Viva Republica’s Rapture Harasha

Rapture Harasha

Jason Holly, a cigar enthusiast and store owner in Northeastern Pennsylvania, took the plunge from cigar retailing to also manufacturing cigars and launched his company, Viva Republica Inc.  The first cigar offering from Viva is the Rapture series with sizes ranging from a 4.5 X 50 robusto to a 6 X 58 gordo. Viva uses an Ecuadorian Havana wrapper with a Dominican Corojo binder and a filling blend of Nicaraguan, Brazilian and Dominican tobaccos. All of their cigars are made in the Dominican Republic  by the well-known La Aurora factory.

I particularly like larger cigars sizes so I selected the Harasha – the 6 X 58 gordo, to sample from the cigars I obtained at the 2013 IPCPR.  A quick Googling of the origin of the name “Harasha” , an unusual name, indicates that Harasha is a very small Jewish village in the northern section of the West Bank. The Harasha’s wrapper was Colorado Maduro in color.

The Harasha was well constructed with no apparent blemishes. The pre-smoke aroma was earthy and quite nice. The first taste was slightly sweet but it immediately moved into strong cedar with some pepper. The draw as very good for the entire smoke and the ash burned evenly throughout.  By the second third of the stick the tastes grew stronger and shifted towards spice and nuttiness.  The final third was a flavorful pepper and spice and had a clean finish. The aftertaste was clearly nutmeg.

This was a medium to full bodied cigar that lasted 1 hour and had an overall pleasant taste. The Harasha has a SRP of approximately $9 and represents a decent value.  Viva Republica’s Rapture series is off to a good start with the Harasha.