Arandoza’s Battle of the Bands – Blue

Arandoza’s Battle of the Bands – Blue

Arandoza Cigars is a family owned company that apparently started early 2011, launching its first line of cigars called Blue Label in 2012, with light blue bands. This cigar was reviewed by my compatriot in October 2012 and he gave it a 3.5 out of 5. At the 2013 IPCPR, Arandoza announced the “rebirth” of the medium bodied Blue Label line with a deeper, bolder blue in the cigar bands.  This differentiates it from the White line of Arandoza cigars targeted at the full bodied flavor market. I call this the Battle of the Bands (blue and white).

All of the cigars are handmade at the “La Zona Factory” in Esteli, Nicaragua.  Esteli is a town in northern Nicaragua of 100,000 people and is the informal cigar manufacturing capital of Nicaragua. The Blue has a Nicaraguan binder and filler with a Habano Nicaraguan wrapper.

At the 2013 IPCPR and I was given a Blue Label robusto to sample. It comes in 4 sizes – 5 X 52 robusto, 6 X 52 toro, 6 X 52 torpedo and a 6 X 60 trabuco.  The Blue is a good looking cigar and I appreciate the second band at the foot as this is where my cigars are sometimes damaged when they are handled.  The bands slipped off very easily and the stick was firm, getting hard near the cap. The pre-smoke aroma was nutty and sweet.

The stick light easily and the smoke was flavorful, heavy and creamy.  The flavor of nuts was strong but sweetness stayed throughout. The draw was fine with only an occasional pull required.  The final third of the stick had an earthiness to the taste. There was very little aftertaste to this cigar and with a smoking time of 40 minutes could be a good breakfast selection. The strength was at the low end of medium bodied and at a SRP of about $6 to $6.5 represents a decent value. Overall, I agree with my compatriots 3.5 rating a year ago. There is a value to consistency!