2010 - Colección Habanos Bolivar Gran Belicoso

[Orion21]

Size: 7.1 X 54 – Rodolfo Double Pyramid

Limited to 1,000 books of 20 cigars each

Paired with Old Pulteney 21 year Scotch Whiskey

Smoking time 2 hours and 15 minutes

Cold Draw:

Gingerbread and sweet baking spice. Spicy on my lips.

Initial Lighting:

Super sweet. My mouth is coated with sweetness and espresso. Not harsh at all, no earthiness. A very refined start.

First Third:

The first third was an extension of the initial light. Medium bodied sweet smoke, that died down after about an inch. At this point the cigar goes medium light in body with very little sweetness. It’s now nutty and creamy. Approaching the end of the first third the cigar ashes and intense sweetness comes back to the cigar. There is a copious amount of smoke being produced. I count 10 seconds to expel all of the smoke from my mouth. The cigar is almost over powering the Old Pulteney 21. I'm also getting baking spice again and I can feel the nicotine already. 40 mins - 95 points

Second Third:

The second third picked up the end of the first and ran for a touchdown! Beautifully integrated flavors punctuated by the cigars sweetness and spice. Flavors include almonds, baking spice, sugarcane, espresso and heavy cream. The tail end of the second third had seen a lull. I am hoping the ash that is about to fall will bring it back.

45 mins - 96 points

Final Third:

Holy Bolivar Batman!!! This cigar just changed completely! Over a 5-10 minute span the cigar took on the demeanor of a hybrid Royal Corona/Belicosos Finos. Barnyard sweetness, earth, red pepper spice and espresso are the primary flavors I am now getting. I was absolutely not expecting this to happen, especially since the cigar was not very Bolivar like at any point before this. However, it is great that the blender was able to stuff some Bolivar goodness into this beauty.

45 mins - 96 points

Summary:

The main question I am sure to be asked is "Was it worth the money?" At over $50 per cigar it’s hard to quantify "value.". It was an exceptional cigar and now that I have smoked a couple of the different book releases I can say there is a distinct quality difference vs even high end regular, EL and RE production. However, they have been very similar types of cigars. They are always sweet, always medium bodied and always huge (size). They are absolutely special occasion smokes that will not disappoint you. They are also an investment, since both the cigars and book humidor they come in are collector’s items. I am lucky to own the SCDLH O'Reilly book humidor from a split. It is truly a beautiful work of art. My opinion is if you can get your hands on a single of any of these book cigars buy it. You won't be disappointed, but two of these cigars can equal a box of Bolivar PCs . . .

Final Score: 96 points

[maverickdrinker]

Great review bro. Thanks for sharing. Marc is going to have a conniption. LOL

Another great BOTL absolutely loves these cigars. I have a single that I might have to fire up and see how it is.

[Hafner32]

Thanks for the review, the cigar sounds delicious!

[Babaloo]

Now Im going to have to order two books! YUM thanks O

[mk05]

It was an exceptional cigar and now that I have smoked a couple of the different book releases I can say there is a distinct quality difference vs even high end regular, EL and RE production. However, they have been very similar types of cigars.

First off, thank you for the helpful review. You don't know how long I've been waiting/looking for a comprehensive review on the Bolivar book. Purchase on this seems to be rather thin, so the review volume is somewhat scarce. And if found, they're usually the unhelpful cries of glee and tears of joy associated with this type of release (I guess I don't blame them) that don't describe anything about the cigar, like "wow, what a tasty treat!" or "this cigar is blowing my mind with its flavors!" It's been frustrating.

I'm glad to know that you've had several other books/humi releases to gauge the experience. They are definitely different from LE, but in a way the same, as you've astutely noticed, to one another. There's always that silky quality, and a sticky sweetness, like a cake batter. Very distinct in the Monte Ancient Humidor release. Really makes me contemplate on the RA Humidor cigars.

Great review bro. Thanks for sharing. Marc is going to have a conniption. LOL

Yea yea yea...can you do a review on this please.

[dicko]

Thanks for the review, it sounds delicious