Bolivar No. 2 Tubos (POS JUL06)

[stever]

Just like its more well-known cousin, the Bolivar Petit Corona, the Bolivar No. 2 Tubos is a Mareva. However, the No. 2, unlike the BPC, is wrapped in a cedar sheet and sealed in an aluminum tube. Also, the No. 2 is usually more expensive than a dress box of BPC.

Interestingly, I have seen some references to the filler used in the No. 2 being inferior to that used in the BPC. I'm not sure of the accuracy of this assertion. I haven’t been able to find much information on the No. 2, and if any one does have more insight on the No. 2, please feel free to contribute. Is the blend or the quality of the tobacco different from the BPC? I wish I had a BPC from a dress box or cab with the same box code to do a direct comparison.

The No. 2 Tubos has a rich dark brown, silky smooth and oily wrapper with a nice bloom on it. There is one noticeable vein running halfway up the front, but overall, construction is very good. While the cigar has a nice weight in hand, it is somewhat spongy, especially around the band. Prelight nose is of sweet tea, cinnamon and light cedar. At the foot, the odor is richer, with a hint of cocoa. The taste at cold is sweet, grassy and slightly fruity, with a hint of leather and pepper. The taste is also slightly salty.

The opening draw produces a rich dense smoke with a medium-full body that is creamy, with earth and roasted coffee flavors. There’s also a white pepper edge with a definite nasal-clearing aspect. Smoke production is excellent with a round, slightly sweet, mouth feel. After a few draws, spicy, clean tobacco, wood and earth flavors dominate. The initial sweetness I first met is soon replaced by a dryer, more delicate tobacco flavor. It’s not as rich and sweet at the onset as an '05 BPC from a cabinet that I recently smoked. By the half-inch mark, some nutty and cocoa flavors come through.

The burn is very even and razor sharp, and the ash is dark, nicely striated, and with resin specs. The cigar produces a rich, spicy aromatic smoke. While lacking the depth of flavors of the '05 BPC at this point, the cigar is nonetheless very well balanced, creamy and easy to smoke, and finishes very cleanly. I would say that there’s more of a woody flavor to this cigar than in the '05 BPC.

By the one inch mark, there’s more cocoa flavor, and some sweetness starts to build on the aftertaste. Pretty soon, I detect more of a toasted nut flavor mid-palate and more of a nougat flavor on the aftertaste.

In the second stage, the cigar’s creamy wood and spicy tobacco core builds in strength, and the aftertaste gradually develops more of a honeyed nougat sweetness.

In the last stage, the ash becomes visibly darker, almost black, and the smoke develops more of a rich mouth feel. There’s also more black pepper flavor that produces a pleasant tingling sensation on the palate. The aftertaste is also much stronger and sweeter. By the end, the tobacco tastes toastier and less dry, but there’s always a rich, spicy earth flavor to the smoke.

The No. 2 Tubos lasted an hour and a quarter and was an excellent smoke that is in some ways similar to the BPC, but in other ways it is more rich, dark and earthy. I definitely think the No. 2 is worth buying and keeping in one’s rotation. BTW, this No. 2 Tubos came from a box I purchased from Czar last fall; excellent quality as usual.

As an added bonus, save the tubes for storing BPCs from a dress box or cab. I plan to store a ‘97 and a ‘05 in a tube for at least year to see what effect there is on their aging. I hope to review their progress at a future date.

[MaltPointer]

I learned a lot reading this review, Stever. Fantastic job all around!

More please . . . . :-)

[winelover]

Thanks for the review. Great pics too. I am a big tubos lover and pleased to read something about a bolivar for a change.

[stever]

» Interestingly, I have seen some references to the filler used in the No. 2

» being inferior to that used in the BPC. I'm not sure of the accuracy of

» this assertion. I haven’t been able to find much information on the No. 2,

» and if any one does have more insight on the No. 2, please feel free to

» contribute. Is the blend or the quality of the tobacco different from the

» BPC?

Rob:

Would you be able to provide some info here? I have yet to receive an answer, despite having posted this on other boards. Thanks. :-)

[El Presidente]

First of all....Great Review Reminds me of when ken use to do indepth review before he took up slapstick.

I have never heard this re the Boli 2 Tubos. I can't differentiate the blend outside of influence of cedar in aged No 2's. Let me have a look to see the box codes on our Boli PC and Boi Tubos 2 stock. If I can get some that are the same or close then I will review one of each and take apart a second of each to study the proportions of the blend.

[stever]

» Let me have a look to

» see the box codes on our Boli PC and Boi Tubos 2 stock. If I can get some

» that are the same or close then I will review one of each and take apart a

» second of each to study the proportions of the blend.

Wow, excellent!

Let me know if you would like some of my POS JUL 06 No. 2s. It's the least I could do to help out with this study.

[CoryOllis]

» » Let me have a look to

» » see the box codes on our Boli PC and Boi Tubos 2 stock. If I can get

» some

» » that are the same or close then I will review one of each and take apart

» a

» » second of each to study the proportions of the blend.

»

» Wow, excellent!

»

» Let me know if you would like some of my POS JUL 06 No. 2s. It's the least

» I could do to help out with this study.

I love compare and contrast reviews. Look forward to it and well done on this one, too.

[Miami101]

Great review:

[greenpimp]

Very nice review.

What I have read over the years is that the blend for these matching tubo and non-tubo versions vitolas is always the same, (MC petite tubo-MC4, etc.) I would personally be very surprised if that were not true. However I understand little and know less, and the world constantly surprises me.