Initial Thoughts
I received this cigar from my brother in law who lives in Chicago. He knows I enjoy medium-full bodied cigars so I immediately knew what I was getting into with this stick.
Since I knew the strength would be there with this cigar, I waited until after dinner one evening to light this guy up. Along with a glass of Cabernet, I was even more excited to smoke this cigar since I’d opted out of dessert and chose to smoke and drink instead (always a great idea!) 🙂
Looks
This Regius White Label cigar boasted a beautiful, dark brown and leathery wrapper. I took a look at the foot and noticed a large chunk of tobacco missing from the center. There were also a couple of small holes around the midpoint of wrapper.
The triple cap looked a little messy, as if it was rushed when placed on. That being said, I’ve read a few reviews of this cigar and other people seemed to have raved about the construction. One went so far as to say it looked like the wrapper was sealed with spackle and then sanded because it was so incredibly smooth.
I may have gotten a bum stick or it also may have lost some of its luster while en route from Chicago to Nashville. The main band on this cigar was elegant looking. Black and gold were the two main colors with the ‘REGIUS’ writing in red letters. Below that was the Latin phrase ‘Aribiter Elegantiae.’ As mentioned earlier, the Regius company seems to use a lot of Latin with their name as well as on the band.
The ‘Arbiter’ part was placed on the band by Regius to commemorate Gaius Arbiter (AD27) who was a Roman writer who devoted himself to a life of pleasure. Since Mr. Arbiter was well accomplished in his ways of indulgence, he was looked at as having authority on questions of taste. ‘Elegantiae’ is Latin for ‘Elegance.” This paragraph was paraphrased from the Regius Cigars website.
Function
Before cutting this ‘King,’ I smelled the wrapper from head to foot and picked up a tobacco and hay scent along with some black pepper. Smelling the foot brought some aged tobacco, more hay and a slight spice to my nose.
I cut the head and experienced a light cold draw of floral, potpourri and cedar. After lighting the foot I immediately got a smoky, almost charcoal-like taste.
Smoking
Ok…we’re off! Throughout this Regius White Label cigar, there was a medium amount of blue/gray smoke. The actual smoke itself smelled like heavy, cured tobacco (I can’t imagine why!).
Once the ash got going, it turned a light grayish/black color and reminded me of a piece of charcoal after it’s been burning at the bottom of a grill for a half hour or so. The ash hung on until about ¼” before the second ‘White Label’ band. Not bad at all!
All in all, the smoking of this cigar was very even and it burned quite smoothly. No relights or touchups were required.
Flavor
Immediately after lighting, I got a really nice spice in the retrohale! Once the burn started on its journey there was an earthy and nutty flavor, along with wood and floral. The flavor throughout was quite consistent.
Around the start of the second 3rd , a leathery taste came into the picture and then about halfway through the same 3rd , the spice got even stronger in the retrohale…and I liked it!
Into the final third, all the flavors balanced out. At this point it was looking like it would be a nice finish.
As I approached the nub there was a bitterness that came every now and again but not nearly enough to make it not enjoyable.
Finally, just before I decided to put this Regius White Label down there was a nutty flavor that seemed to come and go just long enough to wave goodbye.
Is It An Every Day Smoke?
Maybe not every day as it was on the strong/full side but I would smoke it frequently.
Would I Buy A Box?
Yes.
Conclusion
I really enjoyed this cigar. As I’ve said before, I can get past some construction issues if the flavor and consistency is there. This was a very well balanced medium-full bodied and flavored cigar.
I’m very glad that my brother in law sent me two of these because I’ll be looking forward to lighting one up again soon.
I recommend this cigar to anyone who appreciates a slightly heavier smoke, both in strength and flavor.
