Intemperance EC XVIII Humility

Almost four years ago, RoMa Craft Tobac released the first of what would eventually become six different samplers named after the vitolas that are included in them.

Dubbed the El Catador De Las Panetelas—or the Panetela Project—the sampler contained two each of the four core RoMa Craft Tobac blends at the time in the same 5 1/2 x 37 panatela vitola. The limited edition release was made to commemorate Springfield, Mo.-based retailer Just For Him’s 25th anniversary and only 225 boxes of eight were produced, with the samplers retailing for $54 each.

“My partner, Esteban Disla, and I have primarily focused on the core lines for RoMa Craft Tobac,” said Skip Martin, RoMa Craft Tobac co-owner. “On the side, however, we have worked to perfect our versions of industry classics. The Panetela Project is our most recent effort, but it will most certainly not be our last, when it comes to demonstrating the ability of Nica Sueño and RoMa Craft Tobac to consistently produce extremely high quality cigars and continuously deliver value innovation in a highly competitive and crowded marketplace.”

The El Catador De Las Panetelas included two each of four different RoMa Craft blends:

• Intemperance EC XVIII Humility (5 1/2 x 37) — $6
• Intemperance BA XXI Vanity (5 1/2 x 37) — $6.50
• CroMagnon Breuil (5 1/2 x 37) — $7.50
• Aquitaine Breuil (5 1/2 x 37) — $7

However, soon after the El Catador De Las Panetelas was released, all four of the vitolas in the sampler became regular production releases.

Here is what I said in my original review back in 2014:

There seem to be quite a few Ecuadorian Connecticut-wrapped blends on the market these days, and of those, quite a few are very good blends. The Intemperance EC line has always been a favorite of mine for its combination of complex flavors, price and construction, but the Intemperance EC XVIII Humility kicks the blend’s profile up a notch, featuring an ever evolving sweetness and excellent construction throughout every sample I smoked. An already wonderful blend is made even better by the panatela vitola, and would make an excellent choice to smoke first thing in the morning with coffee, or as a change of pace between stronger cigars.

While the cigars were originally only offered as part of the sampler, they’ve gone on to be sold in limited quantities at events and to select retailers.

• Cigar Reviewed: Intemperance EC XVIII Humility
• Country of Origin: Nicaragua
• Factory: Fabrica de Tabacos NicaSueño S.A.
• Wrapper: Ecuadorian Connecticut
• Binder: Indonesia Besuki
• Filler: Dominican Republic & Nicaragua
• Length: 5 1/2 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 37
• Vitola: Media Corona
• MSRP: $6 (Samplers of 8, $54)
• Release Date: August 2014
• Number of Cigars Released: 225 Samplers of 2 Cigars (450 Total Cigars)
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Redux: 1

As with the first samples I smoked, the Intemperance EC XVIII Humility is covered in a pale, golden brown wrapper that has just a bit of tooth to it and features plenty of oil. The cigar feels a bit lighter than I remember in my hand and is quite spongy when squeezed. The aroma from the wrapper is a combination of aromatic cedar, peanut butter, hay, leather and earth, while the cold draw brings flavors of cinnamon, peanut butter, cedar, creamy leather, earth and orange citrus.

The Intemperance EC XVIII Humility starts with a bang, including dominant notes of creamy cedar and peanut butter brought over from the cold draw, along with lesser flavors of hay, espresso beans and a touch of floral. Unlike the first time around, the sweet orange citrus note is a major part of the profile and combines very nicely with some white pepper on the retrohale that remains consistent throughout the smoke. The second third continues the trend of creamy cedar and creamy peanut butter as the dominant flavors, but the white pepper on the retrohale recedes noticeably as the cigar burns past the final third, leading to a slightly less complex profile overall.

Construction-wise, the Intemperance panetela is excellent in almost every regards, including a draw that gives me just the right amount of resistance for the entire smoke after a straight cut and a burn that remains very close to razor sharp other than a point very close to the start of the cigar when I had to touch it up to avoid it getting out of control. Finally, the strength started out mild but managed to make it to a point very close to medium before I put the nub down with less than an inch to go after one hour and two minutes.

Brooks Whittington

I have worn many hats in my life up to this point: I started out as a photojournalist for the Dallas Morning News and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, then transitioned to photographing weddings—both internationally and in the U.S.—for more than a decade. After realizing that there was a need for a cigar website containing better photographs and more in-depth information about each release, I founded my first cigar blog, SmokingStogie, in 2008. SmokingStogie quickly became one of the more influential cigar blogs on the internet, known for reviewing preproduction, prerelease, rare, extremely hard-to-find and expensive cigars, and it was one of the predecessors to halfwheel, which I co-founded.