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Nosotros project was a collaboration between two industry giants, Dion Giolito of Illusione and Jonathan Drew of Drew Estate. Nosotros cigars were rolled by Drew Estate in Nicaragua. I was gifted my first Nosotros by Jonathan Drew at one of the cigar events in local B&M cigar shops in New Jersey. When I look back, I shake my head because at that event I was still craving a Nosotros sample after receiving couple pre-release Dirty Rats. We all know where both cigars are now in regard to popularity. I smoked gifted Nosotros sample few days later and due to high expectations, I was far from being impressed. Reading other reviews online, my experience was within the same bracket. I have since purchased few different viotolas and although the overall package has improved, I still wasn’t fully satisfied. I decided to rest the robusto for few more months and see if extra aging can positively impact the experience.
I smoked my last Nosotros this past weekend and I can report that cigar definitely benefited from extra aging. In construction department, cigar had a well applied Nicaraguan Corojo wrapper with few dark running veins. If you enjoy looking at dark oily wrappers, Nosotros is an extreme opposite. I can probably go to Home Depot, buy an ultra fine sandpaper and you wouldn’t know the difference – it is that ‘sandy’ to touch. Burn has improved, drastically. With my very first sample, I recall sitting there for 1.5hr with a cigar in my left hand / a lighter in my right hand and performing a touch-up procedure for equal amount of time – it was annoying. Although the burn was far from being razor sharp, I only touched it up twice. Flavors – I can’t slice this cigar into 3s since there is definitely not enough complexity. Normal puffs and retrohale presented enjoyable spice on the lips, tongue and a small amount in the back of the throat. If you enjoy ‘wood’ in your taste, there is an abundance of it in Nosotros. I was able to pick up small amount of chocolate / coffee / cocoa. The amount of smoke on the 2nd/3rd puff was out of control. Photographing the nub and ensuring that I get sufficient amount of smoke was a piece of ‘cake.’ In conclusion, one would ask “Is Nosotros Worth The Box ?” Probably not. “Few singles ?” Yes. My expectation is extremely high when it comes to Dion’s Illusione brand and Jonathan’s Liga Privada brand. I hope they continue to innovate and continue to meet my expectation. Who knows, maybe some day we will see Nosotros Take 2.
Please be aware that Nosotros project has been discontinued as per Dion Giolito but there are still a lot of local B&M cigar shops that carry the line. If you can’t find them locally, give Ruben’s Smoke Stack a call. To read up more about Nosotros, check out my colleagues: casasfumando, acigarsmoker, stogiereview, nicetightash, mikesstogies.
Specs:
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Corojo
Binder: Connecticut Habano
Filler: Nicaraguan
Length: 5″
Ring: 50
Construction > OK
Burn > OK
Enjoy > Yes
Recommend > Yes
Buy > Yes (* discontinued)
