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EP Carrillo "La Historia"

West Tampa Tobacco Co. "Devil Crab"

Initial Smoke

Spiciness sweeps the senses once more after the foot is set afire, and this time it is subject to some salty undertones. The peppery portion is short-lived though, and in no time a buttermilk biscuit dough taste develops. After depositing a medium amount of chalky soil upon the tongue, the cigar flavor profile begins to soften further, thanks in part to the addition of heavy whipping cream and a cube or two of caramel. Both of these can be detected on the tongue as well as within the retrohale, and after each exhale there is tease of apple wood in the air. 

1st Half

Medium-bodied, and medium-full in flavor, the conversion point in the first third occurs with oak colliding with white chocolate. Combined with the existing caramel flavors and a scoop of dried mixed nuts, and the "pralines" side of the cigar's namesake suddenly begins to make sense. 

Low on spice count, but still favoring a rye-like spiciness, the cigar burns cleanly into the second third with few surprises, as apple wood, soil, and an earthy nuttiness rotates around the taste buds. In fact, there truly isn't much of a transition at all to be found within the start to the second third in regard to flavorful additions save for an increase in creaminess, body, and perhaps a bit of tobacco strength.

2nd Half

This continuation of flavors and aromas remains true even well into the last section of the second third, with shifts in when, where, and how much is being detected being the only adjustment. Oak grows in potency, thus offsetting the sweetness of the caramel by a good margin, and this allows any lingering spiciness within the stick to disperse. The apple wood has now moved to the back of the throat and now favors retrohales, as the saltiness of the caramel and creaminess of those nut-like flavors continues to keep thoughts of candied pralines at the forefront.  

It isn't until the final third that the cigar shifts in profile, and even then the retrohales and aftertaste manage to remain fixated on all of the aforementioned flavors. This leaves room for the tongue to taste a medium-full blend of loamy, volcanic soil, white pepper, vintage leather, and a subtle bitterness that is administered in just the right dosage. This is surely where Curivari's proprietary mixture of corojo and criollo leaf come into play, as the filler and binder portions have by now become laden with resins and sugars from all of the combusted plant matter.

Parting Puffs

Stronger, but not really all that darker, anything from that unassuming band onward is a smooth return to creamy Cuban-seed smoking satisfaction, along with a few minor additions. While retrohales do indeed have a medium amount of peppery power behind them, the overall build-up of creamy nuttiness and caramelized sugars creates a satiny finish to the smoke that makes it damn near impossible to put down. Without much in the way of char, bitterness, or strength, this makes for a marvelous, medium-powered ending that I wish more cigar manufacturers could master.

Ash / Burn / Smoke / Draw

That picture-perfect build quality translates to a fantastic burn, with all four of the cigars I sampled being of top-grade when it came to combustion, ash formation, flow, and smoke levels. If there is one thing I have noticed, it is that there can be a touch of physical heat here and there within the barrel, but beyond that this is Grade-A burner ya'll.

Final Thoughts

Curivari blends continue to kick ass, with all three of the smokes we stock from them receiving a healthy recommendation from all of us here at Klaro. But whereas the Café Noir was undeniably dark, intense, and espresso driven, and the Buenaventura Maduro maintained a more milky mocha and vanilla profile, this Pralines version takes a lighter, spicier approach to cigar blending.

It also does a fairly good job of living up to its name, with distinct candied praline flavors forming early on, and retaining their place throughout much of the cigar. That winning mixture of salty and sweet also stood out from start to finish, with the lighter touches of apple wood, white chocolate, and rye adding their own complexity to the smoke.

The downsides to this cigar were primarily prelight related, with unlit aromatics and flavor, and an unmemorable, understated band doing little to entice. It also is not much of a transitional smoking experience, at least until the final third, where the whole blend shifts dramatically and borders on being flagged as "out of place." Luckily, parting puffs are pure magic, and return the taste buds and nostrils to that fantastic mixture from prior, while turning up the intensity a notch or two.

What this leaves us with, is a value-priced premium cigar blend that smokes extremely well, and carries plenty of medium-powered flavors and body. This gives the Buenaventura Pralines the ability to please an array of people in the medium-full cigar bracket. Nowhere within its nearly two hour burn time does this smoke go too dark or heavy, or too spicy for that matter. Instead, you get a creamy, nutty, salty and sweet smoking session with just the right amount of edginess to keep you coming back for another puff.

Overall Balance & Repeatability