House Blends Direct puts out some amazing cigars. Not only for their flavor, but there unique wrappers and designs. I was able to get my hands on two five packs of the Private Royal African Cameroon Wrapper cigars. While this was a first time experience with a cigar that had this wrapper it was not my first experience with House Blends Direct.
Stats:
Profile: Medium / Full
Wrapper: African Cameroon Wrapper
Shape: Gordo
Length: 4 inches
Gauge: 60
Filler: Hondorus and Nicaragua
Binder: Olor
Sweet: Natural Tones
Pricing: (Pack of 5) - $37.00
(per stick) - $7.40
First Impression:
I am a sucker when it comes to packaging. It doesn't have to be fancy, but it has to catch my eye. This cigar came wrapper in newspaper style. This is one of my favorite ways to receive a cigar for some reason. I was already excited due to the rare African Cameroon Wrapper. Plus, my order showed up earlier than expected. I used the extra time to carve out a solid time slot for this smoke session.
Pre-Smoke Ritual:
I got to add a step for this one. I got to unwrap it from its newspaper housing. I got a solid sniff of the wrapper and it was great. Subtle sweetness with a stiff cigar smell. It was hard to place any flavors for some reason just from the aroma. My smoking tools were laid out. The cuts were made and I had to toast this twice.
Lighting, Draw, and Burn:
Lighting this cigar took a little bit. I attribute that to the twisted end so this is not an issue at all. Once it was lit up though this burned like a champ. The draw was a bit tight, but not uncomfortable. It let you know that you were smoking a cigar and there was a tiny amount of work to be done. It was rather pleasant. The burn on this was slightly uneven through the first third. I did not want to touch it up so I rolled the dice. It did quickly straighten itself out though. On a side note, I put this cigar down several times for a good amount of time. It stayed lit and put out amazing smoke each draw.
Flavor:
This cigar stayed on course through the entire smoke. Earth, leather, and cedar fills your mouth with each draw. There was a natural sweetness from the African Cameroon Wrapper that was more than a note, but not overpowering. The only difference I noticed smoking this was leaving the second third going into the third. The leather and cedar seemed to pick up some more steam. but did not drown out the Earthy flavor by and means.
My Preference:
I gave this cigar two weeks rest in the humidor. They were ready to smoke on arrival, but I wanted to give them some more time to settle. I made my initial cut with a Colibri 1928 v-cutter followed by some holes around the cap with a Select Draw Cigar Cutter. 9 holes was the perfect amount in this situation. The lighter of choice was a brass classic Zippo with a duel flame butane insert.
Final Thoughts:
I would have to highly recommend this cigar. The packaging, the wrapper, the flavor all made me very happy. I am also a huge fan of the 4x60 cigars. This had several positive points before I even received them. The flavor is very good with the background of sweetness. While no cigar is made for everyone this is one of the ones I think will appeal to the majority. Keep and eye on the House Blend Direct Instagram @house_blends_direct. If they become available again which I hope they do scoop up a 5 pack and give them a try.