Eiroa Dark 11/18

For the second consecutive review, I’m reviewing a cigar that was made as part of the Tobacconists’ Association of America’s (TAA) Exclusive Series Program (ESP). Rather than reinventing the wheel, I’ll copy and paste what I wrote in the Kristoff TAA Exclusive 2023 review:

(The) Tobacconists’ Association of America (is) a trade group that contains approximately 80 retailers and around 40 cigar manufacturers. Each year, the group meets to discuss what’s going on in the industry and also to sell some cigars. This is done via three ways. One is a simple trade show where cigar companies offer retailers discounts. Another is the Dream Machine, a more unique group-buying event where manufacturers offer the collective retail group discounts based on the total amount of orders it receives during that event. The one that we write about is the TAA Exclusive Series Program, a collection of cigars that are only offered to TAA retailers, at least at the time.

The Exclusive Series Program is optional, retailers don’t have to buy the cigars and manufacturers don’t have to participate either. Around 15-20 companies do participate each year, with most companies producing one new cigar as a limited edition item for the year, though some companies like Ashton, Drew Estate and Padrón offer the same cigar each year. As part of the Exclusive Series Program, the manufacturers are expected to donate at least 50 cents per cigar sold back to the organization.

For CLE’s 2023 TAA release, Christian Eiroa combined an existing blend—the Eiroa Dark—with one of his family’s most iconic sizes—the 11/18—for the Eiroa Dark 11/18.

The 11/18 size was made famous back when the Eiroa family still owned Camacho. It’s a 6 x 48/54/48 perfecto that has been used for dozens of Camacho—and now CLE—releases, perhaps most famously as the go-to size for the Camacho Liberty. Unlike most perfectos, the 11/18 has much more subtle tapers, meaning from a distance it can almost look like a standard toro.

CLE introduced the Eiroa Dark in 2019, a cigar made entirely of Honduran corojo tobacco.

“Because the leaves are higher on the plant, they are richer and once fermented they yield a darker shade,” said Eiroa in a letter to retailers at that time. “The only appropriate name for these cigars is (Dark) due to their color and the fact we do not add anything to the wrappers to yield these colors.”

• Cigar Reviewed: Eiroa Dark 11/18
• Country of Origin: Honduras
• Factory: The CLE Factory
• Wrapper: Honduras (Corojo)
• Binder: Honduras (Corojo)
• Filler: Honduras (Corojo)
• Length: 6 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 48/54/48
• Vitola: 11/18 Perfecto
• MSRP: $16.70 (Box of 20, $334)
• Release Date: May 1, 2023
• Number of Cigars Released: 500 Boxes of 20 Cigars (10,000 Total Cigars)*
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

*CLE says it is making 500 boxes for 2023, seemingly leaving the door open for releasing more cigars in the future.

As is common with many CLE products, there’s only a small amount of the wrapper initially visible. Wax paper covers around half the length of the cigar, while two bands are applied towards the top of the cigar. Once the paper is removed, I see that the wrapper is a medium brown—perhaps darker than average, but certainly not “dark” in my book. The leaves have a well-hidden vein structure, and all three cigars have an above average amount of oils, though one cigar is oilier than the rest. While the unique 11/18 shape is visible on each cigar, one cigar has a bit less of the curves and looks a tad bit more like a standard toro. There’s not much discernible from the medium wrapper aroma. While it’s got a smell to it, it’s a pretty generic tobacco smell with some cardboard and paper aromas. The foot is medium-full with sweet floral aromas over some cedar, save for one cigar where the order is reversed. Cold draws reveal a sweetness—somewhere between floral and bubblegum—with sweet cedar, cake batter and, on one cigar, something that reminds me of ranch-flavored sunflower seeds. The cold draw is medium-plus to medium-full in terms of intensity.

Each cigar starts remarkably consistently. It’s a medium-full profile that starts dry for a second or two before potato chips and woodiness joins the fray. The woodiness gets stronger and heartier—at times reminding me of a freshly lit campfire—before sweetness and a more generic charcoal toastiness close the first puff. I generally don’t put too much stock into the first puff being predictive about what’s going to come for the remainder of the cigar, but sometimes I feel like I know. With the Eiroa Dark 11/18, after just one puff, I genuinely feel like I’m in for a good cigar. Those freshly-lit campfire woods are joined by a flavor of salted pretzels that sits on top of peanuts, sugar sweetness, some of the floral flavors, a salty accent and a pepper that comes and goes. The flavors are very intertwined and only get denser during the finish. The pretzel takes the lead with sweetness, some unique barnyard sensations—less foul, more bitter—and a mild pepper. Retrohales take me back to the cold draw with the sweet candy and floral flavors over smoked meatiness—it reminds me a bit of lamb more than other smoked meats—with some pepper. It’s only three flavors, but they are all incredibly unique. All of those flavors stick around for the finish, the pretzel is still in the lead, now joined by some a tart acidity that reminds me more of a mustard than of something like wine or coffee. Flavor is full, body is medium-full, strength is medium-plus. While I don’t have any construction issues to fix during the first third, the burn seems like it’s going to need to get addressed during the second third.

While I found the profile to be rather intertwined during the first third, there’s clearer separation in the second third, creating more of a layered profile for the Eiroa Dark 11/18. At the top is the familiar newly-burning campfire sensation, underneath is earthiness and a milk creaminess, while a third and midler part includes sunflower seeds, crackers, a red grape sweetness and some isolated sharpness. Two cigars have an artificial chocolate flavor that tastes a bit like the flavoring of a flavored cigar. There’s no other indication of this type of flavoring and it’s mild enough that it could just be my palate and not some sort of artificial additive, but it’s not the type of chocolate I normally find in non-flavored cigars. After the halfway point, the milky creaminess shifts to more of a drier creaminess, though it seems to allow for an isolated sweetness to emerge. Retrohales make the cracker flavor more pronounced and the smoked meatiness from the first third is still present. As the cigar nears the final third, the candy and floral sweetness leave, though the two cigars that have the chocolate flavors show it during the retrohales. Once the smoke leaves my nose, there’s a sharp green pepper on the tongue, while toastiness and smoked woods remain in my nose. Flavor is full, body is close to full and strength is medium-plus. Two cigars need touch-ups in the second third, both of those cigars show minor issues with inconsistent smoke production and an uneven burn.

The pretzel flavor is becoming more like a kettle chip flavor, eschewing some of the saltiness and gaining a different type of roasted character. Creaminess comes and goes, reminding me more of the dry foam from a steam wand. The finish is inconsistent, though pretty good. At times, it tastes like I ate too many kettle chips with added flavors of saltiness, generic grains and some of that creaminess. Other times, the creaminess dominates some oak and the sweet sugar candy flavor. There’s a mild amount of general pepper, more of a reminder that it’s still there than a large part of the profile. What’s no longer present is the campfire flavors that were strong in the first half of the cigar. Retrohales have a familiar pretzel flavor joining the creaminess; sometimes, I can pick up the floral flavors, but it’s not consistently present. Those flavors stick around for the finish, joined by some more generic grain flavors and a tad bit more saltiness. Flavor is full, body is medium-full and strength is still medium-plus. Touch-ups are needed on two cigars, mostly to deal with declining smoke production.

Final Notes

• The 11/18 references Nov. 18, the birthday of Christian’s mother.
• This is the third time I’ve reviewed a CLE TAA exclusive in an 11/18 shape.
• While not as bad as the Punch Dad Bod, the first had an extremely flaky ash that created a large mess. Oddly, the other two cigars had none of those issues.
• While the burn could need some correction, the smoke production was generally impressive.
• Those minor construction issues likely kept this cigar from achieving a higher score, one that would put it in rarefied air at halfwheel.
• One cigar had more of the artificial cocoa flavor than the other one that had that flavor. It was not only a larger part of the profiles but also present in more parts. Notably, that cocoa flavor continued to build during the finish, creating a flavor that reminded me of chocolate Tootsie Pops.

• The sides of the main band says “HECHO 2019,” Spanish for made in 2019. That is not when these cigars were made. Eiroa told halfwheel he originally wanted to date the bands similar to how bottles of wine are dated, but that idea never came to fruition.
• Cigars for this review were purchased by halfwheel.
• Final smoking time was right around two hours, a relatively quick smoking time for this noted slow-smoking cigar reviewer.