In July 2012, Ezra Zion debuted with two initial lines — the Honor Series Reagan and Inception, which is now known as Jamais Vu. Two years later, the Texas-based company has five different lines, including a limited edition cigar that debuted last year—Tantrum.
The original Tantrum took the top spot in the 2013 Consensus Awards. Unfortunately for Ezra Zion, the tobacco needed to make more of the cigar was not available. As such, that 4.44 x 44 version of the Tantrum will not be made again. The 2014 version of the limited edition is known as Tantrum PA, short for Passive Aggressive. The cigar was blended to carry a little less punch, but also be a bit longer.
- Ezra Zion Tantrum (4 11/25 x 44) — 2013 — $9.50 (Boxes of 28, $266.00) — 1,500 Boxes of 28 Cigars (42,000 Total Cigars)
- Ezra Zion Tantrum PA (6 1/x 44) — 2014 — $9.95 (Boxes of 28, $278.60) — 600 Boxes of 28 Cigars (16,800 Total Cigars)
(Box images via Ezra Zion)
“We want every blend to be something that stand on its own,” said Hoover.
“To us, the way that it actually performs when it smokes, it starts off strong—a lot of strength. It goes from what people would consider a strong cigar, (but) the second third goes to almost mild in my book and then you expect that strength to be what it is and then the strength ratchets back up.”
- Cigar Reviewed: Ezra Zion Tantrum PA
- Country of Origin: Nicaragua
- Factory: TABSA
- Wrapper: Nicaraguan Corojo 99
- Binder: Nicaraguan Corojo
- Filler: Nicaraguan Corojo & Criollo
- Size: 6 1/2 Inches
- Ring Gauge: 44
- Vitola: Lonsdale
- MSRP: $9.95 (Boxes of 28, $278.60)
- Release Date: July 2014
- Number of Cigars Released: 600 Boxes of 28 Cigars (16,800 Total Cigars)
- Number of Cigars Smoked for Review: 2
The medium brown wrapper on the Tantrum PA has a few visible veins that are highlighted by a lighter tan color. It is rolled very well with the entire cigar being finished with a triple cap. While there is some give to the cigar it’s consistent and there isn’t enough to classify it as being soft. Though the aroma off the wrapper is a mild and singular barnyard aroma the cold draw brings notes of cinnamon, toasted chocolate, a touch of pepper and an overall creamy sweetness—quite interesting and complex.
Starting off the first third of the Tantrum PA there is some spice, pepper and light milk chocolate notes. The draw is quite ideal, producing plenty of smoke with each draw. The light gray ash has a nice ringed pattern and is solid, holding to around three quarters of an inch. The burn line is mostly straight, with only the slightest deviations here and there that quickly fix themselves. The spice and pepper continue with the milk chocolate increasing, giving the profile a distinctive sweetness.
The second third sees the spice develop into more of a cinnamon note, though not much else has changed. On the retrohale black pepper is quite strong and singularly dominant. Despite bold flavors, I would only peg the cigar at medium strength, which is seemingly what Ezra Zion was aiming for. While the burn continues to be great, there has been a couple of minor touch ups needed in the second third. The ash has become a little flaky though it is still holding on to about the same length. There is the development of some sweet prune and date notes in the background, giving the overall profile a sweet pastry like flavor.
The final third has mellowed out significantly and almost abruptly. The pepper is still there, however not nearly as strong, while the cinnamon has morphed back into more of a general spice note. The prune and date notes that had suddenly arrived have devolved into a generic fruit note. With the sweetness still there the profile is still pleasant, though just less specific and distinctive than before. Towards the end of the cigar it starts getting a little uncomfortably warm, though the profile is still smooth through the end.
Final Notes
- Ezra Zion says they will ship the Tantrum PA by the end of the month.
- While none of the ash flaked off in the first third, the diameter of the ash seemed much smaller than the unburned portion of the cigar, something that I don’t normally see and stuck out to me for some reason.
- While Kyle Hoover described the strength as starting out strong, backing off, and then gearing back up towards the end, in my experience it was more of a consistent medium strength cigar – never overpowering but definitely not what I could call mild.
- The cigars will feature a regular band.
- While you often see consumers begging companies for something that isn’t being produced, the most often request seems to be a different size – usually for a lancero or similar small ring gauge size. It was interesting to me that the consumer requests to Ezra Zion were for not only a larger size, but also a reduced blend strength.
- The original Tantrum was the number one cigar on the 2013 Consensus Awards. It will be interesting to see how the tweaked Tantrum blend will go over with everybody this year.
- At this moment Ezra Zion has not decided on whether or not the Tantrum will be a yearly limited release or not.
- The samples for this review were provided to halfwheel by Ezra Zion. The company advertise with halfwheel in 2014.
- Final smoking time averaged right around an hour and 45 minutes.
I enjoyed the original Tantrum release, and while the Tantrum PA was a bit different I still enjoyed it as well. The construction was mostly spot on with only minor touch-ups needed a couple times. The profile started out deep and complex, grabbing my interest immediately from the cold draw and keeping it through the end of the second third. Unfortunately the final third got a little mushy in terms of flavors, losing the distinct, separate notes that I was enjoying so much. Even then, the cigar didn’t devolve into something unpleasant, because it was still quite tasty, but the sudden change was cause for slight disappointment. Having said that I can still suggest seeking these out when they’re released as they are worth your time to track down.