At the 2018 IPCPR Trade Show, Camacho Cigars announced its latest installment to the Camacho Brotherhood Series, the Camacho Hard Charger. The Brotherhood Series is one that pays homage to the military. Hard Charger is a term used in the military. While there are some different meanings, it ultimately comes down to someone who demonstrates leadership and dominance in doing their job. With the Camacho Hard Charger, this cigar combines an original corojo blend with a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper. While Broadleaf has been used before (most recently the Camacho American Barrel Aged), it is a wrapper that is less common on releases from the brands of Davidoff (for which Camacho is one of them). Today we take a closer look at the Camacho Hard Charger.

For many years, the Camacho Liberty has been an annual release that cigar enthusiasts and Camacho fans have come to look forward to each year. In 2013, following the rebranding of Camacho, there has been second annual limited edition release Typically this release was around the time of the IPCPR Trade Show. In 2015, the annual release has been under the Camacho Brotherhood Series line. The only exception to this was 2017 where there wasn’t a second annual release on top of the Camacho Liberty release. At present time, each of these releases have been “one and done” limited edition releases.  Below is a list of these limited editions:

Camacho Limited Edition

2013: Camacho Blackout
2014: Camacho Double Shock

Brotherhood Series

2015: Camacho Shellback
2016: Camacho Check Six
2018: Camacho Hard Charger

Without further ado, let’s break down the Camacho Hard Charger and see what this cigar brings to the table.

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend and Origin

In addition to the Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, the remainder of the blend uses Original Corojo tobaccos. The cigar was produced in Honduras at Camacho’s Diadema Cigars de Honduras SA facility.

Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
Binder: Original Corojo
Filler: Original Corojo
Country of Origin: Honduras
Factory: Diadema Cigars de Honduras SA

Vitolas Offered

The Camacho Hard Charger was produced in one size – a 6 x 50 Toro. The cigars were presented in 20-count boxes. Each box features\d a collectible dog-tag on the lid. A total of 1,500 boxes were produced.

Appearance

The Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper of the Camacho Hard Charger has a roasted coffee bean color. Upon closer examination, there was some mottling that could be seen on the surface. The wrapper was on the smoother side. Any visible veins were on the thin side, and the darker color of the wrapper did a good job at hiding the wrapper seams.

The primary band has a mostly blue and red color scheme. The Camacho bands tend to be busy and the Camacho Hard Charger primary band is no exception. Scrolling (downward) around the band are the following sections.

• The “CAMACHO” logo text with a scorpion in silver font.
• The text “BROTHERHOOD SERIES” in blue font on a red background
• A red scorpion surrounded by the text “LEADING THE CHARGE SINCE 1962” in silver font. There is also the text “Our Brotherhood Series honors those who lay it on the line in the name of freedom. Below that text is a silver anchor. This section is not in landscape mode.
• The text “HARD CHARGER” (with “HARD” in large red font and “CHARGER” in large silver font sitting on a blue rectangular field.
• The text “INTEGRITY | SOLIDARITY | CHARACTER | UNBREAKABLE” in blue font on a red background.

There is also a secondary band by the footer. It is metallic silver in color with the text “etched” “HARD CHARGER” and  “LEADING THE CHARGE SINCE 1962”.

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw

Prior to lighting the Camacho Hard Charger, a straight cut was used to remove the cap. From that point, it was time to commence with the pre-light draw. The dry draw delivered notes of cocoa, cream, wood, and a slight spice note. After what was a satisfying pre-light draw experience, it was time to remove the footer band, light up the Camacho Hard Charger, and move into the smoking phase.

Tasting Notes

The Camacho Hard Charger started out with notes of chocolate malt in the forefront. There were also notes of wood, black pepper, and berry in the background on the tongue. As the Camacho Hard Charger moved through the first third, the berry notes moved into the forefront pushing the chocolate malt notes into the background. The wood and pepper remained in the background on the tongue, but were somewhat more prominent on the retro-hale.

During the second third of the Camacho Hard Charger, the wood notes morphed into more of a cedar sweet-spice. These notes increased in intensity. By the midway point of the Camacho Hard Charger, the cedar was on par with the berry. When the latter part of the second third was reached, the cedar took over as the primary note. The berry notes joined the chocolate malt and pepper notes in the background.

By the final third the cedar notes remained primary. The pepper notes had now made their way closer to the forefront. Meanwhile, the berry and chocolate malt notes remained more distant. This is the way the Camacho Hard Charger came to a close. The resulting nub was slightly soft to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn

The burn of the Camacho Hard Charger scored very nicely.  This is a cigar that maintained a straight burn path from start to finish. The burn line had a slight curvature from time to time, but this didn’t warrant any additional touch-ups above the norm. The resulting ash was tight and firm with a light gray color. The burn rate and burn temperature were both ideal.

Draw

The draw to the Camacho Hard Charger also scored very nicely. This draw had a touch of resistance – which is something I consider ideal. At the same time, this was a low maintenance cigar to derive flavor from.

Strength and Body

The Camacho Hard Charger is a cigar that started out with medium strength and medium body. During the first half, both attributes increased in intensity as the cigar experience progressed. The strength would cross into medium to full territory by the second half. The body increased at a more rapid rate – becoming medium to full by the second third. During the second half, the increase in intensity of both attributes leveled off.

In terms of strength versus body, I found the body had a slight edge throughout the smoking experience.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

As mentioned there aren’t a lot of Broadleaf releases from the brands of Davidoff, but when one is released it gets my attention. The Camacho Hard Charger delivered a very nice release. This cigar had a nice amount of complexity and certainly had a more unique flavor profile than most Connecticut Broadleaf releases. While I preferred the flavors of the first half of the cigar over the second half, there still was quite a bit to like about this cigar.

At $13.00 per cigar, this is going to be a pricier release. At the same time, it’s one I would still recommend to either an experienced cigar enthusiast or even a novice looking to graduate to something in the “medium plus” range. As for myself, this is a cigar I would purchase again.

Summary

Key Flavors: Chocolate Malt, Berry, Cedar, Classic Wood, Black Pepper
Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium to High
Strength: Medium (1st Half) Medium to Full (2nd Half)
Body: Medium (1st Third), Medium to Full (Remainder)
Finish: Very Good

Rating

Assessment: Buy One
Score: 90

References

News: Camacho Hard Charger Launched at 2018 IPCPR as Third Brotherhood Series Release
Price: $13.00
Source: Purchased
Brand Reference: Camacho

Photo Credits: Cigar Coop