Onyx Reserve Mini Belicoso

Origin : Honduras
Format : Mini Belicoso
Size : 5 x 50
Wrapper : Blackened Connecticut Broadleaf
Binder : Nicaragua
Filler : DR, Nicaragua and Peru
Hand-Made
Price : ~$4.25 each:; ~ $17 for 5 pack
More info about purchasing Onyx Reserve cigars...

The Onyx Reserve Mini Belicoso is made in the Dominican Republic. It has a Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro wrapper, a Nicaraguan binder, and Dominican Piloto Cubano and Nicaraguan tobaccos. It gets its spiciness from Peruvian, Cuban-seed Ligero tobaccos.

It has been resting in my humidor for a month. This is the second one I have smoked.

Appearance :
This is a dark, chocolaty wrapper. It is somewhat blotchy, alternating between a dark coffee and chocolate hue. It has a lot of veins, but is rolled well and is nice looking.

Construction :
This cigar appeared to be rolled well. It was not packed overly tight. It had a couple soft spots as I felt the wrapper, which made me nervous that I may have burn issues. I clipped the cap, and checked the pre-light draw. It was slightly tight, as most belicosos are, but not too tight. It took a little bit to get lit in the middle. I assume this is because of the ligero tobacco which does not burn well. It made a nice amount of smoke right off the bat. It had a good, but wavy burn. It did go out on me twice, but ironically it was not at the soft spots. The ash held on for about an inch before dropping off. The ash was white and pepper-looking with a flaky texture.

Flavor :
In my pre-light tasting I noted the smell of raisin, coffee, and a little chocolate. The initial taste was mild, somewhat sweet, with a hint of nut. There was a decent amount of spice on the retro-hale. It became much spicier on the second third of the cigar. The chocolate and coffee notes seemed to go away. It became very spicy on the retro-hale. In the final third the taste changed again and this time for the worse. It was a strange taste that I did not enjoy. I hoped it would improve, but it did not, so I put it down.

Value :
I paid $4.89 for two on special from my local B&M. I consider it a good buy at that price, but I would not pay full MSRP.

Overall Rating :
This cigar was just okay to me. When I bought these at the B&M last month, I smoked one right away. I seemed to enjoy that one a bit more. I remember another patron telling me how good it smelled and he picked a couple up, too. I did not enjoy this one nearly as much for some reason. In the beginning it seemed somewhat complex, but it became more one-dimensional and spicy. I was smoking it slightly fast, which I am sure increased the heat and spice of the cigar, but when I tried to let it rest I ran into the burn problems. If you find this cigar at a good price, you should give it a shot. I do not feel compelled to get it again, but your mileage may vary.