Baccarat Belicoso

It is not often that I reach into the humidor for a mild cigar.  My idea of mild is more along the lines of what most smokers would call medium.  And, I really didn’t realize that until just recently.  I was having a discussion with a new cigar smoker about flavor and taste when he remarked on my habit of categorizing cigars as breakfast, lunch, or dinner.  He told me that he would probably only enjoy my breakfast cigars.  So, I gave him something to smoke on that basis.  It was too strong for him.   Obviously, my personal preferences are to stronger cigars.  But, I think upon reflection, that was because I hadn’t smoked anything really mild in quite a long time.

Baccarat “The Game” is just such a mild cigar.  This line, produced by the Camacho people, comes in a wide variety of shapes from a small almost cigarillo (32 x 4 1/2), to a King maduro (8 x 52).  The cigar that I smoked for this review was the Belicoso with a natural wrapper.

Upon inspection this cigar is very nice looking.  It has a light brown wrapper of Honduran grown Connecticut shade.  It is seamless with few veins.  It has a pleasant woods aroma.  This cigar came to me at a trade show from the manufacturer and sometimes thsoe cigars are not well stored.  Nevertheless, this one showed no signs of ill treatment.  It was well humidified and lit easily.

The first thing you notice even before lighting is the sweetness of the cigar.  As the roller attaches the cap to the head of the cigar, he dips his finger in a little vegetable-based adhesive to keep the cap in place.  Baccarat has added a touch of sweetener to this adhesive.  They say that it is supposed to give you a nice mouth flavor until the cigar has found its taste when the wrapper, binder, and filler are all burning evenly.  Indeed, even before lighting I got that sweetness.  It lasted quite a while.

After the first inch or so of the cigar, we had some nice mellow cigar flavors.  Mostly creamy and light with hints of hay.  The cigar was well contructed.  it held a nice ash and burned quite evenly.  I never got a hotness or uneven draw.

As I continued to smoke the cigar remained consistent.  The flavor varied little, maintaining its mellow, slightly sweet taste.  As a larger ring gauge cigar, it felt nice in my hands.

If you like mild cigars, I would highly recommend this one.  It is a great value at about $3.00 per stick.  You can light it and forget it, enjoying a very pleasurable hour of smoke.  If you prefer a heavier smoke you will probably find the sweetness a bit too much.  But, it’s worth having one or two in your humidor for those who you want to introduce to cigars.