Epicurean Gonzo Santeria Vintage 2009 Ruca

This evening we have the Epicurean Cigars, Gonzo Santeria Vintage 2009 in Ruca.  This cigar comes in at 5 X 42.  It has a pig tail cap, invisible seems and minimal veins.  Its slightly box pressed and has a oily wrapper.  At first light notes of coffee and black pepper are present on the draw.  The pepper isn't to powerful on the draw but through the nose on the "retro-hale" its very potent.  I would put it at a 7 out of 10 on the "zing" pepper scale.  The finish has earth and coco notes and is medium bodied.  The finish flavors fade fairly quickly.  The burn is razor sharp and the draw produces large amounts of smoke.

The second inch is producing more of the same flavors.  Lots of pepper and coffee on the draw and coco and earth notes on the finish.  The flavors are becoming more full bodied and are very delicious.  The burn is absolutely razor sharp and the draw continues to produce large amounts of smoke.  Very enjoyable so far.

Three inches down and the flavors start to change up a little bit.  On the draw the spice and  coffee remain.  On the finish the coco and earth notes are still present but a sweet leather starts to take over near the end of the finish.  The flavors are lasting on the palate all the way until the next draw now and are full in body.  Burn is still razor sharp and draw is excellent.

With two inches to go the flavors start to get warm and the cigar  is getting mushy.  I put it down for the last time at the 42 minute mark, which is a good amount of time for a small ring gauge cigar.  Overall, this was a very tasty smoke.  I highly recommend tracking some down.  I found some online at  the Cigar Federation Store.

Thanks to Gary Griffith for sending this in for review.  Check him out on twitter @EmilioCigars.  Or go to houseofemilio.com for more information on their other lines.

Price: $10.25
Appearance: 93
Draw: 95
Burn: 97
Flavor: 91
Complexity: 88
Burn Time: 87

Overall Score: 92