Amendola NYC Series The West Side Story Bat

There has been no shortage of tributes to New York City over the years, from songs to books to movies and any number of other artistic works. There have also been a handful of cigars that pay tribute to the city, and in April 2023, Amendola Cigars released its own tribute, the NYC Series.

For the release, Amendola Cigars created two blends: the Bat and the Blade, which are named for weapons used in the famous Broadway musical, West Side Story. Both cigars are 6 x 52 torpedoes, both are made at Martinez Cigars in Manhattan, and both are priced at $14 per cigar, but they have different blends.

This cigar, the Bat, uses a Mexican San Andrés wrapper, an Indonesian binder, and fillers from the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua. The Blade, meanwhile, uses a Brazilian Arapiraca wrapper over an Indonesian binder over fillers from the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua. To tell the cigars apart, the cigars wear a secondary band that features an image of the weapons, though it’s worth noting that the bats on this cigar are partially wrapped in barbed wire, giving them a more menacing look than a standard baseball bat.

After debuting at several events around the New York City area, the cigars shipped to stores in April 2023.

• Cigar Reviewed: Amendola NYC Series The West Side Story Bat
• Country of Origin: U.S.A.
• Factory: Martinez Cigars
• Wrapper: Mexico (San Andrés)
• Binder: Indonesia
• Filler: Dominican Republic & NIcaragua
• Length: 6 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 52
• Vitola: Torpedo
• MSRP: $14 (Box of 20, $280)
• Release Date: April 2023
• Number of Cigars Released: Regular Production
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

To the eye, the Amendola NYC Series The West Side Story Bat has a dry appearance and touching the wrapper confirms that, as it has one of the most texture-laden physical sensations I’ve come across recently. There is a ton of tooth on the wrapper, seemingly contributing to the texture, while a decent number of veins create ridges that add to the texture. As for the color, the cigars are on the darker side of average, with lighter spots appearing around the veins and some noticeable differences in the tobacco used to create the head. Speaking of that, the points of the torpedo heads generally come up a bit short in terms of how well they are created, but for a part of the cigar that I’m going to be cutting off, I’m not too concerned. The rest of the cigar looks well-rolled, and in terms of firmness, the cigar is fairly average to a touch firm, showing some give in two of the three cigars. An aroma of sweet hay is the first thing I pick up from the feet, followed by a bit of chocolate chip cookie dough—though no actual chocolate—and then very subtle touches of creaminess, cereal and bread. There’s not a lot of pepper in the aroma, but once I stop actively sniffing the cigar, my nose starts tingling. On two cigars, air moves very well on the cold draw, while the third has some resistance. All three offer a fairly mild flavor; in some ways, it reminds me of a snack mix with a very neutral flavor; it’s pleasant enough in that it hits the taste buds pleasantly enough to keep you eating more, but it isn’t particularly distinctive. A touch of creaminess is present in one of the cigars.

The first puffs of the Amendola NYC Series The West Side Story Bat are fairly rich, earthy, and peppery, but also have something that reminds me of pretzels, both the soft ones you’d find at a ballgame and the bagged ones you’d find at a convenience store. While there’s a touch of pepper in the flavor, retrohales have a good bit more and thus really wake up the senses. A light sprinkling of chalk and an almost sandy or loamy terroir make sporadic appearances, as does some woodiness of varying intensities; in one cigar is a bit drier and tastes like lumber, while in another, it is almost damp bark. The first third is flavorful but not particularly eventful or complex save for an occasional puff, sitting around medium-plus in flavor intensity, while the body is medium, and strength is medium-minus. Construction is very good, with good amounts of smoke, a very smooth draw and an even burn line.

A bit of creaminess joins the profile at the start of the second third, helping to give the cigar some complexity as the flavors now have a more layered texture as they hit my taste buds. The third cigar that I smoke, the one with the firmest draw, also delivers the heaviest profile of the three, a notable difference from what I initially pegged as a relatively light profile in the first cigar. I’m not sure which one I like better, as both have strong upsides, though I find myself missing the creaminess as if it’s there in the third cigar, it’s having a really hard time standing out in the profile. Across the three cigars, one clearly stands head and shoulders above the other two, staying right around medium flavor intensity, which allows the blend to show off its complexity. One cigar seems a bit too restrained in its flavor, while the other was good but a bit heavy, making for an interesting comparison of the three around the midpoint. This section finishes with a bit more woodiness joining the profile, a change that catches my attention as the profile has been fairly linear in the case of the first cigar, while the other two have offered a bit of complexity, with this addition feeling like a progression. Flavor is at its most complex thus far, falling around medium-plus to medium-full through this portion, while the body fills out a bit as well and sits around medium-full. Strength is interesting, as there are moments in certain cigars where it feels completely mild, and others where I get a medium level of strength, though none having me feeling woozy. Construction remains very good across the board, but it does feel like the smoke production is diminishing just a touch.

After largely being found in the retrohale, black pepper moves down to the taste buds as the final third of the Amendola NYC Series The West Side Story Bat gets underway. Like many aspects of this blend, there’s some variance as to just how much hits the palate, as one is mild, one is quite full, and the third shows up but doesn’t rise to the top of the profile. There’s some commonality of earth, pepper and wood that unites the profiles of the three cigars, though the intensity varies, as does the body and weight of the smoke. I also have to give the cigar for staying quite balanced, as while each of the components has taken the lead at times, none have led the profile astray or overly compromised the supporting flavors. The final puffs remain balanced and flavorful, with flavor finishing at a solid medium, maybe medium-plus, while body is a thick medium-full and strength is just shy of medium. Smoke production is reduced in the final third, and it feels like each puff does less to aid combustion, but otherwise, the construction remains very good.

Final Notes

• I’m happy to see Martinez Cigars getting more attention as a cigar maker, as it seems like it has gotten overlooked when talking about American-made cigars.
• Martinez Cigars also produces cigars for J. London as well as under its own name, selling them to other shops around the country. In fact, they had a booth at the PCA Convention & Trade Show in recent years.

• Both of the bands feature messages on their backsides; the main band says Onore, the Italian word for honor, while the secondary band says How You Doin with the hashtag #wearethemuscle.
• While I like that fact, all of the bands were glued together quite tightly, so much so that I missed the message on the secondary band of the first cigar I smoked because it got torn up.
• That glue also makes its way to the wrapper, taking off some of the outer leaf of each cigar.
• The Amendola NYC Series The West Side Story Bat didn’t hit me with much in the way of nicotine strength.
• I have yet to try the Blade, so I can’t offer a comparison between the two.
• The cigars for this review were purchased by halfwheel.
• Final smoking time was two hours and five minutes on average.
• Site sponsor Atlantic Cigar Co. carries the Amendola NYC Series The West Side Story Bat.