Mission Zero
Despite securing a sizable nod of recognition as the #14 Cigar of the Year at Cigar Aficionado in 2017, the Nicaraguan puro we are about to dissect and discuss has not been a hot seller for us. It's got the right combination of a figurado format, a premium habano wrapper, and a medium-to-medium-full strength rating, but it still gets overlooked.
Over the course of the past few years, I have revisited this blend off and on, and have come to realize why the 601 Red Label Habano from Espinosa Cigars gets skipped over all too often. First of all, it's not a very exciting-looking cigar, what with its ho-hum Cuban-style banding and whatnot. After a decade on the market, it's definitely not the newest stick on the shelf either, even though production is still fantastic due to being handled down in Nicaragua by AJ Fernandez.
Despite all this, I still feel that the 601 Red Label Habano remains a solid, middle-of-the-aisle, EDC sort of sleeper smoke. Affordable, easily obtainable, tasty, and incredibly consistent, it's the maroon-colored Toyota Camry of cigars. While it may not be very exciting, it is undeniably reliable, comfortably familiar, and just peppy enough to make daily commuting a bit more enjoyable.
Having puffed this blend in rapid succession over the course of the past couple of days, I am more aware than ever that a sweeter-tasting habano will always win me over faster than a dry, spicy blend. An attribute that this average-looking, tasty torpedo has plenty of in stock...
Unlit Impressions
Comparing the smell of a cigar wrapper to sweet-and-sour sauce may sound strange to some of you, but that's exactly what came into my mind when I first slid the 601 Red Label Habano out of its cellophane. Habano top notes are plentiful and very wood-like, with a hit of black and lemon juice rolling out last. The clay brick red leaf's texture and color are more matte than oily and slick, with a large bump on the cigar's torpedo cap being the most notable physical flaw to strike the eye.
Date nut bread with salted butter, sweet craisins, Raisin Bran breakfast cereal, and a lighthearted mixture of cardamom and coriander give those foot inspectors in the crowd something to inspect. It's an odd mixture, with a whole hell of a lot going on inside, including a vinegar-like hot-and-sour soup smell to go with that saucy wrapper on the outside.
But despite all this olfactory action, cold pulls are unexpectedly reserved, and prefer to coat the tongue with tastes of oat milk, raw barley, sweet turbinado, light coffee, and a bit more of that raisin-studded breakfast cereal. Keep drawing, though, and some spicier Nicaraguan tobacco notes will emerge, which are more of a sensation than a taste or a complete flavor profile.
Like the 601 Blue Label Maduro, banding is old-school and easily forgettable. I find this to be particularly disappointing, considering how kick-ass the bands are on some of Espinosa's other smokes, like Comfortably Numb, for instance.
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Initial Smoke
Leather and sea salt strike the tongue first, and the sensation of the smoke on the tongue is oily and somewhat hot. This blend tends to have a spicy start 90% of the time, with a medium amount of pepper hitting for the first half-dozen puffs. As this zippy initial start subsides, out come some milder tastes of almonds and thrashed hay, and the dark, malty taste of a British porter or an Irish dry stout of some kind. Smoke flow feels restricted, though, with a quick poke opening the tapered torpedo up to the point where I feel confident that I will not have any more issues.
- Wrapper
- Habano (Nicaragua)
- Binder
- Nicaragua
- Filler
- Nicaragua
- Origin
- Nicaragua
1st Half
Tasting and burning clean, the calmer side of the cigar starts to show itself with sweet cream and more almond notes, and a series of retrohales that are herbal and mild-medium in potency. Calm and controlled, light habano leather and soil tastes join the hay tastes, slowly shifting into a dandelion and honey tea taste. Simultaneously bitter and sweet, this set of cigar flavor profiles is undeniably good and primes the palate for what is about to take place in the second third.
Sweet and tangy, with a touch of funk and even deeper tea top notes, amplification is the name of the game as the cigar combusts. Oilier in its use of leather and mid-grade smoke sensations, the blend bumps up the spice a click or two, creating this classic habano taste in the process. It's not enough to put your jaw on the floor, but solid enough to keep you searching for more each time you take a puff, with the sweetness of the blend being the most commendable attribute.
2nd Half
Nutty and creamy, with an even amount of fermented sweetness sliding in behind that herbal finish, the midsection of the 601 Red Label provides more smoking pleasure than any other area. Again, nothing to make me lose my grip on reality, but tasty and smooth enough to cause me to nod in smoker satisfaction. The blend has gotten so suave that I am now able to retrohale an entire pull in its entirety without issue, which opens the door to a few extra flavors.
Due to the peppercorn being entirely a taste bud affair in the final third, and not one that is bound just to the nostrils, eye-watering spices are no longer a concern, and the whole experience goes nutty on you. It may still be exclusively almond-oriented, but that's alright. Creamy, sweet, oily tastes are always appreciated, and with both the body and finish forming a bigger base, the cigar seems like it may want to achieve medium-full status at any moment.
Parting Puffs
But the blend stays in medium mode, even though the smoke tells you it is trying to become even oilier. By now, the torpedo has turned herbal dandelion tea tastes into a more medicinal tincture, and as the cigar moves from leather to spicy tastes and sensations, and then onward to a soil-strong finish, I realize that the blend is growing hot and harsh rather quickly. It starts off perfectly fine, but soon spirals into a fiery mess of sharp flavors and unpleasant heat, so not a great way to close out what thus far has been a rock-steady cigar.
Ash / Burn / Smoke / Draw
Fortunately, overheating was never much of a problem up until the parting puffs, with 90% of the stick combusting in a cool, controlled manner. Yes, there was that need for a quick poke at the start, but after that, smoke flow was perfectly fine. The downside, though, is that this blend tends to run into burn issues in the center of the barrel. This has been the case in every sample I have smoked, as well as in my review stick, with touches from the torch occurring toward the start of the second third and within the final third, culminating in a tunnel in parting puffs. While I cannot prove that this is what made the last few moments of my smoke session so unpleasing, I'm pretty sure it didn't help matters either, so there were some substantial point deductions for burn quality on this blend.
Final Thoughts
Here we are with another one of those long-forgotten smokes that, for the most part, still delivers. Ignore the burn issues and overly hot finale and focus on the overall cigar flavor profile and pleasantness of the blend instead, and you've got yourself a charming little Nicaraguan puro that remains medium for much of the time.
As a fan of sweeter cigars, I found the honey and turbinado notes to be especially tasty, and I liked that those notes of almonds and herbal tea were able to stand up to the soil and leather in each puff. So while Espinosa's website may have mislabeled the blend and the vitola's length, they nailed it with the flavor profile descriptor.
But this isn't enough to make me feel like the 601 Red Label Habano isn't anything more than a slightly above-average cigar. It's good, and definitely repeat-worthy, but not something I would consider to be a standout. Which is probably why this blend and its boring banding and branding continue to be overlooked, even though it does deliver a reliable series of enjoyable tastes and smells, as well as one super smooth retrohale.
Stogie Specs
| Cigar | Espinosa Cigars "601 Red Label Habano" |
| Wrapper | Habano (Nicaragua) |
| Binder | Nicaragua |
| Filler | Nicaragua |
| Factory | Nicaragua |
| Size | 6⅛″ x 52 (Torpedo) |
| Strength | Medium |
| Pairing Drink | Homemade Pink Pineapple Soda |
| Rating | 4.2/5 |
- Wrapper
- Habano (Nicaragua)
- Binder
- Nicaragua
- Filler
- Nicaragua
- Origin
- Nicaragua
A slightly heady habano cigar, this one leaves nothing to be desired. From beginning to end this Nicaraguan puro comes packed with notes of cedar, tree nuts, and honey, before finishing off with a mellow mineral smoothness.
Moderately priced, and still produced by AJ Fernandez, this old-school-looking habano makes for an excellent EDC smoking option, and favors sweeter attributes over spicier, drier ones. Here at Klaro, we find the torpedo vitola to be particularly good, as it restricts draw flow just a touch, which aids in keeping the smoke cool in nature, all while building an enormous ash along the way.
