The PCA, Premium Cigar Association, is a leading trade association in premium tobacco. They are a retail association that advocates for, provides services to, and educates businesses operating in the premium tobacco space. El Politico was a cigar created by PCA Deputy Director Joshua Habursky. El Politico was originally created by Luciano Meirellas as a personal blend for Joshua. However, the cigar is now becoming more readily available and is looking to give back to the industry. For each cigar sold, 50 cents of the proceeds go back to PCA.
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Factory: Tabacalera Pichardo
Wrapper: High Priming Mexican San Andres
Binder: Costa Rica
Filler: Nicaragua
Vitola: 6 x 52 Toro
Price: $16.16
Release Date: March 2022
Company Website: @joshuahabursky on IG
Expectations
Based on the tobaccos, the factory, and my overall gut feeling about this cigar, I am expecting a full bodied smoke with medium-full flavors. I look for earth, pepper, wood, and citrus, but I also get the feeling there’s going to be some creamy chocolate that will add a nice dimension to the blend. I look for the strength to peak around medium.
Prelight Characteristics
The band is quite simple on this cigar and I like it. Sometimes simple is great, other times it can be cheesy. I also like the color scheme against this medium brown shade of wrapper. The cigar has a satin feel to it and seems to be densely packed. It smells of rich leather and cedar. The cold draw is potent cherry candy and some pepper spice.
First Third
This El Politico starts off very full bodied and flavored with loads of baking spices, maybe a little anise, leather, and dark fruit. The retrohale echoes much of the draw flavors. About a half inch in and there’s a bread crust coming through with just a touch of brown sugar sweetness. Halfway into the first third the flavors are still about the same except leather was replaced by some wood. It’s also settled into a medium-full flavor and body level. The performance has been perfect throughout the first third.
Second Third
The second is starting out with a bit more of the anise from the first light and the bread crust is taking on a slight burnt bitterness in the finish. It’s a nice balance of sweetness and bitterness. At halfway the retrohale has an uptick in the anise and shows a bit of pepper coming in. The draw has a savory wood note that’s making my mouth water. The profile shifts again at the end of the second third, closing out with a lot of sweetness, some musty earth, and a bit of the burnt bread crust. The performance continues to be perfect.
Final Third
The final third is rolling along with much of the same profile as the ending of the second third, with the sweetness being matched by some baking spices. The retrohale still has a nice combination of anise and pepper with a bit of a toasty component. The flavor and body are back up to full. Hitting the band there’s tons of brown sugar with a very nice, balancing toast, followed by some wood and baking spice going into the finish. Nearing the end the pepper is creeping up and the strength is showing some impact at around medium-full. Scratch that - strength is full. It seems to be hitting me out of nowhere, giving me a little head rush and making me a little warm. Coming to an end some dark fruits have made their first appearance since the very beginning. The cigar performed flawlessly to the end.
Overall Experience
I really enjoyed this cigar. The main flavor components were wood, bread crust, pepper, earth, and anise with some moments of brown sugar, baking spices, and dark fruit. There were no major transitions, but the cigar did mix and match the primary components throughout the hour and 48 minute smoking experience. A lot of these flavor combinations were quite unique, and all of them kept me engaged in the experience. It should also be noted that this cigar performed flawlessly. The cigars coming out of Tabacalera Pichardo have consistently hit my palate and this cigar is no exception. In fact, even going into this review in a much more critical mindset given the circumstances surrounding why I was sent the samples from Joshua, this was one of the best cigars I have smoked this year. The pricing may be the only knock to this, but this still gets an easy recommendation from me.
Feel free to reach out to me with questions, concerns, criticisms, or just to talk at @guitarsandcigarsfarm on Instagram, or visit my website www.guitarsandcigarsfarm.com.