For those of you that don’t know…

When I heard that Dion was releasing a cigar for under $4/ stick, I had to order a few to try out.

The Cuchillos Cubanos is Illusione’s budget smoke, much like the Tatuaje Series P or the Padron 2000. Each cigar is a 60/40 blend of long and medium filler (albeit is still hand rolled) and is available in 4 different vitolas:

• ~40~ 5 1/4 x 40 (comes in a pack of 5)
• ~42~ 4 3/4 x 42 (comes in a pack of 5)
• ~46~ 4 1/2 x 46 (comes in a pack of 5)
• ~47~ 7 x 47 (comes in a pack of 4)

First, the packaging on this cigar must be discussed. The sticks come in a very nicely built and package box (5 to a box for the 45 and 46, 4 to a box for the 47),and to be honest, I was blown away by the look, a stark black letters on a white box that is very attractive. Inside, each cigar is wrapped in cello, and is sans band.

But enough of that, let’s get down to business, shall we?

• Cigar Reviewed: Illusione Cuchillos Cubanos ~47~
• Country of Origin: Honduras
• Factory: Fabrica de Tabacos Raíces Cubanas S. de R.L. (Raíces Cubanas)
• Wrapper: Nicaragua
• Binder: Nicaragua
• Filler: Nicaragua
• Size: 7 inches
• Ring Gauge: 47
• Vitola: Churchill
• Est. Price: $18.00 for a pack of 4

When I smelled the cigar after taking it out of the Cello, a stench of what I can only describe as “Barnyard” hit my nose…(not a bad smell at all, but very distinctive…) I spent some summers on a farm with horses, and smelling this stick brought back ALOT of memories…The cigar itself is fairly large, and the wrapper has quite a few veins present, (almost to the point of distraction)…

Immediately after lighting the cigar, I was assaulted by a blast of what tasted like black pepper (but unlike with some other sticks, like Tats for example, there was no spice included)…it was to be a theme throughout the entire smoke…

The First Third was all about the aforementioned pepper…it did get overwhelming at times, and almost drowned out any other flavors that were there…I did taste some cedar, but it is tough going…the burn was fairly uneven, but the draw was Excellent…

During the Second Third, the pepper calmed down quite a bit, and some notes of cedar dominated…I also tasted some Brown Sugar, but not that much of it, and it was there and gone almost before I could identify it…

The pepper returned during the Final Third, and alternated between that and the cedar notes…It started to get hot at the end, and I had to put it out with a little left…

Some Final Notes:

• There was not a whole bunch of smoke with this cigar, despite it’s size (and despite the last photo)…I was a little surprised at that, but the small amount of smoke remained constant throughout the smoke.
• This stick was one of the fastest burning cigars for it’s size, I was done with it in 1 hour and 2 minutes
• The cigar was very one dimensional, going from Pepper to Cedar and back to pepper, but it was a nice, quality smoke that I enjoyed nonetheless…
• The cigar got harsh in the middle for a bit, but not long enough for me to quit smoking it…the harshness at the end was another story…

The Bottom Line: It is a good smoke (ESPECIALLY for the price), but one that I will not be going out of my way to purchase in the future (unless it goes on sale …It would be perfect for the golf course.

Final Score: 84