I took some advice and ordered 2 of each in 4 different sizes from Kevin over at Silo...88, mk, cg4 & the 68. The first one I smoked was the 88 (5X52) and I must say it was a quality cigar from start to finish. By the way, hats off to Silo with their quick shipping, packaging and the inclusion of the Water Pillow in the bag with the cigars...and the gifted pretzels and Red Hot were a nice touch...a class act cigar shop.
The medium brown look and feel was nice and smooth with no toothy or veiny wrapper here, you can see what they mean then they say "grade one Café Colorado wrapper". The cap was integrated well and the overall feel was firm when I rolled it between my fingers. The smell was rich and pleasant to my nose and I gave it a couple of good end-to-end whiffs that really tingled the olfactory senses. My MO for a new cigar is to punch it rather than giving it a cut so I can gauge the draw and slowly savor the taste without it rushing the pallet. The pre-punch taste of the cigar was a bit bitter when I wet it a little but that ended once I acclimated to it. The triple cap took an 11mm punch very well and didn't budge or unravel at all. I gave it a good char which actually took a bit of time as the cigar was nicely rolled and dense, took out a decent size sliver of cedar and gave it a light. Right out of the gate it was a nice, rich draw that shot right to the taste buds with that classic Nicaraguan taste. I was never a Nicaraguan fan until I cut my teeth on boxes of Padrons and Perdomos in the late 90s...and the Illusione reminded me of those days. Rich white smoke with that great 'Nic' bite from the Corojo & Criollo filler/binder leaves . The burn was flawless and it held it's ash like a champ. It got really tasty at about the 10% point with a exacting, toasty flavor, then remained at that point, no crescendo...just a nice straight, consistent taste. I smoked about 3/4 of the stick in about 45 - 50 minutes and it remained flavorful right until I put it down to eat dinner. My only decision now is when I finish smoking all 4 sizes, which one will I buy a box of. The Illusione is a solid cigar that should get better with some age on it and be enjoyed once in a while when you crave that type of taste....a nice addition to any humidor.
