Curivari Achilles Mirmidones 52

At the 2015 IPCPR Convention & Trade Show,  Curivari released a new variation of its Achilles brand named after the Trojan War hero in Greek mythology and central character in Homer’s Iliad. The name of the new blend, Mirmidones, builds upon that theme, and is named after the warriors that were both trained and commanded by Achilles. The new blend replaces the Nicaraguan wrapper of the original Achilles brand with a Mexican San Andrés leaf, but keeps the same Nicaraguan tobaccos in both the binder and filler.

There were three vitolas of the Achilles Mirmidones at launch, with each cigar named after the ring gauge they offer: the 5 x 52 Achilles Mirmidones 52 ($8.50), the 6 x 54 Achilles Mirmidones 54 (49.50) and the 6 3/4 x 58 Achilles Mirmidones 58 ($10.) All three sizes are packaged in boxes of 10, and rolled at the Plasencia Cigars factory in Esteli, Nicaragua.

• Cigar Reviewed: Curivari Achilles Mirmidones 52
• Country of Origin: Nicaragua
• Factory: Plasencia Cigars
• Wrapper: Mexican San Andrés
• Binder: Nicaragua
• Filler: Nicaragua
• Size: 5 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 52
• Vitola: Robusto
• MSRP: $8.50 (Boxes of 10, $85)
• Release Date: August 2015
• Number of Cigars Released: Regular Production
• Number of Cigars Smoked for Review: 3

Visually, the Achilles Mirmidones 52 seems nicely rolled with an extremely dark wrapper that exhibits some tooth when I run my finger down the length of it along with a very soft box-press. There is obviously quite a bit of tobacco in it, and it is quite dense when held in my hand, and is appropriately spongy when squeezed. Aroma from the wrapper is a combination of earth, manure, citrus, sweet milk chocolate and cinnamon, while the cold draw brings flavors of strong barnyard, hay, earth, leather, cocoa and slight black pepper.

The Achilles Mirmidones 52 starts off the first third extremely earthy, with a dominant combination of leather, barnyard and gritty earth, interspersed with bitter espresso, hay, dark chocolate and oak. There is a very slight dark berry sweetness on the retrohale, but it is just not strong enough to place this early on. Construction is quite good overall, with an excellent draw, although I do have to touch up the burn once to keep it from running away. Strength-wise, the Achilles is not exactly a powerhouse, and ends the first third well short of the medium mark.

Coming into the second third of the Achilles Mirmidones 52, and the dominant flavors remain almost unchanged: strong gritty earth, leather and hay. Other notes of dark cocoa, coffee beans, oak and slight citrus flit in and out, fighting for space. The sweetness on the palate is more noticeable, and reminds me strongly of molasses, but it is still not strong enough to really make that much of a difference the overall profile. The burn has become a little wavy, forcing me to touch it up a couple of times, but the draw is still excellent, and the smoke production remains above average. The strength hits the medium mark late in the second third, but stalls out there, and I am thinking it won’t go much further than that.

The final third of the Achilles Mirmidones 52 features more molasses sweetness, especially on the retrohale, and it integrates nicely with the still dominant earthy and leather flavors. The secondary flavors are still basically the same: coffee, hay, peanuts, cinnamon and dark chocolate. The draw remains excellent, and the burn has evened out nicely, while the smoke production continues to impress. As I expected, the overall strength goes nowhere compared to the second third, and ends up still at a solid medium by the time I put the nub down with less than an inch left.

Final Notes

• Curivari actually uses the Spanish word for the Greek warriors, Mirmidones, instead of the Greek spelling, which is Myrmidons.
• The overall construction was quite good for the most part, although I did have to touch up two of the samples a few time to keep the burn line from running away from me.
• Curivari has yet another incarnation of the Achilles blend coming out this year, joining the previous two. The new blend incorporates same internal Nicaraguan tobaccos for the filler and binder but uses a Colorado habano wrapper from Nicaragua.
• The cigars for this review were purchased by halfwheel.
• The final smoking time for all three samples averaged one hour and 20 minutes.
• If you would like to purchase any of the Achilles Mirmidones, site sponsors Atlantic Cigar and Serious Cigars have them stock.