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CP Newbie Review of the Illusione Pactum

zeemanb

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 12, 2015
Messages
1,341
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A beautiful sunny 80 degree day here in Kansas City, with humidity at about 250 percent after major rainstorms and flash flooding across town last night.  Normally I would accept my wife’s offer to take off for a couple of hours and go up to Outlaw, but I’ve been meaning to give this good looking Illusione some proper attention.  I got it in my newbie sampler from Backslide, and after a little research I found out it’s a limited edition Smoke Inn Microblend Pactum.  There are two or three of these “cigares prive” out there, but the Pactum looks like the only one with this pronounced of a box press.  It’s a pretty seamless, toothy and firm cigar with a San Andres maduro wrapper.  I’m pairing it with an ice cold orange La Croix in one of my old plastic tumblers that saw countless gallons of bourbon meet their maker years ago.  This is a cigar I probably won’t see any more of, so alone on my deck without sporting events I do not understand on three huge tv’s and a deluge of pipe and tobacco smoke from twenty different guys seemed appropriate.   I’m probably not the norm, but when I smoke cigars I like to talk cigars.  I never get tired of talking about cigars…or food.  And I’m always more than happy to be alone with my own thoughts when eating a great meal or smoking a great cigar if I can’t be with someone who shares the same enthusiasm for either.  I would literally be the worst person to talk sports with over a cigar. I've shown up to Outlaw with no concept of the fact that the Royals were in the World Series and on television that night, or that the month of March is full of basketball games that will keep me from getting one of the leather chairs in the lounge.  I do have a great story about being extremely drunk in Wrigleyville, waiting to see a band on the day that Sammy Sosa broke some record, but that's as close to sports related as I've got. Chicago baseball fans are serious.
 
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Prelit draw is on the firm side of perfect, dark and rich flavors coming off of it, no pepper. That same rich sweetness as it lights up, then about three short puffs in, the pepper shows up. And the earthiness shows up.  And the pepper moves towards the back of the throat.  The draw isn’t loose, but it takes no effort to get a ton of smoke.  For a very humid day outside in addition to the dark, thick wrapper, the burn is impressively even.  On the high side of medium right out of the chute, this thing is no Fume d’ Amour. 
 
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Rich like a Rothchild or a Gigante, but I’m not a fan of those.  They don’t really seem to have any treble along with the heavy bass notes.  Lacking in complexity.  This cigar is plenty complex.  Different intangibles than my favorite ECCJ’s and 2’s, but lots of little things I can’t pinpoint flavorwise that make it a “hit” for me.   About an inch in, the pepper has receded, and I’m sure it’s the weather but it’s funny to notice that the thick smoke literally falls and hits the deck.  Rich but balanced, the flavors don’t coat the tongue and make you refresh your palate with a sip of soda.  It’s thick, sweet earthiness, but with some grassiness on the high end.  It’s fresh cut sod.  Coming to the end of the first third, it’s still on the high side of medium body and strength, but I’m pretty sure it’s moving upwards from here.  No touchups needed, it’s burning slow and even.  The retrohale is where that pepper has been hiding, along with some some tart, tannic notes. 
I’ve smoked more non-Cuban cigars in the past six months than the sum total of every one I smoked  from about 1997 onward.  For years I’d say that Cubans were pretty much all I smoked, but that outlook has changed dramatically due to what I’m finding to be my current favorites that don't require a lot of research and blind luck to get a winner of a box.  I try a lot of different stuff, but I've been stocking some Warped cigars, Crowned Heads Headley Grange and the Caldwell Long Live the King Line.  However my very top three, heavily stocked smokes right now are Tatuaje Brown Labels/Reservas, Illusione Original Documents, ECCJ’s and Ultras, and Herrera Estelis.  I can’t tell you what a “great cigar” is, but I know what I like.  It’s kind of like when Hesh was explaining to Christopher on The Sopranos that there are a million musical intangibles that no man can truly understand or decipher, but “a hit is a hit”.  Nobody would need to tell me that Gimme Shelter is a great rock song, I’d know that on my own.  I like to think my love for all of these “new” cigars I’m smoking would come to me independently of all of the recommendations and reviews. Illusione is a brand that I love to smoke.  I don't have a long history with it and have plenty more of them to try, but they have a flavor profile that keeps me thinking and smoking.  A hit is a hit.
 
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Into the second third, the flavors begin to hold onto the lips and tongue.  Bitter chocolate and burnt wood.  Not as dark and rich, moving more towards a spicy profile.  Still rich, but more like a Mexican mole sauce than a demi glace….if I’m going to put it in food terms.  Pronounced nutty sweetness on the backend with sort of anise and grassy notes on the retrohale.  It has that multi-tiered complexity that I associate with an Illusione, but the characteristics are totally different…none of the peppery, creamy, earthiness like an ECCJ.  Darker spice in place of the pepper, chewiness instead of creaminess, and thick, grassy sod takes the spot where my “Cubanesque floral earth” would go. 
 
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Getting close to the final third it’s full flavor,  the body has mellowed down further to the mid-medium range, and the strength is still upper medium.  I’m getting a very slight sense of nicotine, but nothing that’s going to make me wish I’d gone with a big Sonic cherry vanilla Dr. Pepper for the sugar.  It’s a real gentleman of a cigar.  Still no touchups required, the ash hangs on like a champ, and the thick smoke is going back into the range of bittersweet chocolate with less spice.  The retrohale now throws some caramel into the grass clippings.  It’s funny, the closer I get to the end it never hits that crazy thick flavored “roach clip” stage where the flavors are dense and muddled.  Stuff that reminds me of sourdough bread pops up, and the earthiness floats into the floral range from time to time….both things that you’d think would happen earlier in the cigar.  I just love this brand.  These cigars are real thinkers.   Towards the nub, the finish gets longer but the flavors never muddle and it never gets too hot or bitter.  Lots more sweetness as it closes out; it makes me wish this was a much longer cigar.  It ends like Kill Bill Part 1…I know there would be a lot more to this story.  
 
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Overall, this would be a box purchase for me.  I wouldn't always be in the mood for it, but when I wanted to kick back alone and veg out to a good movie or sit on the deck watching the stars, this would absolutely be in that rotation.  Thanks again to Jason for another great cigar I'd probably never run across otherwise.  
 
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Great review. Sounds very similar to the MC Slam. Send mc808 a PM and see if if he has any left if you're interested.
 
oke&coke said:
Great review. Sounds very similar to the MC Slam. Send mc808 a PM and see if if he has any left if you're interested.
 
That could have been the MC Slam, looks identical to the Pactum....both part of that Prive series.  Looking at the details of the MC Slam, the lower number of cigars produced sounds more like what Jason described.  
 
Great review, Z. Loved reading it, but add a few paragraphs for readability next time. :)

I can confirm he does like to talk food, BTW! :D
 
Jerry, it's a little confusing because the mc slam and the Pactum have the same exclusive band and roughly the same dimensions.  Maybe Jason can chime in here... I know he picked up the mc slam from Marvin when he offered it up here. 
 
At any rate, bang on review.  "A hit is a hit."  Love it, man, thanks.
 
I believe the MC is 6" while the pactum is only 5-1/2". Did you happen to measure it before smoking?
 
oke&coke said:
I believe the MC is 6" while the pactum is only 5-1/2". Did you happen to measure it before smoking?
 
I did not, for which I defer to my noob status, lol.  I'd say it was 6 though.
 
Great review! The photo of the v-cut looks like the cigar was used in the commission of a homicide. I did a triple take thinking at first you snipped a finger instead of the cigar.
 
Excellent! I love that the quality of our reviews is on the up after the last few years!
 
Time for a group video review HERF! :p
 
-Trey
 
MichaelD said:
Great review! The photo of the v-cut looks like the cigar was used in the commission of a homicide. I did a triple take thinking at first you snipped a finger instead of the cigar.
You're not too far off...the three dollar savings I got on my Colibri cutter hasn't been worth the skin that I've lost using it. It's like a little mouse trap.
 
This cigar was indeed an ~MC~ Slam, MC for Marvin Chang! I had the pleasure to smoke a pre-release version of this cigar with Marvin in Waikiki. I had to pick up a few boxes when he released them. Love love love this cigar.

Jason
 
Great review. Thank you for taking the time to compile and post it. Look forward to more reviews from you.
 
Thanks for that ZeeMan looked like a really good smoke and a well done review.
 
Pactum? Damn near killed 'em! :)


Great review and always glad to see a former "Cuban only" come over to the dark side.
 
vortex said:
Pactum? Damn near killed 'em! :)


Great review and always glad to see a former "Cuban only" come over to the dark side.
Lol [emoji12]
 
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