Punch and Draw believe Sindicato makes an offer you will want to accept.


Draw: The aroma out of the cello doesn’t thrill me. Fresh mown grass, and dust. Otherwise, I’d say “tobacco”. But it is a nice looking stick. Maduro-looking wrapper with a fine tooth and oily appearance and feel; fine network of veins appearing light over the dark leaf. It’s a rough boy, but artfully assembled. The stick has a slight give along its length despite what appears to be a very solid fill. Pigtail cap. The downside: it’s windy today, and my Hex blew down onto the patio stones twice while I was getting setup outside. As a result, I have some splits at foot, head, and middle.

Punch: I’m getting dried grass – the lawn type. Did I tell you I planted hemp for my lawn? …just kidding – I’d never tell you that. This 54 x 7‑inch churchill features a select, dark Ecuadorian Habano wrapper around Nicaraguan binder and filler. According to the Sindicato Web site, this cigar – well, maybe not THIS Sindicato Hex, the one I’m holding, but the Sindicato Hex line – was introduced on January 18, 2014 and should retail around $8

D: The draw is on the tighter side. Dry-draw is clover-hay and salt-lick. A light toasting revealed no new flavors. On lighting up: first, it has a beautiful thick smoke with a slightly yellow tint. The initial flavor is like sour cream & chives mashed potatoes.

P: I clipped a bit deeper than just taking the pigtail off, and the draw is PDT (pretty dang tight). Not quite too tight, but close. Initial flavors after warming up are mildly sweet melon with the jive of slight chive.

Here is an interview we did with the CEO of Sindicato Cigars, Jim Calucci, at the 2014 IPCPR trade show.

D: First third: there’s a metallic whang on the attack; it suggests imitation vanilla extract, without the vanilla. Maybe that’s the sour part of the sour cream? It moves right into the sour cream and chives. There’s a faint new leather in the background (more detectable on the finish) which suggests the potato starch. A strong pull reveals a mild popcorn sweetness to the middle.

P: There is a citrus brightness which is probably the same as your metallic whang. The flavor intensity is in the mild-medium range.

D: About the middle, it is very consistent. There is definitely a mild sweetness, consistent with melon, which is detectable from the middle through the aftertaste. This also comes through on a micropull, along with the sour whang. There is a spicy flavor on the front of my tongue at the finish, which suggests…cumin? The ash has held on for at least an inch-and-a-half.

P: Mine just turned bad. Suddenly the flavor is all bitter, burnt carbon (redundant, I know). I let it rest for over a minute and it was slightly better for one draw, then went south again. My next theory is that the tight draw I’m experiencing is because all the smoke is funneling through a small opening and building up tar. So I will poke a few extra holes in the head with my handy cake tester and see if the draw opens up and improves the flavor… Okay, that opened the draw up considerably – let’s see if it helps the flavor… Hot diggity! The sweet melon is back, but there is still some tar bitterness. I have trimmed the head back to the edge of the cap in hopes of removing some of the tar buildup. Hopefully it will recover completely, and soon.

…After 20 minutes I believe it is recovered.

D: Last third. I confess: dinner was ready, so I’ve eaten two tacos during the end of the middle, and the start of the third. The Sindicato Hex blends well. The cumin-effect was happy with the taco seasoning and sharp onion of the taco. The sweetness was lost on the taco, however. But otherwise, it’s a nice pairing. Unfortunately, I am reviewing the cigar, not the meal, so I’ve had to drag on the cigar a bit to clear the dinner from my tongue.

The flavors are more of the same, still. There’s a slight increase in intensity without a deepening of the flavor profile. There’s also a hint of cedar munge creeping in, which is expected. Purging doesn’t seem to alleviate it, which is unexpected. Otherwise, I’m still enjoying it enough to have another taco before dropping the nub!

P: I concur with that, except I haven’t detected the cedar you mentioned – nor did I experience any tacos while smoking it!

Burn it or Spurn it?

Draw: Burn it! The flavor profile on the Sindicato Hex is quite uncommon and unexpected. It was very much a savory, spicy side-dish which did well to stand with spicy food. No major transitions for me, with only a gradual increase in intensity. Complexity is mild-to-medium, intensity averages to around medium, with a mild strength. I did have several minor burn issues which were not related to damage incurred in my sloppy handling. However, I emphasize, they were minor. The ash held well, and touch-ups were not too often. Great smoke quality. I really enjoyed this, and am looking forward to my next!

Punch: Burn it for sure! This Sindicato Hex Churchill had moderate complexity, and the flavor profile was distinctive and unlike any other that I remember in recent smoking history. The flavors stayed consistent throughout and had predominant flavors of sweet melon and some citrus brightness. Mine had a lazy side that evoked three touch-ups. I have to downgrade it for the tight draw at the head which resulted in a spoiled inch worth near the middle, though, but I suspect this was an anomaly, and if I get another to sample which has better construction I’ll be sure to amend this with report accordingly.