I first received this cigar in a great goody bag I got from IPCPR since I was not able to attend (someone’s got to watch the store, right?), and I have to admit that as much as I love Eddie Ortega’s work, I was a bit alarmed by the name and label on this cigar. If you’re Puerto Rican or Cuban and/or a rum aficionado you’ll realize this specific bat looks a lot like a very old graphic the Bacardi family used to use on their bottles, and I almost never smoked this cigar because I had no idea where Eddie or Erik were planning on going with this.  You’ll see below why I’m glad after a few months of some samples sitting in one of my humidors I’m glad I finally smoking this thing….

So you don’t think I’m joking, this is the original Bacardi bat the

family used on the bottles back in Cuba in the 19th century

Size: 52 x 5 1/2″

Composition: Nicaraguan filler, Mexican binder, and a San Andreas Maduro wrapper

Appearance & Construction: This cigar is nothing short of beautiful in terms of appearance. With its San Andreas Maduro wrapper, this stick is dark and rich-looking and is silky smooth.  (I don’t know about you, but I hate wrappers that present a lot of veins.) The box-pressing at first concerned me since I’ve had issues with box-pressed maduros in the past, but the press seemed just enough to shape the cigar without hopefully ruining the draw. Looking at the foot it appeared to be a good roll with no visible holes and as much as I initially thought the logo was a bit on the goofy side, it does provide a nice contrast since both the red in the label and darkness of the wrapper are bold in their own right. (29/30 for the category)

Delivery (Notes, etc): While this cigar occasionally provided the essences of nuts, earth, cedar, and hints of spice, there is one overwhelming characteristic here that I completely fell in love with: chalky cocoa powder.  Now if you don’t already think I’m crazy, please let me explain my judgment and why I chose the describe the cocoa as “chalky.”

Have you ever quickly emptied a packet of Swiss Miss Hot Chocolate mix into a mug and the powder emits a small cocoa cloud into the air and you breathe it in? Imagine that happening each time you puff on this cigar and you will understand the creamy, chalky, chocolatey experience you get with nearly every draw. I’ve tried a lot of Mexican tobacco before and let me tell you none of what I’ve tried in the past does what this cigar can do.  The last third of this beauty even introduces a bit of espresso to the palate which married beautifully with the velvety chocolate texture. (34/35 for the category)

Burn/Ash/Draw: The burn on this cigar was great. Thanks to the box press it held the ash quite nicely for long periods of time and it was a pleasantly bright white, signifying that unlike its Nicaraguan counterpart, soil from Mexico’s San Andreas Valley is calcium-rich.

As far as the draw was concerned I’ve smoked quite a number of these sticks and I’ve only had an issue with the draw once over the course of a few months. (The one belicoso in question did get a bit tight as I started to nub it, but if that’s the only problem I encounter in one of the nearly dozen of these I’ve smoked, I’m not complaining.)   I believe I stated above I’ve had some bad luck with box-pressed maduros and while that’s true, I can’t really say I’ve had any major issues with the Murcielago. *Although this review is for the belicoso, the size I’ve had the most issues with is the robusto.*  (33/35 for the category)

Overall Assessment: This is hands-down a great creation from the men of EO brands. Eddie and Erik have once again come up with a winner that’s not only an attractive cigar, but a cigar that treats its smokers very fairly.  While it retails here in New York for around $12.00 per stick for this size and that can be pricey for some, this cigar is worth it.  After smoking as many as I have in the past few months I can testify that this is one of those cigars you can actually depend on and it is definitely one of my favourite new smokes from IPCPR 2009.

*Final Score: 96