Jimmy's Review of the El Pulpo Belicoso Grande
El Pulpo Belicoso Grande is a 5x56 boxed press cigar made in Tabacalera A.J. Fernandez Cigar Factory in Nicaragua. The cigar has a Mexican San Andres’ wrapper, and Nicaraguan filler and binder from the A.J. Fernandez farms. El Pulpo translates into English is The Octopus. The idea being that the flavors of the cigar will mimic the tentacles of octopus, and swirl around your mouth and in the air.
First impressions: Right off the bat there were issues with the burn line. Hoping this corrects as we go. I’m not getting any flavors of note. I literally wrote down, “It feels like I’m smoking paper.” I was getting nothing. I took a sip of my black coffee to see if it opened up any flavors, and even this was unsuccessful. I thought that my local cigar shop was playing a joke. Turns out they weren’t, but the joke was still on me for the first third of this cigar.
Halfway through: The one positive is that the burn line self-corrected. However, it still felt like I was smoking my kids’ homework ditto at the start. Admittedly, I almost gave up on the cigar. I smoke cigars to relax and gather my thoughts, but the lack of taste was frustrating me and negatively affecting the experience. Just when I was ready to get a new stick, flavors started to emerge. And they were absolutely delicious. Rich chocolate, bright flavors of espresso, and a faint hint of nuttiness to accompany the coffee beans. Beautiful flavors.
The final third: The strength of the cigar begins to an appear. It’s not in your face, like a right hook to the jaw, but rather a flowing jab like the cigar is shadow boxing my taste buds. The chocolate, espresso, and hints of nut flavors remain and are delectable. That is how the cigar holds. There are no additional flavors or transitions. Just a one note enjoyable finish to the cigar.
Overall: This cigar was a big miss for me. For $17 a stick, there are plenty of other options that are worth your time and money. When the cigar kicks in to gear, it is incredibly delicious. Unfortunately, it takes way too long and stays too one note.
Pass or Smoke? This is a pass.
