Illusione 68

Overall Score

1 review for Illusione 68

  1. S******

    Illusione 68

    Origin : NicaraguaIllusione
    Format : Petit Corona
    Size : 4 x 44
    Ring : 44
    Wrapper : Nicaragua
    Filler : Nicaragua
    Binder : Nicaragua
    Hand-Made
    Price : ~$5 each

    The 68 is a Nicaraguan puro made by Dion Giolito the founder of Illusione cigars. There seems to be some kind of reported conspiracy or mysteries regarding the reasons behind the names of the Illuisone cigars. There need not be any mystery. All the information is available right on the Illusione site, http://www.illusionecigars.com. In the case of the 68, it is the year Dion Giolito was born. I received this cigar as a gift. It is the only 68 I have smoked, and it’s the only Illusione I have ever smoked.

    Appearance : [rating:4/5]
    This is a chocolaty brown wrapper. There are lots of small veins, but nothing major. The label is very nice. It is different with just a white background and black lettering.

    Construction : [rating:4.5/5]
    This triple capped cigar is well rolled. It was packed tight with a very minor soft spot. The light was easy. The burn was spot on perfect, never needing a correction. The burn line was a little wavy but good overall. I clipped the triple cap, and checked the pre-light draw, which was also about perfect. It gave off a lot of smoke for such a tiny cigar. The ash was white and held on quite well. It burned a lot longer than I expected, a little longer than an hour.

    Illusione 68

    Flavor : [rating:3.5/5]
    My pre-light tasting noted the smell of raisin and tobacco. The initial taste after lighting was very spicy. It left spicy heat in my mouth that I can only describe as jalapeño or pepper jack cheese. There was also a hint of mocha and cedar. It was spicy on the retro-hale. After the first inch or so the pepper tastes mellowed out and the taste of hickory and nuttiness came to the front. It stayed this way until the cigar was almost finished. It then became leathery, with a salty or metallic taste. It was tough for me to pin down the exact flavor. At this point I wasn’t enjoying it as much so I put it down.

    Value : [rating:4/5]
    At $5 per vitola I don’t think you could really go wrong with this cigar. It is worth a shot to see if you might enjoy it.

    Overall Rating : [rating:3.5/5]
    There is no doubt that this is a good cigar. The initial pepper is nice and the burn was great. It is well constructed and it has some interesting notes. The overall tastes just didn’t do it for me. I don’t think this cigar would make it into my regular rotation. If someone gave me one, I would certainly smoke it. If the flavor profile sounds like something you might enjoy, I say go ahead and get it. At five bucks it’s worth trying. As usual, your mileage may vary.

    [sz]illusione 68[/sz]

    Helpful?
    0 0
    • I*******

      Also picked up the metallic taste you note in final stage. Nice stick up until then

    • h*********

      Funny thing…
      I was just about to review this cigar, and my scores would have been exactly the same except a little lower on value.

      I didn’t pick up all the flavors you did, but many I did. It did have the distinct Illusione floral sweet flavors in it occasionally though.

      Good cigar to smoke if your short on time, but not my favorite Illusione which is the 4/2g!!!

    • C*****

      I’m an advocate for any Illusione cigar. Have never smoked one I didn’t like.

    • D*****

      Enjoyed your review. Unfortunately, I sure as hell am not getting that cigar for $5 in Chicago!

    • S****** P

      Well I thought about that too. The thing is that it wasn’t a poor quality cigar or anything. I just didn’t care for the flavors.

    • L**

      3.5 stars for a cigar you didn’t like is pretty good.

    • R***

      It sounds like a nice cigar except for the metallic taste towards the end. Hopefully that was just an anomaly with that stick.
      Thanks for the review.

    • t*******

      One of my favorites–along with the 88–both great smokes…….

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Cigar Region Honduras
Filler Nicaragua
Wrapper Nicaragua Corojo Rosado
Binder Nicaragua
Length 4
Ring Gauge 44
Vitola Petit Corona
Construction Hand Made