Espinosa Las 6 Provincias CMW

In 2018, Espinosa Premium Cigars launched Las 6 Provincias, a series of limited editions that celebrated the original six provinces of Cuba by way of annual-released cigars, setting the stage for six years of releases.

The COVID-19 pandemic put a wrinkle into those plans as the company did not release a Las 6 Provincias cigar in 2020, meaning that 2022 would be the fourth release in the line. For that fourth cigar, the company released the Espinosa Las 6 Provincias CMW, which celebrates the province of Camagüey and gets its name from the International Air Transport Association’s code for Ignacio Agramonte International Airport.

The cigar is a 6 x 50 box-pressed toro that uses an Ecuadorian habano wrapper over a Nicaraguan binder and filler. The cigars are made at AJ Fernandez’s San Lotano Factory in Ocotal, Nicaragua, with production limited to 1,000 boxes of 20 cigars. Pricing is set at $18 per cigar and $360 for a box of 20 cigars.

 

Like the three previous releases, the Espinosa Las 6 Provincias CMW features artwork by Edin Gutierrez, a Cuban-born artist that now resides in South Florida. Gutierrez’s canvas is the lid of the box, which includes a pair of wings that extend out its sides, and on which he has created a historical scene from the Camagüey province.

• Cigar Reviewed: Espinosa Las 6 Provincias CMW
• Country of Origin: Nicaragua
• Factory: San Lotano Factory
• Wrapper: Ecuador (Habano)
• Binder: Nicaragua
• Filler: Nicaragua
• Length: 6 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 50
• Vitola: Toro
• MSRP: $18 (Box of 20, $360)
• Release Date: Dec. 19, 2022
• Number of Cigars Released: 1,000 Boxes of 20 Cigars (20,000 Total Cigars)
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

Given that the bands on the Las 6 Provincias series have used the same design, there is a certain familiarity with how the CMW looks, but I’m struck by how much of a box press the cigar has gotten. It is a pronounced press that results in near right angles at every corner and only a bit of bulge from the tobacco bowing the front and back sides a bit. The purple ribbon is secured quite snugly around the foot of the cigar, almost as if being used to maintain the press of the cigar. The cigar has the familiar bit of give of many box-pressed cigars, so while that isn’t surprising, it is a contrast to the very firmly rolled cigars that occupy a good amount of most retail humidors. The cigar’s wrapper is a very dark shade of brown, almost muddy, but I don’t use that as a disparaging term. There is a bit of variation in the shade of each leaf, though it’s generally on the back side of the cigars and alongside the veins, which are very small and sporadically located. There isn’t a lot of oiliness to the leaves, but there is enough to provide a slight sheen and be picked up by the fingers. Finally, the seams are visible but generally flat, noticeable because of what seems like the cut line darkens the leaf a bit. The aroma from the foot is fairly mellow, with a soft texture in the nose until just a light sprinkle of black pepper tingles. There is a bit of berry jam sweetness, cool cream, and a chocolate shake or mousse. The cold draw has varying airflows, while the flavor is about as mellow as the aroma but reminds me of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on wheat bread. No particular component is particularly strong, but they come together in a way that makes me feel like I just pulled the sandwich out of a brown paper bag.

While the pre-light experience of the Espinosa Las 6 Provincias CMW was mild, a bit sweet, a touch creamy, and moderately peppery, once lit, the cigar starts off with a yin and yang of smoothness and roughness. The first impressions of the puffs are smooth and creamy, while the exhales and finishes reveal a heavier combination of black pepper and earth that have a bit of edge to them, occasionally irritating the back of my throat. There’s dry wood following right behind that appears both on the palate and via retrohales. Around the one-inch mark, the rough sensation that marked the first puffs has dissipated and while the finish is still punchy, it’s not treading into irritating. I wasn’t impressed by the retrohales of the first sample, but the second cigar, passing the smoke through my nose offers a real accent to the profile with bright, lively pepper, while the third cigar’s retrohales add some creaminess. The flavor starts medium-plus, touches medium-full, and comes back to medium-plus, while body is medium-plus and strength is mild. Construction is very good with no problems.

The second third of the Espinosa Las 6 Provincias CMW gets going with what I would call the most balanced and complex expression of the blend thus far, as there’s still enough of the bolder flavors from the first puffs, though now mellower and with the creaminess softening and unifying those flavors. It’s not the most dynamic flavor in terms of lighting up the taste buds, but the layering that the cigar is doing is almost cake-like, minus the thought of sweetness. There is a bit of chocolate cake sweetness evolving out of the earth and creaminess, a flavor that shines because there is pepper competing for that lead spot in the profile, at least via puffs. A retrohale adds a bit more pepper to give it a bigger share of the profile, but not enough to be overpowering. The back half of the second third kicks off with a much more potent retrohale, with a big and bright white pepper appearing and really lighting up my nostrils. The wood becomes a bit more fragrant, but the rest of the profile more or less holds steady. Flavor is medium with touches of medium-plus, body is medium, and strength is beginning to creep out of the mild range. Construction remains fantastic with no problems.

The final third of the Espinosa Las 6 Provincias CMW brings about what I would call the first clear flavors of Ecuadorian habano tobacco, a flavor that I think Espinosa has had good success using in the past. While the components—which I think of as dry, bright wood and crisp black pepper—have been present thus far, now they are reminding me of how I tend to perceive them when Ecuadorian habano leaves are in the blend. The creaminess and sweetness fade out of the profile steadily, which allows earthiness to take a more prominent role and with it comes a bit of rich chocolate. There’s a touch of peppery tingle on the front of my tongue now, a sensation that can get a bit focused and intense from time to time, but on the whole, isn’t bad. The final inch or so sees the cigar pick up a bit of irritation, but different than what it offered in the first third, as it hits more parts of my mouth as opposed to being isolated to the back of my throat earlier. There’s a bit of heat, black pepper, some char, and then dry wood peaking through the gaps in those other flavors, and it’s that profile that carries the cigar to its conclusion. Flavor finishes medium-full, body is medium-plus, and strength is medium-minus. Construction continues to be very good, with an even burn line, easy draw and plenty of smoke.

Final Notes

• As of now, there are two provinces left to have cigars made for them, Oriente and Pinar del Río.
• I’m intrigued to see how Espinosa Premium Cigars executes the Pinar del Río release, both because the province is the home of Cuba’s premium tobacco, as well as that because PDR Cigars exists, it could be a challenge to put PDR on a cigar.
• Camagüey is both the name of a city and province in Cuba. The city is the third largest by population, behind Havana and Santiago de Cuba, while the province is the seventh most populated.

• Each of the first four releases in the Las 6 Provincias Series has earned a place on halfwheel’s annual Packaging Awards. The CMW finished #9 for the 2022 version.
• Not only does each of the six provinces in the line get its own blend, but each has also come in its own size.
• Between the three cigars smoked for this review, not a single point was deducted due to a construction issue.
• I didn’t get much in the way of nicotine strength from the Espinosa Las 6 Provincias CMW.
• The cigars for this review were purchased by halfwheel.
• Final smoking time was two hours and 20 minutes on average.
• Site sponsors Atlantic Cigar Co., Corona Cigar Co., and Famous Smoke Shop carry the Espinosa Las 6 Provincias CMW.