Mombacho Cosecha 2015

In 2020, Mombacho Cigars released the fourth installment of its Cosecha Series, the Mombacho Cosecha 2014. The project is the brainchild of former Mombacho President and Master Blender Claudio Sgroi. The Mombacho Cosecha series has parallels to the wine world. In the world of premium wines, there is a concept of developing a wine using premium grapes from a particular vintage (a crop from a particular year). With the Cosecha series, this involves using tobaccos from a particular vintage. In this case, it was the 2015 vintage. The name “cosecha” translates to “harvest” and its an appropriate for this series. Today we take a closer look at the Mombacho Cosecha 2015.

The Cosecha Series has been described by Sgroi as a “true vintage” series. It’s a project that was several years in the making for each release. First Sgroi and his team worked to select the best tobaccos they could find for a particular vintage year. The tobaccos were set aside and the following year were rolled. Once rolled, the cigars were stored at the company’s Casa Favilli factory in Grenada, Nicaragua for additional long-term aging.

The date the cigars were rolled is stamped on the back of the cigar’s primary band. In the case of the Cosecha 2015, it uses tobaccos from the 2015 crop and the cigars were rolled in May 2017 and had been aging at Casa Favilli until they shipped in the Summer of 2020.

For completeness, here is a list of the Mombacho Cosecha releases. Mombacho Cigars had said there are no plans for a Cosecha 2016 release.

Mombacho Cosecha 2012 (Released 2017)
Mombacho Cosecha 2013 (Released 2018)
Mombacho Cosecha 2014 (Released 2019)
Mombacho Cosecha 2015 (Released 2020)

Without further ado, let’s break down the Mombacho Cosecha 2015 and see what this cigar brings to the table.

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend and Origin

Other than the fact that the Mombacho Cosecha 2015 uses 100% Nicaraguan tobaccos from a 2015 crop, the specific leaf components have not been disclosed. As mentioned above, the cigars were rolled in 2017 and have been aging since then.

Wrapper: Nicaraguan (2015 Vintage)
Binder: Nicaraguan (2015 Vintage)
Filler: Nicaraguan (2015 Vintage)
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Factory: Casa Favilli

Vitolas Offered

Like all of the installments released in the Mombacho Cosecha series, the Mombacho Cosecha 2014 is available in one size – a 6 x 52 Toro. The cigars are presented in ten-count boxes. Production for the Cosecha 2014 was limited to 430 boxes (4,380 cigars).

Box of the Mombacho Cosecha 2015 (Photo Credit: Mombacho Cigars)

Appearance

The Nicaraguan wrapper of the Mombacho Cosecha 2015 had a medium to dark brown color with a Colorado tint. There was a light coat of oil and some subtle mottling on the surface. There were also some visible veins and visible wrapper seams. The cap of the Mombacho Cosecha 2015 was finished with a thick pig-tail.

The Mombacho Cosecha 2015 uses banding consistent with the other installments of the series The primary band has 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 secondary band is also orange with gold trim and gold font. It features the text “COSECHA 2014” 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 “2015 EDICÍON UNICA” – also in gold font.

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw

As opposed to pulling the pig-tail off the cap of the Mombacho Cosecha 2015, a straight cut was used to remove the cap and the pig-tail simultaneously. After the cap was removed, it was on to the pre-light draw phase. The cold draw delivered notes of cedar, leather, natural tobacco, and some citrus. Overall this was a satisfactory pre-light draw. At this point, it was time to remove the footer band of the Mombacho Cosecha 2015, toast up the footer and move on to the smoking phase.

Tasting Notes

The Mombacho Cosecha 2015 opened up with notes of orange-rind, natural tobacco, baker’s spice, earth, and black pepper. Early on the combination of the natural tobacco and orange rind moved into the forefront. The baker’s spice, earth, and black pepper settled into the background. On the retro-hale, there was an additional layer of black pepper present.

During the second third of the Mombacho Cosecha 2015, the natural tobacco displaced the orange rind as the primary note. The orange rind settled into the background with the baker’s spice, earth, and pepper. Toward the latter part of the second third, there was a slight decrease of the orange-rind while the pepper and baker’s spice increased.

The last third saw the natural tobacco remain grounded in the forefront with the pepper and baker’s spice a close secondary note. Things were rounded out by the earth and orange rind notes. This is the way the Mombacho Cosecha 2015 came to a close. The resulting nub was slightly soft to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn

Overall the burn of the Mombacho Cosecha 2015 performed very well. This is a burn that maintained a straight burn path and a straight burn line. The resulting ash had a tight, firm ash that was nearly white in color. The burn rate and burn temperature were both ideal.

Burn of the Mombacho Cosecha 2015

Draw

The draw to the Mombacho Cosecha 2015 also performed quite well. This is a cigar that had a slight resistance on the draw – which is something that I like. At the same time, this was a low maintenance cigar to derive flavor from.

Strength and Body

The Mombacho Cosecha 2015 delivered a medium strength, medium-bodied smoking experience from start to finish. There wasn’t much in the way of variance on the intensity levels of both attributes. In terms of strength versus body, both attributes balanced each other nicely with neither attribute overshadowing the other.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

Personally, I love cigar lines that release annually. In the case of Mombacho’s Cosecha series, it has been particularly fun to see what the result from a particular tobacco vintage will be. When the Mombacho Coseca debuted in 2017 with the Mombacho Cosecha 2012, it was a cigar that landed on the 2017 Countdown. However, each of the subsequent releases seemed to be a small step down from the year before. With the Mombacho Cosecha 2015, it is still a good cigar, but it lacks the wow factor of the original Cosecha 2012 release. At the same time, the Cosecha 2015 is priced significantly higher at $29.95. I didn’t find this cigar performed at the high levels seen by its predecessors, and I didn’t find it delivered what a $30.00 cigar should. It’s still a good cigar, just not $29.95 good. While it’s a limited cigar to get, I’d still see if you could try a sample before committing to it.

Summary

Key Flavors: Natural Tobacco, Orange-rind, Earth, Baker’s Spice, Pepper
Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Medium
Body: Medium
Finish: Very Good