Saga Short Tales Tomo VII: Tales of the Land: Navarrete

In 2021, De Los Reyes Cigars delivered the seventh installment of its Saga Short Tales Series – Tomo VII Tales of the Land: Navarrete. Saga Short Tales is a series by De Los Reyes Cigars that focuses on mostly smaller, short-sized smokes. The series consists of ten unique blends, each in a different size with a different theme. The themes in the Short Tales series each pay homage to a different aspect related to tobacco and cigar making. Since 2016, De Los Reyes Cigars has been slowly showcasing each of the ten installments. The Tomo VII Tales of the Land: Navarette pays homage to the region of Navarette where the Reyes family has farming operations. Today, we dive closer into the Tomo VII installment of the Saga Short Tales series.

Each installment of the Saga Short Tales has been dubbed a Tomo – meaning a chapter. In terms of the packaging, each installment has also been packaged inside a book – complete with a “short tale” discussing the theme of the blend.

Book style packaging of the Saga Short Tales Tomo VII (Side View)

This is not the first Saga Short Tales release to pay homage to a region where the Reyes family grows tobacco. The Saga Short Tales Tomo II: Tales of the Land: Cotui paid homage to the Cotui region. Of the first seven installments of the Saga Short Tales series, Tomo VII is the first to feature a box-pressed wrapper. Three Short Tales Installments have landed on the Cigar Coop Countdown, including Tomo I: Tales of High Priming (#17 in 2016), Tomo II (#11 in 2017), and #1 CIgar of the Year in 2019 with Tomo Vi: The Sixth Element – El Tabaco.

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend, Origin and Vitolas

The blend features a Nicaraguan Habano wrapper over a Dominican San Vincente binder and all Dominican fillers. Included in the fillers is Piloto Cubano, which is significant because it is the type of tobacco the Reyes family first harvested from Navarrete. The fillers also utilize HVA and Criollo ’98.

Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano
Binder: Dominican (San Vincente)
Filler: Dominican (Piloto Cubano, Havana Vuelta Abajo, Criollo 98)
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Factory: De Los Reyes S.A.
Robusto : 5 X 52 (Box Pressed)

For completeness, we list the other volumes that De Los Reyes is currently featuring in the Saga Short Tales series. As listed below, each blend and size is distinct.

Tomo I: Tales of High Priming

Wrapper: Nicaraguan
Binder: Indonesian
Filler: U.S. Connecticut Broadleaf, Dominican (including Negrito)
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Factory: De Los Reyes
Short Gordo: 4 x 58

Tomo II: Tales of the Land: Cotuí

Wrapper: Dominican Cotuí
Binder: Indonesian
Filler: Dominican, North America
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Factory: De Los Reyes
Belicoso: 5 x 54

Tomo III: L.I.V. – Labor Ipse Voluptas

Wrapper: Habano Ecuador
Binder: San Vincente
Filler Piloto Cubano Mejorado Viso, Brazilian Habano Viso
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Factory: De Los Reyes
Short Corona: 4 1/2 x 42

Tomo IV: L.O.V. – Labor Omnia Vincit

Wrapper: Indonesian Ecuador
Binder: San Vincente
Filler Piloto Cubano Mejorado Viso, Pennsylvania Viso
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Factory: De Los Reyes
Figurado: 4 x 44

Tomo V: L.A.V. – Laudamus Abundancia Veteres

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Claro
Binder: San Vincente
Filler Piloto Cubano Mejorado Viso, Connecticut Broadleaf Viso
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Factory: De Los Reyes
Short Panatela: 5 x 34

Tomo VI: The Sixth Element – El Tabaco

Wrapper: San Andres Maduro
Binder: Dominican San Vincente
Filler: Dominican, Nicaraguan, and North American
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Factory: De Los Reyes
Robusto Extra: 5 1/2 x 58

Appearance

The Nicaraguan Habano wrapper of the Saga Short Tales Tomo VII had a medium brown color to it with a touch of rosado tint. There wasn’t much oil on the surface of the wrapper. Any veins that were visible were on the thin side. As for wrapper seams, they were minimally visible in each of the samples. The box-press had a sharp press to it.

There are two bands on the Saga Short Tales Tomo VII. The primary band is gold in color. Prominently displayed in the middle of the band is the text “SAGA” cut out as a stencil to expose the underlying tobacco. Above and below the text is a row of a gold rivet-like design. There is also a row of red rivets toward the top and bottom of the band.

The secondary band is green. The band features the text “Short Tales” in gold font and is trimmed in gold across the top and bottom.

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw

A straight cut was used to remove the cap of the Saga Short Tales Tomo VII. Once the cap was removed, it was on the pre-light draw experience. The cold draw delivered a mix of dusty earth and natural sweet tobacco notes. This was a simple, but satisfactory pre-light draw. At this point, it was time to light up the Sage Short Tales Tomo VII and see what the cigar experience would have in store.

Tasting Notes

The Saga Short Tales Tomo VII opened up with more notes of dusty earth, natural tobacco, mixed pepper, and fruit sweetness. Early on the earth and fruit notes became primary. The natural tobacco and pepper notes settled in the background. Notes of caramel and cedar also emerged in the background. On the retro-hale was an additional layer of mixed pepper.

During the second third of Tomo VII, the fruit sweetness started to decrease. At the same time, the cedar, natural tobacco, and pepper notes started to increase. These three notes approached the forefront and there were times during the second third when each of them joined the earth notes in the forefront. By the midway point, the caramel notes had dissipated and the fruit notes became more of a citrus note.

The final third didn’t really see any dominant note. The earth, natural tobacco, cedar, and pepper notes were all on even ground. The citrus notes were still present as well. This is the way the Saga Short Tales Tomo VII came to a close. The resulting nub was cool in temperature and soft to the touch.

Burn

When it came to the burn of the Saga Short Tales Tomo VII, there was some meandering off the burn path and a wavy burn line. This required more frequent touch-ups than I preferred. The resulting ash was on the firm side with multiple shades of gray to the ash color. The burn rate and burn temperature were both ideal.

Draw

Overall the Saga Short Tales Tomo VII had a draw that was on the open side. Normally I like a little more resistance on a draw. This was a draw that also produced abundant layers of smoke.

Strength and Body

In terms of strength and body, the Saga Short Tales Tomo VII delivered a medium to full strength, and medium to full-bodied cigar from start to finish. There wasn’t much variance in the intensity of the strength and body of the Tomo VII.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

There are two things I’ve come to expect with the Saga Short Tales series. First, each of the cigars is going to be very different than the other cigars in the series. Second, the Saga Short Tales do not deliver a cookie-cutter profile. The cigars in this series all deliver quite a unique profile. The Saga VII is no exception to this. In today’s market, this is a nicely priced cigar that is under $9.50. This is going to be a cigar that’s on the bolder side. As a result, this is a cigar I would recommend to a more seasoned cigar enthusiast. As for myself, this is a cigar I would buy and smoke again.

Summary

Key Flavors: Mocha, Earth, Cedar, Classic Wood, Red Pepper
Burn: Good
Draw: Very Good
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Medium to Full
Body: Medium to Full
Finish: Good