• Cigar Reviewed: San Cristóbal de la Habana Mercaderes (La Casa del Habano Exclusive)
• Country of Origin: Cuba
• Factory: n/a
• Wrapper: Cuba
• Binder: Cuba
• Filler: Cuba
• Length: 6 3/5 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 48
• Vitola: Grand Corona
• MSRP: n/a
• Release Date: 2006
• Number of Cigars Released: n/a
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

Given the love shown to the 6ish x 50ish toro vitola by cigar makers outside of Cuba, the San Cristóbal Mercaderes feels almost immediately familiar in the hand as it checks in at 6 3/5 x 48, though a quick measurement makes it seem more like a 50 ring gauge. It’s a good looking cigar; the wrapper is a matte shade of just tanner-than-medium brown without much oils or prominent vein structure, looking almost a bit like Ecuadorian habano. The triple cap is well constructed on each cigar, though one sample appears to have sustained some damage in travel. The wrapper also has an interesting texture to the fingers, as it is very smooth and I can almost feel both the thinness and the elasticity with ease. Each of the three Mercaderes is a bit soft and spongy in spots, not so much so as to be concerning, but certainly noticeable, while the third cigar is very firm in the lower half and spongier towards the head. The foot of the cigar has a bit of sweet cereal, and the more sniffs I take, the more the sweetness stands out and evolves, starting with sugar and evolving to a bit of banana and then banana bread. The cold draw is fairly good as far as airflow but varies from sample to sample, while the flavor has me thinking of banana bread again, both because of the flavor and that it’s easy to pick up the cigar’s sponginess. There’s just a little pepper to be found, masked a bit by some subtle creaminess.

Despite feeling underfilled on one sample and quite firm on another, there are no issues getting a good draw on the San Cristóbal Mercaderes once lit. If anything, there’s a bit of resistance to it, generally what I’ve come to expect as the right amount for my preferences and seemingly that of numerous others. The first puffs are fairly mild but quickly add a bit of pepper that makes for an interesting combination with the underlying cereal grains. By the time the first bit of ash looks long enough to warrant tapping off, the cigar has settled in at a medium level of flavor intensity and a medium-minus level of strength. The cigar adds an interesting taste that has me thinking of mint or some sort of mint-based jelly, though I can’t place it and it’s gone before I can fully run through my mental catalog of flavors. Approaching the second third, my mind is drawn back to the fact that these cigars are somewhere between seven and 14 years old, and contemplating what age has done to both the strength and flavor profile. While I’m not sure, the result so far seems to be quite good.