Cigar of the Week: Illusione MJ12 (Review)

Wrapper: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Binder: Nicaraguan

This week we will be featuring the Illusione cigars, but more specifically the MJ12. When you walk into our humidor, its not hard to spot this cigar since it comes wrappers in metallic paper. Illusione is still a growing brand, so we chose to review this one for you to further your education on new cigar.

Appearance:
The Nicaraguan wrapper is a darker brown shade, almost the color of chocolate. There is also a flush cap composed of what appears to be three layers. This cigar was covered with a nice oily shine. There were also a couple thin veins running through this cigar.

Construction:
This cigar is solid from cap to foot. The foot is only slightly softer than the rest of the cigar which made it much easier to light. The cut was perfectly even and clean. The ash on this cigar was a medium to dark shade of gray and held on for about an inch at a time. The burn is even throughout and the draw is very easy as well.

 

Flavor:

This cigar has a lot going on right away. At first we noticed a strong earthiness as well as light spice. As the cigar progressed, some wood notes came out and the earthy tones continued to build.

By the second third the flavors started to open up and a strong espresso flavor entered. The spice and wood notes increased with the introduction of the espresso.

By the halfway mark the flavors started to balance out and the spice became a nice accent to the wood and earth background flavors.

The finish of this cigar was composed of mainly the wood notes. The spice was still present but not nearly as strong as earlier. The espresso flavor also mellowed out.

Overall:
This cigar had a ton of flavor all the way through. But, if you aren't used to stronger cigars, you may want to stand clear, this is a full bodied cigar.

This isn't the only Illusione we carry either. So if this one does sound right for you, be sure to try the other lines we carry. We carry the ~88~, ~888~, ~888~ Maduro, cg:4, and the cg:4 Maduro.

Thank you,

The Xhale Lounge Crew