El Septimo Sacred Arts Collection Michelangelo (Eagle)

Today, we look at the El Septimo Sacred Arts Collection Michelangelo. El Septimo Geneva introduced the Sacred Arts Collection at the 2021 Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show. Keeping to El Septimo’s “7” theme, there are seven cigars in the Sacred Arts Collection. Each cigar is dedicated to a different day of the week and ties in with the seven days of creation. Each of those is both a different size and a different blend. Finally, each vitola is dedicated to an artist and one of their works. As the name indicates, the El Septimo Sacred Arts Collection Michelangelo pays homage to Michelangelo – specifically his work “The Creation of Adam.” This blend comes in one size – a 5 1/2 x 50 perfecto known as the Eagle.

The following are the specifics of the Sacred Arts Collection.

Leonardo da Vinci (The Last Supper): Lancero (7 1/2 x 40). Represents the First day of Creation when God created light.
Michaelangelo (The Creation of Adam): Eagle (5 1/2 x 50). Represents the Second Day of Creation when God created the sky.
Botticelli (The Announcement): Salomon (7 1/2 x 58). Represents the Third Day of Creation when God created the earth, sea, and plants.
Raphael (Sistine Madonna): Robusto (6 x 50). Represents the Fourth Day of Creation when God created the sun, moon, and stars.
Salvador Dali (Christ of Saint John of the Cross): Toro (6 1/2 x 54) Represents the Fifth Day of Creation when God created the creatures of the sea and birds.
Rembrandt (The Return of the Prodigal Son): Torpedo (7 x 54). Represents the Sixth Day of Creation when God created life – humans and land animals.
Van Gogh (Pieta): Royal Salomon (9 x 56). Represents the Seventh Day of Creation when God rested.

In addition, a 14-cigar sampler is dedicated to Masaccio and his work “Saint Andrew.” It contains two of each of the seven cigars in the Sacred Arts Collection.

Sacred Arts Collection (Photo Credit: El Septimo Geneva)

The El Septimo brand has been around since 2005. In 2019, Zaya Younan acquired the brand, and since then, he has been making significant moves to position his company as a leader in the ultra-premium space. Since the acquisition, Younan has worked to build his brand portfolio, his distribution channels, and the development of luxury cigar lounges. The company has also made headlines with its multi-million dollar lighters and ashtrays. For now, we will turn our attention to the cigars, specifically the Michelangelo.

El Septimo Sacred Arts Collection Michelangelo Cigar Review

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend and Origin

Details of the Michelangelo have not been disclosed – which is par for the course for the El Septimo Sacred Arts Collection. Production comes from El Septimo’s factory in Costa Rica.

Wrapper: Undisclosed
Binder: Undisclosed
Filler: Undisclosed
Country of Origin: Costa Rica
Factory: El Septimo

Vitolas Offered

As mentioned, the Michelangelo comes in one size – a 5 1/2 x 50 perfecto known as the Eagle. The cigars are presented in 20-count boxes.

Appearance

The Michelangelo is an impressive-looking cigar. The wrapper had the look of dark-roasted coffee. The surface of the wrapper has some oils on it. There are also some thin veins and some visible wrapper seams. The perfecto has a gentle taper toward the cap and a sharper taper by the footer. The footer of the cigar is also open.

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw

A straight cut was used to remove the cap of the Michelangelo. The cap was clipped, and enough tapering was still left on the cigar to take advantage of it. The cold draw delivered a mix of coffee, cedar, and mineral. This wasn’t the most exciting pre-light draw, but since the pre-light draw is not factored into the numeric score or assessment rating, there was no loss of points here. At this point, it was time to toast up the footer of the Michelangelo and see what the smoking phase would have in store.

Tasting Notes

The Michelangelo opened up with mocha, mineral, earth, red pepper, and cedar notes. The mocha notes were a classic fusion of coffee and chocolate notes. The mocha notes moved to the forefront early on. Meanwhile, the mineral, earth, red pepper, and cedar settled in the background. Meanwhile, there was an additional layer of red pepper on the retro-hale.

The mocha notes transitioned to a black coffee note as the Michelangelo moved into the second third. Meanwhile, the earth, mineral, and red pepper notes in the background all increased in intensity. There still were also some cedar notes.

By the final third, the mineral notes moved into the forefront. This led to the coffee notes receding into the background. The red pepper notes were still the most prominent in the background. In addition, there were still some cedar and earth notes. This is the way the Michelangelo came to a close. The resulting nub was slightly warm to the touch and lukewarm in temperature.

Burn

The burn to the Michelangelo required multiple touch-ups to maintain a straight burn path and straight burn line. While the touch-ups did the trick, more were needed than I preferred. The resulting ash was silver-gray. This was an ash that was skewed toward the firmer side. As for the burn rate and burn temperature, both maintained ideal levels.

Burn of the El Septimo Sacred Arts Collection Michelangelo

Draw

While I usually like a little resistance on the draw, the draw to the Michelangelo was more on the snug side. There were no issues around re-lights being required – just that the draw had to be worked harder.

Strength and Body

The Michelangelo started out with medium-strength and medium-bodied flavors. There was a slight increase in the strength and body. By the last third, both the strength and body were in medium to full territory. In terms of strength versus body, both attributes balanced each other nicely, with neither attribute overpowering the other.

BANDING AND PACKAGING NOTES

I liked the look of the Michelangelo packaging, from its sleek boxes to the gold bands and the blue secondary bands. Although part of me would have liked to see Michelangelo or something related to his works on the bands, I still think the bands work. El Septimo should be credited for using color to differentiate each cigar in the Sacred Arts Collection.

A negative, the bands were difficult to remove. Since banding and packaging are also not included in the score, there is no loss of points here.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

The Michelangelo is a classic “tale of two cigars.” The first half was quite enjoyable – especially when the mocha notes were kicking in. The second half wasn’t as pleasant. As the mineral component of this flavor profile increased, I became less interested in this flavor profile. Given that this ultra-premium cigar is priced at $16.00, I was expecting a little more. In the end, this is a cigar I’m more inclined to recommend trying a sample. At the same time, my curiosity is still piqued, and I want to try the other six installments of the Sacred Arts Collection.

Summary

Key Flavors: Mocha (Coffee/Chocolate), Mineral, Cedar, Earth, Pepper
Burn: Very Good
Draw: Very Good
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Medium (1st 2/3), Medium to Full (Last third)
Body: Medium (1st 2/3), Medium to Full (Last third)
Finish: Good