Naughty Goose

There is almost nothing about Naughty Goose.

It was a brand created by Italian-born Daniele Mangiameli. He showed the cigars off at the 2008 IPCPR trade show and convention and by 2009, Richard Perelman wrote in his Perelman Pocket Cyclopedia of Cigars 2010 that Naughty Goose had been discontinued.

 

It was made at Raíces Cubanas in Honduras alongside Carlos V, another cigar from Mangiameli. Neither received much acclaim, nor is there record of many sales.

There was more than just one trompeta size, but there’s no information on what those exactly were. Perelman himself has no record of the cigars in the 2009 edition of his book.

While visiting FUMARE in Reno, Nev., Dion Giolito started digging through boxes of random cigars he had collected for one reason or another over the year and ran across Naughty Goose. He then insisted we take some, presumably to get rid of the one box he had taken as a favor to Mangiameli.

• Cigar Reviewed: Naughty Goose
• Country of Origin: Honduras
• Factory: Fábrica de Tabacos Raíces Cubanas S. de R.L.
• Wrapper: n/a
• Binder: n/a
• Filler: n/a
• Size: 5 1/2 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 38-52
• Vitola: Trompeta
• Est. Price: $5.67
• Date Released: 2008
• Number of Cigars Released: n/a
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 2 

I have no qualms with how the cigar looks. The trompeta is well-rolled and the wrapper has a decent golden brown color. From the foot, there’s a lot of notes reminiscent of twang along with hickory barbecue and a touch of an overly floral perfume. From the cold draw, the Naughty Goose once again provides quite a bit of twang along with an acidic orange note that does burn a bit. It’s full—which is somewhat surprising even though I had no clue what to expect.

The Naughty Goose begins close to full with notes of cedar, white pepper, a floral sweetness and a grain pasta-like finish. It’s clean, smooth and settling to a medium-full flavor with a sweet cedar, creaminess, the aforementioned floral notes and touches of twang. At times, the acidity in the nose builds, but it’s relatively tame particularly if you avoid retrohaling every puff. Strength-wise, the cigar is medium, which is odd. 

As the cigar begins to thin out physically, the sweetness starts to fade. There is still a creamy cedar note, along with an added silky vanilla note, but a leather note is cutting through the sweetness. The acidity is all but gone, now with a creamy almond dominating the nose. Construction has not been an issue at all through the first two thirds, although I struggle to get any more than inch of ash on the Naughty Goose.

There’s no question the cigar is beginning to decline in the final third. The flavors become more fragmented with the twang becoming a bit more present, the creaminess separating itself and the leather turning much saltier. Smoke production declines, but it does not hinder my ability to finish the cigar. Eventually, the saltiness becomes too much on each sample and the cigars meet their end in the ashtray.

Final Notes

• As is tradition on April 1, this is a serious review of a not so typical cigar. Previous halfwheel April Fool’s reviews include: My Father Baseball Bat, My Father Pipe, Cohiba Diplomatic Siglo VI (TripleLigero Edition).
• I have no clue how much these actually costs, so I polled the halfwheel staff. Patrick Lagreid said he would have paid up to $8 to try one, Brooks Whittington said $6 and I said $3, hence the $5.67 average.
• The band is a goose behind two tobacco leaves, I imagine the leaves are positioned to cover up for perceived nudity, hence the naughtiness.
• If anyone has these, I would recommend stopping somewhere around two inches left. The saltiness just completely overwhelms what is otherwise an enjoyable experience.
• There is a beer from Chicago-based Goose Island Beer Co. called Naughty Goose. They have also made Extremely Naughty Goose, Barrel Aged Extremely Naughty Goose, Imperial Naughty Goose and Barrel Aged Extra Naughty Goose.
• Walt White of Stogie Review was not a fan of the cigar.
• My guess is that there is some Cuban filler in the cigar. It’s not terribly uncommon for factories to work with Cuban leaf, they just are not legally allowed to import it into the U.S. due to the embargo.
• Cigars for this review were provided by Dion Giolito of site sponsor Illusione Cigars. Giolito has no connection to the cigar, although he might be the only retailer in the country with a box, albeit not for sale.
• Final smoking time was one hour and 10 minutes.