El Politico is the professional yet rather personal business card from Joshua Habursky, Head of Governmental Affairs for the Premium Cigar Association. Together with Luciano Meirelles from Tabacalera Pichardo, he created this special smoking experience.
In this article, you will discover the El Politico cigar as we review it according to the following considerations:
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Overview
- Brand: El Politico
- Range: n/a
- Reviewed Vitolas: 6 x 52 Toro
- Wrapper: Mexican San Andres
- Binder: Nicaragua
- Filler: Nicaragua
- Factory: Tabacalera Pichardo, Nicaragua
- Handmade: Yes
- Body: Medium – Full
- Estimated Smoking Time: 150 Minutes
- Pricing: Not Widely Available
Originally, 5,000 cigars were manufactured, 2,100 of which were given away at the 2021 PCA trade show in Las Vegas. Joshua Habursky and Luciano Meirelles plan on releasing more cigars in 2022, so El Politico will become more widely available for people to smoke.
El Politico Look & Feel
- Wrapper Hue: Bitter chocolate brown
- Rolling Consistency: Even
- Spring: Firm
- Aromas: Red fruits, mineral, bitter cocoa
The cigar features a toothy and very textured Mexican, San Andreas wrapper, that is treaded in a particular way during pre-industry at Tabacalera Pichardo. The shiny leaf covers a blend of Nicaraguan tobaccos, primarily Jalapa and Pueblo Nuevo, which have become signature tobaccos for ACE Prime and Tabacalera Pichardo in their various projects and blends.
The cigar looks rather elegant overall and feels very well made. The roll is firm and even, there’s just one single soft spot that I can detect when slightly pinching and squeezing the cigar. Other than that, it feels excellently constructed, with minimal seams and just tiny little veins present.
El Politico Cigar Review
After bringing home my sample cigars from Las Vegas, I rested them in my coolidor with 69% Boveda humidity packs for well over 4 months to guarantee controlled ageing and perfect storing conditions.
Pre-Lighting Experience
- Draw: Ideal
- Aromas: Bitter chocolate, earth, dried ceps
The draw before lighting the cigar gives me just the right amount of resistance. Right away, the cold draw offers notes of bitter chocolate, a very dry earthen cocoa note with just a hint of dried ceps, and a more generic dried mushroom sensation.
Furthermore, there’s an ever so slight red fruit component, slowly transcending into cherry sweetness and sourness.
1st Third Smoking Experience
- Notes: Bitter cocoa, nuts, morello cherries
After lighting the cigar, the first third opens with an elegant combination of some of the bitter chocolate that was prominently featured on the cold draw, with a creamier nutty note underneath.
Towards the back of the gustatory experience, there’s this distinct fruitiness again, elevating the overall profile. This time, it’s a very distinct morello cherry, with a touch of lemon zest to brighten the ethereal scents.
The technical performance of the cigar is impressive right out of the gate.
2nd Third Smoking Experience
- Notes: Earth, leather, smoked sea salt
Well into the second third, the cigar shows more of that typical Nicaraguan spice, earthiness, and bitter chocolate, offering depth, complexity, and richness.
With a sprinkle of smoked sea salt and minerality on top, the complexity of the smoking experience is intriguing. The strength has consistently hit a solid medium, the body however is definitely full and rich.
Retrohales have lively citrus zest, a creamed walnut nuance as well as black pepper spice and something that reminds me of grains of paradise.
Final Third Smoking Experience
- Notes: Citrus zest, mineral, earth
The cigar shows different nuances, transitioning from the first few puffs, to the second and then finally the very last third. There are lots of different nuances, aromas and flavors to be found, once you progress through the smoking experience.
The final third in particular sees the citrus and saltiness come to the forefront. Hence, the minerality and ethereal connotation of the experience are more pronounced, yet very well integrated into the prominent bitter chocolate and nuttiness that the cigar has shown so wonderfully well ever since the beginning.
Overall, this is a very harmonious smoke with great complexity and finesse. I can’t wait to try these cigars with a little extra age on them.
Overall Burn
- Ash Backbone: Firm
- Burn Angle: Straight
- Temperature: Cool
- Draw: Ideal
- Final Smoking Time: 150 Minutes
The El Politico is not only intriguing but also a diplomatic cigar that will appeal to different palates and audiences. It’s never overpowering, not overly spicy or drying, but not bland or boring at all. It feels very well put together, well balanced, and perfectly thought through.
As a matter of fact, this cigar will charm the global audience and make an impact, whether it’s in the United States, Europe, Asia, or the Middle East. The vitola, being a popular Toro, is definitely mass applicable as well, and so is the blend.
The burn quality and ash backbone are impressive, leaving me with a cool sensation on the palate, a richly-textured smoke, and an ethereal aftertaste.
Given that I’m a slow and patient cigar passionado, the final smoking time of all the samples – I tried three of them for this review – came to around 150 minutes. Plenty of time to contemplate the challenging political situations, both in and around the cigar industry.
Overall Experience
As mentioned before, the cigar looks very elegant overall.
The ring features the United States capitol dome, combined with three stars underneath. The entire design is a tribute to Washington DC, the country’s rich political heritage and the PCA’s headquarters.
Obviously, Joshua Habursky conceptualised this business card to perfectly align with both his governmental affairs role and his cigar smoking passion.
I haven’t seen any box designs, and from all I can tell, there hasn’t been any boxes on display yet. I assume this is because the cigars are only presented individually as a gift.
Nevertheless, the presentation and overall experience is neat, elegant and beautiful to look at.
Pairing Recommendations With The El Politico Cigar
Because of its nuttiness and the rather prominent bitter chocolate, my favourite pairing is a hand-full of bitter chocolate-coated macadamia nuts. It’s the perfect link between the smoke and the snack, offering both creaminess and character at the same time.
Alternatively, one could also opt for a salty snack. My choice would be salted pretzels, a rosemary sprinkled cracker or biscuit.
When it comes to beverage choices, I’ve been very fond of savouring the cigar alongside an elegant, full bodied, yet creamy and mellow XO Cognac.
Those looking for a non-alcoholic drink, I’d recommend hazelnut milk, offering the aforementioned mellowness and the nuttiness that the cigar shows so beautifully well.
Closing Thoughts
For now, this intriguing toro is the only vitola of this premium cigar, but there shall be other renditions further down the line. Hopefully, and most likely, we will see an enlarged portfolio of El Politico, with different sizes and options to choose from.
With a great background story and an excellent delivery in terms of the sensory perception. Taking into consideration that parts of the revenue these cigars will generate, shall support charitable causes as well as the PCA’s advocacy efforts, the overall concept of El Politico is important and well executed.
"El Politico is a great cigar concept, delivering a characterful yet mellow smoking experience."
Further Reading
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