Illusione Original Documents Habano Gordo

During the 2022 PCA Convention & Trade Show, Illusione did something it rarely does: the company announced a new core line. The Original Documents Habano is not only a new line, but it also marks the first time that Illusione has worked with AJ Fernandez, as the cigar is produced at Abdel Fernández’s San Lotano Factory in Ocotal, Nicaragua.

When it comes to the blend, the Original Documents Habano Gordo is composed of a Nicaraguan sun-grown habano-seed wrapper—which is grown by Fernánedz—that covers filler tobaccos sourced from three of the four growing regions of Nicaragua: Condega, Estelí and Jalapa.

As part of the project, Dion Giolito, founder of Illusione, told halfwheel that he was happy to reconnect with Alberto Padilla, who used to work for AGANORSA—and by extension worked with Illusione—and who now runs the San Lotano Factory.

The Illusione Original Documents Habano cigars are packaged in 25-count boxes that started shipping to retailers in mid-April.

• Cigar Reviewed: Illusione Original Documents Habano Gordo
• Country of Origin: Nicaragua
• Factory: San Lotano Factory
• Wrapper: Nicaragua (Sun Grown Habano)
• Binder: Nicaragua
• Filler: Nicaragua
• Length: 6 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 56
• Vitola: Toro Extra
• MSRP: $11.90 (Box of 25, $297.50)
• Release Date: April 2023
• Number of Cigars Released: Regular Production
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

After the incredibly difficult process of taking off the foil wrapping that covers the Illusione Original Documents Habano Gordo—more on that in the Final Notes below—I am greeted by milk chocolate brown wrappers that are silky smooth to the touch with a touch of oil. There are multiple veins running up and down the lengths of each cigar, but none of the veins are large enough or thick enough to be overly distracting, and all three cigars have some nice give when squeezed. Aromas from the wrappers start off with strong and sweet woodiness, followed by earthiness, some generic nuts, cream, barnyard and dark chocolate notes. There is definitely more of the nuttiness emanating from the feet of the cigars—unlike what is present on the wrapper, it is easily the strongest note and is distinct enough to remind me of roasted almonds—along with gritty earth, dry hay, nutmeg, espresso beans and some vanilla bean sweetness. Finally, after straight cuts, the cold draws bring flavors of light cedar, creamy earth, toasted bread, cocoa nibs, brown sugar sweetness, pepper and more almonds.

Starting out, the Illusione features a combination of noticeable spice on my lips combined with quite a bit of dank earthiness. As I continue puffing, both of those fade into the background, leaving behind main flavors of strong and creamy cashews and cedar. Additional notes of dark chocolate, leather tack, brewed coffee grounds, earth, toasted bread and slight citrus flit in and out, while I notice a fleeting vegetal flavor on the finish in two of the three cigars. A combination of caramel sweetness and red pepper flakes is present on the retrohale; while the caramel does not change much, the red pepper flake seems to be getting stronger as the burn line progresses. Flavor ends the first third at a point just under medium, the body hits only about halfway between mild and medium and the strength manages to cross into solid medium territory, albeit just barely. In terms of construction, two of the cigars need a couple of corrections each, but the draw and smoke production on all three cigars are excellent.

The second third of the Original Documents Habano is extremely similar to the first third in almost every way: cedar and creamy cashews easily lead the profile, followed by earth, leather, dry hay, espresso beans and cocoa nibs. There is a bit more of the red pepper flakes note present on the retrohale—and it continues to get more prominent after the burn line crosses the halfway point—but the caramel sweetness remains unchanged. Flavor increases slightly to a solid medium, and the body reaches a point just under medium, but the big news is the strength, which increases to land at medium-full. Construction-wise, while the draw and smoke production on all three cigars continue to have no issues, two of the cigars run into enough burn issues, necessitating a couple of corrections each with my lighter to keep on track.

When it comes to the flavor profile, the final third of the Habano Gordo is a virtual carbon copy of the previous third, but the amount of strength is another matter altogether, as the overall strength level continues to climb until finally running out of steam just south of the full mark. As for the aforementioned flavor profile, it once again is topped by a combination of cashews and cedar, followed by secondary flavors of dark chocolate, espresso beans, hay, earth, bread and slight citrus peel that make themselves known at various points. On the retrohale, the red pepper flakes note has become noticeably more aggressive, which in turn all but drowns out the caramel sweetness a couple of times. Flavor increases again—albeit only slightly—to end the cigar at a point just over the medium mark, while the body hits a solid medium before petering out. Thankfully, only one of the cigars needs any attention with my lighter when it comes to the burn, and the smoke production and draw on all three cigars continue to give me no issues until their respective ends.

Final Notes

• Last year, Illusione undertook a major overhaul of its logo and packaging for some of its products. That rebranding includes all of the eponymous Illusione line, including cigars like ~88~ and ~h~, which have been replaced by names like “Robusto” and “Lancero” under the Corojo Original Documents brand.
• I am not really sure why Dion Giolitio felt it was necessary to rebrand cigars, logos and marketing that were all so well-known in the industry. While I am sure that there were valid reasons—I have to admit that the new branding does make it somewhat easier to keep track of what cigars are made up of which blend—I am just sad to see such unique marketing fall to the wayside.
• Although it is certainly attractive and quite memorable, the metallic blue foil that individually wraps each cigar is incredibly difficult to remove without damaging the wrapper. In fact, for all three cigars that I smoked, I had to use a knife to get the packaging open, a process that never got shorter or easier.
• Most Illusione cigars do not come in foil, but the 6 x 56 size, known as the ~mj12~ in the original line has come wrapped in foil.
• Having said the above, I doubt there will be many cigars damaged in transit, which is obviously a very good thing.
• Illusione advertises on halfwheel.
• The cigars smoked for this review were purchased by halfwheel.
• Final smoking time for all three cigars averaged one hour and 57 minutes.
• If you would like to purchase any of the Illusione Original Documents Habano cigars, site sponsor Atlantic Cigar Co. has them for sale on its website here.