In 2014, Regius of London Cigars released the first and second blends in a new line named Exclusivo U.S.A. which featured red and white bands respectively. There was not much news about a rumored third release to finish the series until earlier this year, when some photos of a blue banded cigar started popping up on social media.

It turns out that cigar is the last in the Exclusivo U.S.A. series and is officially named the Exclusivo U.S.A. Oscuro Especial. The new cigar is covered in an dark Mexican San Andrés wrapper along with Nicaraguan tobacco used for both the binder and fillers. As with the former two releases, the new line is produced by Plasencia Cigars S.A. in Nicaragua and distributed by Quesada Cigars.

There are six different vitolas of the Regius Exclusivo U.S.A. Oscuro Especial at launch.

  • Regius Exclusivo U.S.A. Oscuro Especial Fat Perfecto (5 3/4 x 60 x 54) — $12.95 (Boxes of 10, $129.50)
  • Regius Exclusivo U.S.A. Oscuro Especial Pressed Perfecto (6 1/2 x 54) — $12.95 (Boxes of 10, $129.50)
  • Regius Exclusivo U.S.A. Oscuro Especial Toro (6 x 52) — $10.95 (Boxes of 15, $164.25)
  • Regius Exclusivo U.S.A. Oscuro Especial Toro Extra (6 1/2 x 46) — $12.95 (Boxes of 10, $129.50)
  • Regius Exclusivo U.S.A. Oscuro Especial Robusto (4 1/2 x 52)  — $8.95 (Boxes of 20, $179)
  • Regius Exclusivo U.S.A. Oscuro Especial Lancero Extra (7 1/2 x 42) — $12.95 (Boxes of 15, $194.25)

Regius Exclusivo U.S.A. Oscuro Especial Pressed Perfecto 1

  • Cigar Reviewed: Regius Exclusivo U.S.A. Oscuro Especial Pressed Perfecto
  • Country of Origin: Nicaragua
  • Factory: Plasencia Cigars S.A.
  • Wrapper: Mexican San Andrés
  • Binder: Nicaragua
  • Filler: Nicaragua
  • Length: 6 1/2 Inches
  • Ring Gauge: 54
  • Vitola: Box-Pressed Perfecto
  • MSRP: $12.95 (Boxes of 10, $129.50)
  • Release Date: March 2016
  • Number of Cigars Released: Regular Production
  • Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: Three

Visually, the Regius Exclusivo U.S.A. Oscuro Especial is quite distinctive, with a combianation of very dark expresso brown wrapper, double torpedo vitola and slight box-press. The cigar has quite a bit of tooth to it, but also features an abundance of oil. Aroma from the wrapper is a combination of earth, sweet oak, rum, leather, hay and manure, while the cold draw brings flavors of sweet rum, creamy oak, gritty earth, leather, hay and slight black pepper.

Starting out, the Regius features a dominant earthy note, interspersed with flavors of hay, leather, dark cocoa, espresso and cedar. There is some black pepper on the retrohale, but not a large amount, and no spice anywhere on the palate. I am picking up some nice rum-like sweetness as well, but it comes and goes, and is not a major player in the profile as of yet. Construction-wise, the burn is a bit wavy, but not enough to worry about, while the draw is excellent and the smoke production is both copious and dense. The strength starts out quite light, but ramps up quickly, easily hitting a point close to medium by the time the first third comes to an end.

Regius Exclusivo U.S.A. Oscuro Especial Pressed Perfecto 2

While I am noticing a bit of a red pepper note on the finish coming into the second third, the dominant flavors remain the same gritty earth, followed by leather, hay, dark chocolate, cinnamon and creamy oak. The rum-like sweetness is still present on retrohale, but the note is also still very slight, sometimes disappearing for minutes at a time. The burn has evened up nicely and the draw remains excellent, while the smoke production shows no signs of letting up any time soon. The strength easily hits the medium mark by the mid-way point, but stalls out, and seems to be content to remain there for the time being.

Regius Exclusivo U.S.A. Oscuro Especial Pressed Perfecto 3

For better or worse, the final third of the Regius Exclusivo U.S.A. Oscuro Especial features no surprises at all, with the same earth and hay as the dominant flavors, followed by a bit of inconsistent rum sweetness and black pepper on the retrohale. Having said that, the construction also holds no surprises, and continues to impress, while the smoke production actually seems to increase sightly. The overall strength does make it past the medium mark, but just barely, and ends up staying there until I put the nub down with a bit more than an inch to go.

Regius Exclusivo U.S.A. Oscuro Especial Pressed Perfecto 4

Final Notes

  • The Exclusivo U.S.A. Oscuro Especial uses the same six vitolas as the other two lines in the series.
  • Although this is supposedly the strongest cigar that Regius has released so far, I don’t think it ever went further than a slightly strong medium.
  • Both the cap and the foot are closed on this vitola, but when I cut both in order to open an airway on the first sample, the draw ended up being looser then I like. So on the second and third samples, I simply pinched both the cap and foot together, which did the trick nicely.
  • On each one of my samples, the secondary band was off center by quite a noticeable amount.
  • Regius Cigars is distributed by Quesada Cigars, which advertises on halfwheel.
  • The final smoking time for all three samples averaged just under two hours.
  • The cigars smoked for this review were purchased by halfwheel.
  • If you would like to purchase any of the Regius Exclusivo U.S.A. Oscuro Especial, site sponsor Atlantic Cigar has them in stock.
82 Overall Score

There is no doubt that the Regius Exclusivo U.S.A. Oscuro Especial is a smooth blend, both in terms of profile and in terms of overall strength. Unfortunately, what the blend is lacking is any sort of noticeable complexity, with the same gritty earth, hay and slight rum-like sweetness dominant for the entire cigar. Having said that, construction was quite good overall—after I pinched the ends instead of cutting them—and the strength was well integrated. A decent cigar that I can recommend for people to try if it falls in your lap, but not something I take the effort to hunt down.

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Brooks Whittington

I have been smoking cigars for over eight years. A documentary wedding photographer by trade, I spent seven years as a photojournalist for the Dallas Morning News and the Fort Worth Star Telegram. I started the cigar blog SmokingStogie in 2008 after realizing that there was a need for a cigar blog with better photographs and more in-depth information about each release. 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. I am a co-founder of halfwheel and now serve as an editor for halfwheel.