2011 Edicion Regional Alemania Sancho Panza Escuderos

Had the opportunity to buy a few of these cigars from a great SOTL who visited Europe over the summer.

The Sancho Panza marca has been used for only 2 Edicion Regional releases. The 2010 ER Espana Quijote and the 2011 Sancho Panza ER Alemania Escuderos.

The overall marca itself has been chopped down over the years. Only the Belicosos and the Non Plus are currently being produced however, you can still find some older boxes in Cuba if you look around.

I recently read on one of the cigars boards that I frequent that there hasn’t been too many reviews on this cigar available. I figured it was time to give it a whirl.

Let’s see how things are going….

The 2011 ER Alemania Sancho Panza Escuderos is a large cigar. It is a Dobles vitola and comes in at a 50 ring gauge by 6.1 inches. There were 3,000 dress boxes of 10 cigars released to the market.

The cigar itself looks very elegant. A nice molted auburn brown wrapper. No visible veins and smooth to the touch.

The aroma from the wrapper is very hazelnut and chocolate heavy. It reminds me of nutella. Viery rich and decadent aromas…

The triple cap is expertly constructed. Nicely rounded. No soft spots throughout the cigar. Very dense, in fact. The head of the cigar feels a little overfilled. Will see when I put a punch to it.

The foot of the cigar is fairly packed as well. Hope that there are no draw issues.

A quick twist and turn from my punch and we are ready to go.

Initial cold draw flavours are honey, sea salt, hazelnut and chocolate. Reminds me of See’s candy.

Time to take this to the flame….

First Third
Initial puffs reveal citrus, bitter chocolate, a touch of leather and a slight saltiness. Very unique.

Lots of smoke production. No worries about the draw here. Construction is excellent. Nice wafts of blue smoke going up into the sky.

The burn line is razor sharp. The ash itself is a dirty whitish grey. Very packed and dense. Good showing so far.

The strength puts the cigar in the mild to medium category. Good overall body.

The after finish is quite interesting. A myrid of flavours whose combination I am not that familiar
with as an ensemble. Leather,sea salt,citrus and bitter chocolate all take their turn enveloping my palate. I am starting to think I should have picked up a few boxes of these instead of a fiver.

There is a certain richness in flavour to this cigar that I am unaccustomed to. Very unique experience so far.

I am pairing this with a Blanton’s Single Barrel Bourbon tonight to combat the cold. A delicious dram that goes well with the cigar. I am starting to get into the world of bourbon. I just wish the prices here weren’t so excruciatingly high. That story is for another time though….

Second Third
This cigar is really strutting its stuff. The flavours are nicely integrated. The slight bitterness of the chocolate flavour is complemented by the deeper leather note and the saltiness of the cigar. The citrus accent rounds out the flavour profile. Impressive and unique.

The burn line remains razor sharp and the ash holds on strong until I accidentally knock the cigar. Smoke production is still going strong.

The after finish has a bit more teeth to it now. More fuller and with more depth. Very nice.

The soft caramel and honey notes from the Blanton’s bourbon is a really nice foil to the saltiness and leather notes of the cigar. A wonderful pairing.

The strength has just entered the medium category. Again, more teeth, roundness and depth. Wonder what the final third holds….

Final Third
The leather notes have picked up in strength. A cameo appearance by cedar also comes in for the final act. The saltiness has died down as has the citrus notes. More earthy and leather now. I taste meat for some reason….

More robust in strength as well. A full medium body right now. I don’t think it will get any stronger.

There is a sour note that I can’t place right now. Accents the leather/earth combination.

The after finish has changed as well. More powerful now. The delicateness of the sea salt and citrus is all but disappeared. The only sweetness is from the Blanton’s.

Final Impressions
A very unique experience. Nice complexity and a variety of flavour changes throughout the cigar. I didn’t think that it would change that distinctly in the final third. A total image change.

These are worth searching out. The uniqueness of flavour profile, construction and quality of tobacco are first rate. Not sure how they will age as I am not familiar with the marca but a good smoking experience right now.