Welcome to a Geek Critique of a cigar generously provided to us by member MichaelCampbellCasdagli of Casdagli Cigars. The cigar provided for this round is the Casdagli Cigars Cypher 3311 Line "Enigma". The name of this unique line of cigars "Cypher 3311" refers to the secret war conducted during WWII. "3311" was Jeremy Casdagli's grandfather's POW number & the "Coat of Arms" used on the band replicates one of his grandfather's wartime embroideries. The blends chosen as well as the imagery on the packaging contain hidden messages that can be discovered by the smoker. The exotic tobaccos of the Cypher 3311 vitolas are rare and expensive thus creating a truly unique blend that requires aging once the cigar is made. There will only be a maximum of 4,000 of each of the 4 cigars made annually. A percentage of every cigar sale will be donated to the Red Cross whose relentless work continues to alleviate human suffering across the world. The Cypher 3311 Line cigars are blended especially for Casdagli Cigars at IGM Cigars boutique factory in Costa Rica.
Casdagli Cigars Cypher 3311 Line "Enigma"
Brand:
Casdagli Cigars
Name:
Cypher 3311 Line "Enigma"
Length:
7.5
Ring Gauge:
49
Country of Origin:
Costa Rica
Filler:
Secret
Binder:
Secret
Wrapper:
Ecuador
Color:
Colorado Maduro
Strength:
Medium-Full
Shape:
Double Corona
Notes:
https://casdaglicigars.com/cigar/enigma/
The name of this unique line of cigars "Cypher 3311" refers to the secret war conducted during WWII. "3311" was Jeremy's Grandfather's POW number & the "Coat of Arms" used on the band replicates one of his Grandfather's wartime embroideries. The blends chosen as well as the imagery on the packaging contain hidden messages that can be discovered by the smoker. The exotic tobaccos of the Cypher 3311 vitolas are rare and expensive thus creating a truly unique blend that requires aging once the cigar is made. A percentage of every cigar sale will be donated to the Red Cross whose relentless work continues to alleviate human suffering across the world. The Cypher 3311 Line cigars are blended especially for Casdagli Cigars at IGM Cigars boutique factory in Costa Rica.
This cigar was enjoyed with Woodford Reserve
Pre-Light: 8 Points of 10 Possible
Medium brown wrapper that shows some veining and a little color variation in the veining. The wrapper has a medium tooth texture to it, not silky smooth and not super rough. There's something about how the roll looks on the foot that gives me the impression this was a skilled roller. I can't really tell that it's bunched, and no noticeable soft spots. The wrapper aroma reminds me of chocolate milk and nutmeg. The foot smells similar but I also get a walnut type of hint in the aroma. The triple cap was well applied, the cigar took a V cut and then a guillotine cut just fine.
Lighting and Burn: 7 Points of 15 Possible
Most of the foot lit easily enough, but there was one edge that lagged a bit. This was a foreshadowing of things to come as that side continued to lag behind during the burn. To make things worse, I really had to stoke this thing with 4, 5, or 6 puffs to get it going every time I took an overall puff. I corrected the uneven burn several times trying to keep this thing going and it never really corrected until the last third of the cigar. The ash was solid and only fell when tapped. Smoke volume was on average medium but sometimes became quite full.
Construction: 20 Points of 30 Possible
The wrapper and cap performed beautifully the whole smoke. I did my share of trying to manipulate the head area trying to find a way to improve the performance, and nothing ever cracked or split.
The draw was a little tight the whole way and I'm sure contributed to the struggles on the stoking and burn issues.
Flavor and Aroma: 38 Points of 45 Possible
At first light, it was a musty/peat/walnut type of palate profile and some spice in the retrohale. I was glad to see the spice join the profile on the palate about 1/2 inch in. Things stayed pretty consistent the rest of the smoke, except for a fleeting moment of some honey sweetness in the final third when the cigar started to perform a little better.
The aroma on the foot was really pleasant, a cedar and spice type of smell.
To the cigar's credit, I'm shocked that the flavor never turned harsh or bitter despite the amount of stoking it took to keep this cigar going. Still, I'm left wondering what flavors I missed out on because of the poor performance.
Summary
Thank you to Michael and Casdagli for sponsoring this review. The few Casdagli cigars I've tried I've really enjoyed. Unfortunately this particular stick suffered from a tight draw and a stubbornly bad burn. It left me wondering what this cigar could've been, which I would guess is normally a full flavored and full bodied experience. I'm looking forward to seeing what others find in their experience with this one.