Regalo

Well lets set a preface to this cigar as I do not believe it has been reviewed yet, and not a lot is known about it yet.
Quote from Leaf n Ale

Regalo Cigars are hand made in the Dominican Republic by Zarzuela Cigars owner Eddie Fontana. Regalo is medium bodied and loaded with flavor from start to finish. The Dominican and Nicaraguan filler provide smooth, yet robust body with a slight sweet finish. The Nicaraguan Viso wrapper gives Regalo it's signature flavor profile. Regalo is currently available only at Leaf & Ale.

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I would say that this cigar is close to a 5.5" x 48 (I forgot to measure before smoking). Upon inspection, I noticed that this is one sexy looking cigar with the twisted pigtail at the head and wrapped foot. The wrapper has a silky, but velvet feel to it and is very veiny. The feel of it is solid, with just a lil give when pressed. My initial impression was that this might draw a little tight (more on that later)




As I clipped the cap of this cigar with my Palio, I noticed that it was a good clean cut. This smoke was gifted to me by THANKYOUFORNOTSMOKING (Thanks alot bro) a couple weeks ago, and I have been itching to smoke this, but it needed to rest a bit at 65% rh.
The prelight was great, a raw tobacco taste came through. I noticed that this had a very loose draw, it reminded me of Rocy Patel cigars. Enough looking at this smoke, it was time to sacrifice it to the smoke gods.

I then lit this fine smoke, and the extra tobacco on the foot created a ton of smoke, and upon the first few draws I encountered a taste of ash, (probably due to the loose tobacco on the foot). After the first 1/2 inch this smoke REALLY started to show what its all about. Started to notice a small amount of spice coming through, but at the same time, a strong full bodied flavor was showing up. I am not the greatest at detecting flavors, but I picked up some earth tones, leather, and a little bit of what seemed like cinnamon. The first third I also noticed that this thing emitted a TON of smoke, and had a very loose burn to it, a flaky ash, and became uneven at times, but then straightened itself out.



About midway through this smoke I started to really enjoying it as it was developing into a very strong smoke, but it was not bitter and maintained a constant flavor profile to it. I would say that it is not very complex but flavorful nonetheless. It also left a long lasting taste in the back of my palette, so much in fact that a couple times I had to sip some water to wash it down. By the time I got half way finished, this cigar was starting to develop a strong kick.



Due to the size of the band I had to remove it so that I could finish this smoke. I think they borrowed the glue from the Fuente's as I had to wait until it got heated up to remove it.



Ok, I was on the last third of this potent robust cigar when, this thing started to really kick, I almost thought of tossing it, but I held on to see what the finish was. The end was ever so powerful and strong, but still was not bitter nor harsh, the profile remained constant to the end.



My overall impression of this cigar is that it is a really good smoke. I am not sure if I would buy a box as it is more strength than flavor but a year or so of rest would probably mellow it out a little bit. This is one of those cigars that will definetly leave you satisfied and not wanting another smoke. This cigar reminded me of some of the LFD DL and maybe Camacho negro, but a profile that stood on its own.

Thanks for a great review. The pictures were nice as well.

Great review. I'm going to be on the lookout for these. Interesting label. Kind of has a Vegas Lounge look about it.

ts

Huh. Neat review - I didn't really find these to be all that strong, maybe about as strong or a little stronger than a Tatuaje Red (in terms of nicotine content). Did you smoke it on an empty stomach?

Thanks for the review, really sounds like something i could like, sounds about what i experienced with a Gran Habano #3 last night. Hope they're available locally eventually. :thumbs:

ThankYouForNotSmoking said:

Huh. Neat review - I didn't really find these to be all that strong, maybe about as strong or a little stronger than a Tatuaje Red (in terms of nicotine content). Did you smoke it on an empty stomach?

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Yeah, I did, that possibly could be the reason for it.. I did find it to be stronger than any Tatuaje though. The Tat's are definetly more complex.

Very nice review Tim, and I really like the background of your pics :thumbs:

I think I need to hug You for that.




:sign:

Great review! Thanks for sharing! :thumbs:

Never heard of em, mighthave to check em out now. Thanks for the review.

Excellent review. Looks like I need to pick one up.

Fish

Nice review. I cannot say that I ever found it as strong as you describe. PM MindRiot & I am sure he'll give you his two cents on it.

In the future this link http://www.regalocigars.com/ might be of some help. As of now, there is not much to it.

I had a very different experience with these. I bought a few when Leaf and Ale had their special on them. I smoked one a day after I recieved it and then 1 a week later and another 2 weeks after that. I definately would not call this a strong cigar. It has a nice full body but as far as strength, I would say medium. For the most part, I smoked these after work so I would say mostly on an empty stomach. The first thing I noticed about these is that throughout the cigar, there is a tannic quality to them, much like the tannins on a cab, the way it is almost tart on the toungue. the one I had a few days ago was definately much better than the first one I had. I do agree that these are fairly "monochromatic" as there is not much of a profile change but to those who like a straightfoward tobacco flavor, you'll like this one. They start off with a little peppery spice on a woody tone, the pepper dies down after about an inch but the same earthy woody flavour is pretty much the same from start to finish. The finish is fairly short IMO and like Mike from L&A mentioned, you're ready for another smoke in 30 minutes. The one thing that impressed me was construction. These things are beautifully rolled and I would pick one up just to hold it and say "now thats a nice looking cigar" I don't smoke any of the tatuaje's other than the brown line so I can't compare them to the reds but again IMO, the tatuaje's are a different breed and a cut above these. For the price thought, these are a good deal. G1

Those are some nice pic's as well as a nice review Tim, thanks for sharing.

Nice review Tim, I'm smoking one right now and think that you are spot on in the review.

Just smoked one of the Regalos I got for free when I bought some Tat Blacks from Leaf and Ale.

Nice aroma from the wrapper...enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. About medium-medium full strength.

Nice review, bro! :thumbs:

Each of us has a unique tolerance for Vitamin N so it may be a strong cigar to you but not to others. I bought a partial box from you a while back and enjoyed the HELL out of them. I smoked all 16 cigars in less than a month!

I guess I liked them.

Steve