Eladio Díaz Before & After Pasion

Today, we review the Before & After cigar in the Pasion (Toro) size from Eladio Díaz Cigars. Eladio Díaz Cigars is the brand owned by the legendary Eladio Díaz. Díaz is best known for his long career at Davidoff, where he wore hats from blending to supervising production at Davidoff’s factories. In 2021, Díaz quietly departed tobacco. As quiet as Díaz’s departure was, his re-emergence in the cigar industry was equally silent. Later that year, he opened his own factory, Tabacalera Diaz Cabrera, in the Dominican Republic. Díaz’s focus would remain on producing blends for private label and other third-party companies.

Last year, Díaz took the next step and released his own cigar, a limited edition called the Eladio Díaz 70. This would be a cigar to commemorate Díaz’s 70th birthday. Earlier this year, Díaz took another step, launching a regular production line known as the Before & After.

As for the name, it pays homage to Díaz’s storied career in the cigar industry. At the same time, it pays homage to the family members (who have joined him with the factory brand) who will carry the legacy into the future.

Without further ado, let’s break down the Before & After Pasion and see what this cigar offers.

Eladio Díaz Before & After Pasion – Cigar Review

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend and Origin

At its core, the Before & After is a Dominican-centric blend, as tobaccos from the Dominican Republic make up the binder and filler. The cigar itself is finished with an Ecuadorian-grown Corojo wrapper. Production for Before & Now comes out of Díaz’s Tabacalera Diaz Cabrera in the Dominican Republic.

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Corojo
Binder: Dominican Habano 2000
Filler: Dominican (Piloto Cubano, Habano 92, Habano 2000, Broadleaf)
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Factory: Tabacalera Diaz Cabrera

Vitolas Offered

Before & After is offered in three sizes. Each is presented in a 20-count box.

My Family: 5 x 50
Passion: 6 x 52
Legado: 5 3/4 x 54

Appearance (*)

The Before & After Pasion’s Ecuadorian Corojo wrapper was near cinnamon in color. There was a slight amount of mottling on the surface, a light coating of oil, some visible veins, and some minimally visible wrapper seams.

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw (*)

A straight cut was used to remove the Before & After Pasion cap. Once the cap was removed, it was time to commence the pre-light draw. The cold draw of the cigar delivered a mix of sweet tobacco and graham cracker. I usually would say graham cracker is one of the worst used tobacco notes out there – in that I read reviews with it, but rarely get the flavor. With the Before & After Pasion, the graham cracker was definitely present. Combined with sweet tobacco, it makes for an excellent pre-light. At this point, it was time to toast up the footer of the Before & After Pasion and see what the smoking phase would have in store.

Tasting Notes

The graham cracker notes didn’t carry over once the Before & After Pasion was lit up. There was a mix of sweet natural tobacco, nougat, earth, and mushroom. Early on, there was quite a bit of sweetness as the natural tobacco and nougat flavors became primary. The earth and mushroom settled in the background. The nougat notes diminished as the cigar burned through the first third. Eventually, the nougat settled in the background and was replaced by a cedar note. Meanwhile, some mixed pepper showed up on the tongue. There also was mixed pepper on the retro-hale.

During the second third of the Before & After Pasion, the mushroom and earth notes joined the natural tobacco in the forefront. Mushroom isn’t totally a unique note when it comes to Eladio Díaz. Meanwhile, the mixed pepper and cedar notes remained secondary. Toward the latter part of the second third, the natural tobacco notes began to re-emerge as the sole primary note. The natural tobacco lost its sweetness and stated to take on more bitter qualities.

The bitterness in the natural tobacco that emerged in the second third spiked in the final third. It became a dominant note, overpowering the earth, mushroom, cedar, and pepper. Unfortunately, this made for a disappointing conclusion to the Before & After Pasion. The resulting nub was soft to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn

Burn of the Eladio Díaz Before & After Pasion

The burn of the Before & After Pasion was somewhat uneven and, at a few times, did meander. In the end, this was a cigar that required frequent touch-ups. While the touch-ups did the trick, more were needed than I preferred. The resulting ash was silver-gray. This was an ash skewed toward the firmer side. The burn temperature was ideal. As for the burn rate, I found this cigar burned a little fast. The average smoking time for the three samples smoked was 76 minutes. This was a little fast for a 6 x 52 size.

Draw

The draw to the Before & After Pasion was on the open side. It wasn’t an overly loose draw, but it was enough to result in a faster burn rate. I don’t think the faster burn helped here. As many know from my assessments, I like a little resistance when it comes to the draw.

Strength and Body

The Before & After Pasion opened with mild to medium strength. By the second third, the strength increased enough to cross into medium territory, where it leveled off for the remainder of the smoking experience. The flavors were medium-bodied and pretty much constant in intensity for the duration of the smoking experience. In terms of strength versus body, the body maintained a slight edge.

BANDING AND PACKAGING NOTES (*)

I do like the band design. These are white in color. It has Eladio’s signature in gold over a background that has a watermark image highlighted by Eladio. It also has the Tabacalera Diaz Cabrera logo in the background. I also like the white boxes, which are also highlighted by a white and gold design.

While I like the white and gold design, the color scheme (not the design) reminded me a bit of Davidoff. I personally would have moved away from those colors.

Photo supplied by Arango Cigar Co.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

After an excellent pre-light draw and a nice start in the first third, I had high hopes for the Before & After Pasion. Things began to change later in the first third as the sweetness diminished. Then, things took a turn when the bitterness emerged. This happened on each of the samples I smoked. I have long been a fan of Eladio’s work at Davidoff and wanted to like this cigar. Unfortunately, the way this cigar took a turn is simply a cigar I cannot see myself returning to or recommending.

Summary

Key Flavors: Natural Tobacco, Mushroom, Earth, Nougat, Cedar, Pepper
Burn: Very Good
Draw: Good
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Mild to Medium (1st Half), Medium (2nd Half)
Body: Medium
Finish: Good