Initial Thoughts
I’m always intrigued by cigars that are named after a specific figure in history. That’s one of the reasons I decided to smoke the Julius Caeser. There is just something about the fact that it is named after someone significant that makes me want to smoke it. I was given this cigar by Gary Griffith of Emilio cigars. Emilio is now distributing these Ezra Zion cigars around the country. He wanted to send it out and get some takes on what people thought about it. After watching the video on the Ezra Zion Reagan I was really excited and was expecting a lot from this cigar. Let’s dive on into it and see what happens.
Looks
You could probably see this cigar from space. I’m not gonna lie it’s one of the biggest cigars I’ve ever smoked. In fact it’s one of the biggest cigars I’ve ever seen. When I first started out smoking I was a huge fan of big cigars. Now I tend to prefer smaller vitolas such as coronas and robustos. However, it’s always a good idea to break out a honker like this Ezra Zion Reagan.
Standing at 6 3/4″ and a RG of 54 this thing is massive. You’re definitely in for a couple hour smoke. If you smoke at the rate I do. Which is fairly slow. The wrapper is a rustic looking sun grown habano leaf. There are quite a few large veins running up and down the length of this wrapper that draw you eyes in. The seams on the wrapper are more pronounced than most leafs that I’ve seen. Not a bad thing, just happened to notice it more.
This cigar has a beautiful double band on it. In fact it’s probably the first thing you notice about the cigar. For as big as this cigar is, the band had to be equally as big. To catch your eye. I love personally love the Ezra Zion logo. They wrap it in this beautiful black and gold band. It’s very classic and just pops out. I love it, that’s what really drew me into this cigar was the “bling” of the band.
Another thing that stood out right away was the head of this cigar. The cap that covers the head looks like it started as a triple cap, but looks more similar to a quad cap if there is such a thing. I can see four distinct seams on the cap head. I know it takes a lot of leaf to cover this cigar. This Ezra Zion Reagan is a great looking stick for sure. I’m ready to test this thing out and light it up.
Function
After rolling the Ezra Zion Reagan between my fingers and checking for soft spots. I found a couple areas that were more spongy than soft. While the rest of cigar seemed to be fairly firm, these spots stuck out and I made note of where they were to see if they affected the burn later on in the smoke.
Because this was such a big cigar I decided not to use my normal cutter. I went with my ole V Cut. Instead of the normal slot cut across I made an X patter with my cut to allow more draw through this big stick. I tested the cold draw on this Ezra Zion Reagan and man it pulled in some nice air I tell you what! I’m glad it did. It was gonna help me burn through this giant. After all the pre game rituals were done. I decided it was time to light up.
I had to get up away from my seat and move to the back of the garage. I just recently invested in a new propane heater for my garage / smoking room and I didn’t want to set my self on fire the first time out. If you remember reading my article on how to survive the winter you’ll remember I said I was looking for a good heater. Well after hours of looking at reviews online and trying to figure out how much I wanted to spend. I went with the Big Daddy from Mr. Heater! Man this thing is awesome!
Smoking
Ok, so I didn’t blow myself up while lighting this Ezra Zion Reagan. I went with the ole matches on this stick mainly because my Xikar Stratosphere was out of gas. I’m too lazy to fill that thing up… It only took two matches to get this cigar going. I figured it might take more considering how big it is. But the cigar took right to the flame and never looked back!
The first third of this cigar just flew by puffing and smoking it was excellent. The smoke was nice and full the draw was excellent. Exactly how you want it to be. Then something happened in the second third. I began having difficulty draw smoke through the barrel and the burn line started getting really wavy on me. I took my V cutter and extended the notches on the head a little further to see if that would help. It opened up the draw for a little while. I was pretty sure I had hit one of those soft spots that I discovered in the pre game. I powered through and kept smoking. It was a little tough, but I touched up the burn and kept puffing and eventually made it through the rough patch.
The rest of the second third on this Ezra Zion Reagan burned just like the first did. However, as soon as I got to the final third I began having trouble again. At this point I was going on an hour and a half of smoking this beast of a cigar. I don’t know if my lips and lungs were worn out or if I had just hit another trouble spot. Again similar issues to the second third. I had some real difficulty pulling air through and the burn just became very crooked. I sat it down for a bit and went to get my lighter refilled and brought it out to touch it up. I finally got it burning straight and the draw loosened up some. I’m not sure if there was a tar build up or what, but there was definitely some sort of blockage to the air flow through the barrel. So all in all, not a great smoking experience with this Ezra Zion Reagan.
Flavor
The pre light aromas on the foot of this cigar gave off a nice sweet molasses and some hay. The barrel gave off more of a chocolatey and woodsy aroma. Once it was lit the sweetness dissipated and was replaced with some spice and woodiness. The first third of this cigar was pleasant and consistent. On the retrohale the spice was even more dominant and really awakening. I wasn’t able to pull out much cocoa or sweetness like the makers described in their video. I was able to pull out a ton of woodsy and spicy notes though.
The second and final thirds of this Ezra Zion Reagan were very similar to the first. I didn’t not much change in flavors. I experienced a slight drop of intensity in the flavors during the second third, but other than that very similar and consistent with the first third. I’m a big fan of consistency, however with a cigar this large I would like to see to some change throughout to keep me on my toes. All in all, I didn’t experience anything too complex it was a decent cigar that offered some good flavor.
Would I Buy It Again?
I would have to say probably not. Like I said I’m not a fan of big cigars so for me to sit down and carve out 2+ hours for this stick I would want something with more of a wow factor. This didn’t quite do it for me.
Is It an Every Day Smoke?
Well it depends on what kind of day you have. If you have an extra 2+ hours everyday to smoke then yeah you could smoke this everyday. It’s not for me though. It’s a big stick and a big investment of time.
Would I Buy a Box?
I might buy them as a gift for someone who loves a box of big cigars. For me personally I wouldn’t buy a box to keep. I love the packaging I love the idea behind it, I just wished I like the cigar more.
Conclusion
Even though I had burn issues with mine, my buddy that smoked right along side me didn’t have any issues. So I’m pretty sure I got a bum stick. Even with the burn issues I just wasn’t impressed with the flavors of the cigar. It was fairly overpowering on the spice and it didn’t offer much complexity otherwise. So for me I’m not sure if I would pick up another one or not.
