Laranja Reserva Escuro by Espinosa

The younger, lets say, half brother of the Original Laranja, the Laranja Reserva Escuro was introduced to the market in April of 2019, however it was teased late in the year in 2018. Because of its older brother's success, this cigar came with fanfair and much anticipation. Time to see what the hype was all about. 

Construction - It was clear pretty quickly that this cigar was built like a brick shit house. The Brazilian wrapper was nice and oily, and firm and thick to the touch, more so than other cigars we have seen that use a variation of a Brazilian wrapper. What commonality it did have to others was the slight marbling in color, which pops when you are browsing the shelves. The aesthetics of the cigar itself matched with the recognizable bands makes this an easy one to select. The only issue was with one cap peel that seems to be a result of faulty placement and adhesion. 

Burn - The burn on both samples smoked was paralleled and superb to say the least. Each cigar passed our hold test, and could have doubled up in time without any issue. Each sample exhausted tons of smoke and provided the perfect amount of draw resistance.  

Flavor - We both agree that Brazilian Mata Fina is great as a wrapper. Many blends have utilized this tobacco as a binder component for some time, but it’s utilization as a wrapper draws out a wonderful tangy brightness that you just don’t really get what other varietals. It’s balanced out nicely by rich nicaraguan fillers that make up the rest of this cigar. Its bitter (in a good way), woody, and provides a slight sweetness which gives you a complex, desirable, and complete profile. We couldn't help draw the noticeable similarities to the Drew Estate Brazilian Maduro. They are really strikingly similar in our opinion, which we will profess is not a bad thing.