Diesel Unlimited d.5 Robusto

If you're a fan of Diesel, or full-bodied boutique blends for that matter, you're going to love this gem. With a ring gauge of 54, the Diesel feels heavy in the hand. The pre-light aroma is a smoker's deligh--a mixture of barnyard, freshly baked bread, and black pepper--hints of the strikingly robust smoke yet to come. Placing the band at the foot of the cigar enhances the stick's dark, oily, beautifully-veined Honduran ligero wrapper. The blend consists of bold long-leaf tobaccos from Condega (Nicaragua), Esteli (Nicaragua), complemented by spicy San Andres (Mexico) leaves. The result is a strikingly robust smoke with intensely lush flavors. From the very first puff, this cigar produces thick, heavy clouds of smoke. Look for notes of leather, spice, earth and oak that round out a toasty Cubanesque tobacco core, all complemented by a slight touch of natural sweetness that continues throughout the burn. A soothing spicy finish makes a nice finale for this full-bodied powerhouse. Pair it with a stiff Cognac or rich Sherry that's big and bold enough to match up to this beauty.

The Nicaraguan cigar industry originated when Cuban cigar makers escaped the revolution and re-established their livelihood in Nicaragua with Cuban-seed tobacco. Blessed with dark, rich soil, their new home was ideal for tobacco cultivation and Nicaragua quickly became known for cigars that rivaled Cuban quality. Unfortunately, revolution and war came to Nicaragua in the 1980s and devastated the industry, but it’s rebounded dramatically and is once again producing tobacco considered by many to be the finest in the world. The Esteli Valley is in many ways the heart of Nicaraguan production and is known for its very powerful and spicy tobacco. The Jalapa Valley produces arguably the finest tobacco in the country: somewhat sweeter and less intense than Esteli, but extremely complex. The tobacco of the Condega Valley is often described as a blend of the other two regions.