Illusione Epernay D'Aosta 10th Anniversary (R90)

[JoeyBones777]

The last 90+ point cigar I had was the other day and it was from my favorite NC brand Illusione. The one I had the other day was the second one I've had and it was phenomenal 93 points with pepper, nice brown butter notes, intermittent floral, cinnamon, semi-sweet chocolate, leather and toasted brioche.

This is the 3rd one I've tried, first one wasn't as good as the 2nd one but still good, probably closer to 90.

Draw and burn are good but did require a couple minor touch ups. The flavors start of with cayenne and cinnamon reminiscent of cinnamon candy and toasted tobacco. It then went a bit flat and seemed a bit stronger than the other sample.

After the halfway point the flavors get a bit better with some of the brown butter coming in and out, dark chocolate, a slight floral character and toasted tobacco. Toward the end some light leather popped in.

All in all it was a bit disappointing compared to the first 2 samples and one of the biggest differences I've noticed between samples of the same cigar from Illusione. I feel like this particular sample needed some age to flesh out more of the flavors and tone down some of the pepper and smooth out the retrohale. This sample ended up at an 88. Still a decent cigar but not the great cigar that I had the other day.

 

[alloy]

I bought a box of these for $77. Got them last week and they are spending time in the wineador. Thanks for the review.

[JoeyBones777]

I may end up getting a box myself. I love Epernay but these are different in an interesting way. Funny how just changing the binder can affect the flavors in a blend so drastically. The first 2 I had were better than this one. That brown butter note is unique and fantastic.

[Theophilus]

I’ll have to try one thanks 

[MigsG]

Interesting that you reviewed this Illusione. I have one and have been hesitant to try it because I had an ECCJ and tasted almost nothing except a nutty cream.  Maybe it’s time to give this Epernay a shot.

[prshah25]

I love these sticks. In my opinion it needs atleast 1-2 years of aging to smoothen out the rough edges. 

[JoeyBones777]

33 minutes ago, prshah25 said:

I love these sticks. In my opinion it needs atleast 1-2 years of aging to smoothen out the rough edges. 

Yeah, I think you are right. Even the one I had the other day had some rough edges but all the flavors were there. It gave me a glimpse of what these will be. I'll be getting a box or 2 for sure.

[JoeyBones777]

3 hours ago, MigsG said:

Interesting that you reviewed this Illusione. I have one and have been hesitant to try it because I had an ECCJ and tasted almost nothing except a nutty cream.  Maybe it’s time to give this Epernay a shot.

The ECCJ 20th was phenomenal in the original release. I've not been a fan of them since becoming regular production. I prefer the regular epernay line in le ferme, le grande, le Matin or l'excellence. Also by Illusione, Haut 10, singulare miserere, le grande classe and Rothschilds(budget cigar) are all great!

[MigsG]

16 hours ago, JoeyBones777 said:

The ECCJ 20th was phenomenal in the original release. I've not been a fan of them since becoming regular production. I prefer the regular epernay line in le ferme, le grande, le Matin or l'excellence. Also by Illusione, Haut 10, singulare miserere, le grande classe and Rothschilds(budget cigar) are all great!

I happen to also have a single of Haut 10 which I haven’t tried yet.  I definitely agree with you on Rothschilds, it is a tasty affordable cigar!

[5thStarChicago]

The Epernay D'Aosta 10th is regular production, albeit limited, and is definitely different from the standard Epernay blend. @JoeyBones777 I'm curious if the 3 you've smoked are from the same box or different ones?  I only ask because the first batch came in and sold out quickly, and it took a couple months for more to come in.  The original ones may have rested longer before Dion released them, as he tends to delay an initial launch until he thinks they are prefect.  Future production many not get the benefit of the same aging as the original release. 

I think Illusione is some of the best NC stuff out there.  The Singulare Phantom is one of my all time faves, even in regular production, and I've been impressed with the One Off Canonazo (not so much with the skinnier One Off vitolas, which makes me sad).  The newest Singulare (gorgeous figurado) is also a really nice cigar.

 

[JoeyBones777]

3 hours ago, 5thStarChicago said:

The Epernay D'Aosta 10th is regular production, albeit limited, and is definitely different from the standard Epernay blend. @JoeyBones777 I'm curious if the 3 you've smoked are from the same box or different ones?  I only ask because the first batch came in and sold out quickly, and it took a couple months for more to come in.  The original ones may have rested longer before Dion released them, as he tends to delay an initial launch until he thinks they are prefect.  Future production many not get the benefit of the same aging as the original release. 

I think Illusione is some of the best NC stuff out there.  The Singulare Phantom is one of my all time faves, even in regular production, and I've been impressed with the One Off Canonazo (not so much with the skinnier One Off vitolas, which makes me sad).  The newest Singulare (gorgeous figurado) is also a really nice cigar.

 

Yes they were from different boxes. The first one I had was from the release batch which I rested 2 months prior to smoking and it was in the middle of the other 2 samples for performance. I probably should have rested it 3 months as I am guessing it did a lot of travel prior to hitting the shelf. The other 2 samples I had a few days from each other that I purchased from the same vendor. I'm assuming they are from the same box since there was only 1 box on the shelf but it is possible they topped off a new box with the remainder of an almost empty box.?‍♂️ 

Illusione is my favorite NC brand by far. I was quite surprised by the difference in the last 2 samples though the last one was still good just not as consistent as I'm used to by Dion. I like the One Off corona but I haven't had any other sizes in that blend. I've only had the 7 horns,  miserere, annunaki and turin in the Singulare line. I love the miserere but thought the others ranged from decent to meh. I'll have to try the phantom. I wasn't a fan of the 7 horns. However, I had that close to its release and it may have needed more rest. I'll have to revisit it.