Double Nickel Cigar by Rodriguez

Lou Rodriguez Cigars sells exclusively through “brick and mortar” stores and targets the mature smoker looking for limited production cigars. At the 2014 IPCPR Rodriguez introduced its new cigar called the “double nickel”. The band is orange and black with a large “55” on it. In keeping with the name, the cigar is 5.5 X 55 – two double nickels. Old smokers like me remember the double nickel as something that came out of the first Arab oil embargo in 1973 which President Nixon responded to by signing into law a national speed limit of 55 miles per hour. States that didn’t honor the limit lost their federal highway funds. The passing lane became the double nickel lane and for a short time even car speedometers were required to emphasize the double nickel and not display any speeds in excess of 85 miles per hour. All that ended in 1995, thankfully.

The Double Nickel cigar by Rodriguez uses filler from 3 regions of Nicaragua, a Nicaraguan binder and Brazilian Arapiraca wrapper. The cigar was dark, a little veiny and had a slight sheen. The aroma was earthy and the Arapiraca wrapper promised some sweetness. Both the appearance and construction were about average. The Double Nickel had an excellent draw and good smoke volume but the wrapper delivered very little sweetness. The dominant flavors were earth, cream and vanilla with an undertone of spice and wood. The burn was a little uneven but no relights were required.

I took an hour to smoke this medium to full bodied cigar that has an unconfirmed SRP of about $8. The flavors received a high rating, but the rest of the cigar caused it to earn an overall rating of 3 out of 5.

Editors note:    I smoked this cigar at the show but did not have time for an independent review.  I enjoyed it as well as other cigars by Lou.  I hope you do, too.  Stuart