. Secondly, the creamy profile of this cigar is often something reserved for blends with an Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade wrapper. In the case of the NACS 5, I also found that this particular profile worked extremely well in the box-pressed lonsdale format. With a price point that has an SRP of $6.80 (and at press time currently selling for $5.50), this is also going to be a cigar that delivers some great value. While this is a faster burning cigar than I preferred, the pluses easily outweigh these minuses. This is a great cigar for a novice cigar enthusiast or an experienced cigar enthusiast who will appreciate a dialed-back smoke. As for myself, this cigar is one I would reach for again – and it’s definitely worthy of a box purchase.

Summary

Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Mild to Medium (1st 2/3), Medium (Last third)
Body: Medium to Full (Start), Medium (Remainder)
Finish: Excellent
Assessment: 4.0-Box Worthy
Score: 90

References

News: Curivari Buenaventura NACS 5 Limited Edition Shop Exclusive Coming to Nice Ash Cigar
Price: $5.50 ($6.80 SRP)
Source: Cigars Provided by Retailer
Stogie Geeks Podcast: n/a
Stogie Feed: n/a
Brand Reference: Curivari