Just prior to the 2017 IPCPR Trade Show, Mombacho Cigars announced its Cosecha project. The name “cosecha” is Spanish for “harvest”.  It’s a concept that is analogous to the wine world – namely harvesting premium grapes from a particular crop.  When it comes to cigars, it involves using tobaccos from a harvest year. The Mombacho Cosecha is project spearheaded by company President and Master Blender Claudio Sgroi. Mombacho Cigars is known for its 100% Nicaraguan tobacco releases, and in the case of the Mombacho Cosecha 2012, it uses Nicaraguan tobaccos exclusively from 2012. The plan is for future Cosecha releases to come from Mombacho, featuring cigars with tobaccos aging from 2013, 2014, and 2015. Today, we take a closer look at the Mombacho Cosecha 2012 release.

Mombacho Cigars is unique for a couple of reasons. First, all of its production comes out of the company’s Casa Favilli factory. What is notable about this is that the factory is located in Grenada, Nicaragua, which is somewhat out of the ordinary as most of the Nicaraguan-based manufacturing operations in the cigar industry take place further north in Estelí, Nicaragua. Secondly, each of the four cigar lines the company has released use 100% Nicaraguan tobacco in the blend. This not only includes the Cosecha 2012, but the company’s Tierra Volcan, Liga Maestro, and 10th Anniversary lines.

The Cosecha 2012 project is also somewhat unique in terms of other Cosecha releases. Not only are all of the components from the 2012 vintage, but the cigars were actually rolled over four years ago in 2013 and have been aging at Casa Favilli since then.

It was a project of patience to get the Cosecha 2012 to market. In fact at the IPCPR Trade Show, while Mombacho showcased the new cigar, the bands had yet to be finalized. It was back in October (when the Cosecha 2012 shipped) when the final bands were unveiled.

 

Without further ado, let’s take a look at the Mombacho Cosecha 2012 and see what this cigar brings to the table.

Blend Profile

According to Mombacho, the all-Nicaraguan tobaccos are select ones – namely ones that were the best they could obtain from the 2012 Harvest Year.

Wrapper: Nicaraguan (2012 Vintage)
Binder: Nicaraguan (2012 Vintage)
Filler: Nicaraguan (2012 Vintage)
Country of Origin: Nicaragua (Casa Favilli)

Vitolas Available

The Mombacho Cosecha 2012 is available in one size – a 6 x 52 Toro. The cigars are packaged in 10-count boxes. Production was limited to 500 boxes (5,000 cigars total).

Appearance

The Nicaraguan wrapper of the Mombacho Cosecha 2012 had a medium brown color with a cinnamon tint to it. There was some oil on the surface of the wrapper. The wrapper itself was slightly bumpy with some thin visible veins and thin visible wrapper seams. The cigar was finished with a thick pig-tail.

The new bands introduced with the Mombacho Cosecha 2012 still use the banding scheme design that was introduced by Mombacho Cigars SA in 2016. The difference is in the color. The primary band an orange background with gold trim and gold font. On the front of the band, it features the company’s triangular volcano logo. Just below it is the text MOMBACHO. On the left side of the band is the text “Grenada Nicaragua” in cursive font while on the right side is the text “Casa Favilli” – also in cursive font.

The back of the band is stamped with the date the Cosecha 2012 was rolled.

The secondary band is also orange with gold trim and gold font. It features the text “COSECHA 2012” on the center of the band. On the left side of the band is the text “TOTALAMENTE A MANO” while on the right side is the text “PURO NICARAGUA”. There are also some gold adornments to the left and right. In a ticker tape pattern toward the top and bottom is the text “2012 EDICÍON UNICA” – also in gold font.

Preparation for the Cigar Experience

As opposed to pulling off the pig-tail off the Mombacho Cosecha 2012, I chose a straight cut to remove the cap. Once the cap was removed, I proceeded with the pre-light draw ritual. The cold draw delivered a mix of cream and oak, along with a slight amount of cedar sweet-spice. Overall, I considered this to be a satisfactory pre-light draw. At this point, I was ready to light up the Mombacho Cosecha 2012 and see what the smoking phase would have in store.

Flavor Profile

The start of the Mombacho Cosecha 2012 produced a mix of cream, earth, cedar, and a slight red pepper note. As the cigar moved through the early phases, the cream and earth notes moved into the forefront and developed a nice synergy. The cedar and red pepper settled into the background. This was soon joined by a subtle berry sweetness.  On the retro-hale, there was a nice (but not overpowering) layer of mixed spices including cedar, red, and black pepper notes.

During the second third of the Mombacho Cosecha 2012, there was an increase in the cedar notes. These notes would join the cream and earth notes in the forefront. By the midway point, the cedar took over pushing the cream and earth notes in the background. These notes joined the berry and pepper notes in the background.

The cedar remained in the forefront during the last third of the Mombacho Cosecha 2012. The pepper spices increased slightly and closed in on the forefront. The earth notes remained in the background while there was a diminished presence of the berry and cream notes. This is the way the cigar experience of the Cosecha 2012 came to a close. The resulting nub was slightly soft to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn and Draw

The Mombacho Cosecha 2012 was a well-constructed cigar and this reflected nicely on the burn and draw. This cigar had little problem maintaining a straight burn path from start to finish. The resulting ash was skewed toward the firmer side. The ash was mostly light gray with some darker speckling in there. As for the burn rate and burn temperature, both were at ideal levels.

The draw was excellent as well. It had a touch of resistance to it – which is something that I like. There was an ample amount of smoke produced from this cigar.

Strength and Body

With about four years of age since it was rolled, I wasn’t expecting a powerhouse cigar with the Cosecha 2012 – and my experience with this pretty much confirmed my expectations. This is not a negative as I found the intensity levels meshed well with the flavors delivered.

This is a cigar that started out mild to medium in both strength and body. Both attributes increased gradually. By the last third, the strength progressed to a medium level. The body increased a little more rapidly and moved into the medium range by the midway point.

For the most part, when it came to strength versus body, I found the body to have a slight edge over the strength.

Final Thoughts

The Mombacho Cosecha 2012 made its debut at the 2017 IPCPR Trade Show and I believe it to be  one of the standout cigars of the trade show. From an intangibles standpoint, I found this cigar very much smokes like a connoisseur’s cigar. With four years of age, I didn’t find this cigar experienced any youngness whatsoever – and I’m confident that Claudio Sgroi and his team waited until the right moment to set these cigars loose on the market. This is not a cheap cigar – coming in at $21.95.

In the end, this is a cigar I could recommend to a novice or experienced cigar enthusiast.  As for myself, given this was quite enjoyable, I feel it’s worth trying to get a box of these while they last. It’s a cigar that is worthy of making a box purchase.

Summary

Key Flavors: Cream, Earth, Cedar, Pepper, Berry
Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium+
Strength: Mild to Medium (1st 2/3), Medium (Last Third)
Body: Mild to Medium (1st Half), Medium (2nd Half)
Finish: Very Good

Rating

Assessment: 4.0-Box Worthy *
Score: 92

References

News: Mombacho Cigars Releases Cosecha 2012
Price: $21.95
Source: Mombacho
Brand Reference: Mombacho

Photo Credits: Cigar Coop, except where noted

* This cigar was assessed using the 2017 Cigar Rating criteria.