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Oscar Valladares "Island Jim Connecticut No. 2"

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Oscar Valladares "The Oscar Connecticut"

Initial Smoke

If there is any spiciness to initial impressions, it is buried so deep beneath all of the citrus pithiness and sweet breadiness within the smoke that it is nearly impossible to detect. This breadiness is particularly notable upon each retrohale, with a mixed jumble of lumber scrap layering on multiple types of hardwood and evergreen aromatics. There's also an unusual lemon curd taste to the smoke that is both creamy, sweet, and tart, and it further brightens the mild-plus cigar flavor profile.

1st Half

By the time you meander your way into the middle of the first third, tastes of white and green tea, along with ginseng and honey, have hit home. Refreshing and lighthearted, these tastes trade blows with bits of dried applewood, herb salt, sweet citrus peel, and a dribble of cream. Retrohales detect the tea notes more than anything, but leave enough room for a hint of pepper to play its part in keeping things exciting. 

A whole new level of enjoyment comes when the transition into the second third erupts with flavors of lemon poppyseed cake. Zippy, doughy, creamy, and loaded with those unique-tasting black balls of baking spice, this can be tasted and smelled simultaneously if retrohaled properly. Focus purely upon the palate, though, and you will find that the wood scrap has gone dry on you, and that there is a bit of spicy burn to the back of the throat. I also detected a hit of permanent marker here and there, which was anything but enjoyable, but also fleeting in nature.

2nd Half

Artisanal wholegrain dark bread, complete with a crunchy, woodfire oven-baked crust, comes at you big time in the heart of the cigar, and this causes the hardwood and evergreen notes to turn dry on the tongue. Retrohales are still sweet and citrus-like, though, so there is this fantastic back-and-forth opportunity here that, when combined, each exhale creates its own smoky concoction. 

Over time, the cigar slowly grows creamier, breadier, and a fuzz rounder in body, allowing those caramelized sugars on the nose and finish to form an even deeper foothold. Spicier scents of cedar and pepper sashay their way back in deeper within the final third, and before long they are rolling in lemongrass and herbs, with a tiny hit of hay and soil farmhouse rounding it all out. It's still a mild-to-medium-bodied smoke session, though, with flavor being the only thing that has increased in prominence. 

Parting Puffs

Well, look who decided to join the party. It's old man cinnamon! And he is joined by that classic spicy attitude he is so widely recognized for exuding when he isn't busy grinding on some sweet sugar lumps. But that sticky sweet goodness wastes no time in getting back in on the action, and before long, each puff becomes graham cracker-like in a way. I say that because there's still a fair deal of thrashed hay and tangy citrus at play, and without a touch of char or bite to be seen, the closure to this blend sits squarely at medium until I set it down.

Ash / Burn / Smoke / Draw

This smoke has one of the most resilient ashes I have encountered in my 4+ years of reviewing cigars at Klaro. Every time I have burned this blend, it has taken 3–4 hearty taps (or a strong roll in the ashtray) for the ash to be removed, so they really nailed it with this first attempt at box-pressing a cigar. Naturally, this results in a massive ash that is white-grey in color and very straight, and the whole stick burns nice and slow, with cool, mild-medium bodied smoke temps hitting the tongue. 

If there is one trade-off here, it is that the occasional poke is required to get the flow going, with my review cigar requiring a secondary cut to truly open the draw to where I like. Once that was done, it was all gravy, so bear that in mind when you are prepping this one prior to lighting up.

Final Thoughts

Out of all of the cigars in the Oscar Valladares collection that I have smoked, the 2012 Connecticut has to be the mildest of the bunch. Even more so than The Oscar Connecticut and the shady version of the Island Jim No. 2 in some ways. That doesn't mean that it is boring; it just is milder in body, with very little to zero bite being detected the majority of the time. There are some moments of moderate peppercorn and spicier cedar, but they are always secondary in nature and are more of a fortification of the overall presence of the blend than a leading feature.

That Honduran-grown Connecticut-seed wrapper really is a tasty alternative to the typical flotilla of "cloud-grown" Ecuador Shade smokes sitting on the shelf. It's more raw and farmyard-focused, with plenty of flavor and familiarity to keep even the most devout light cigar smoker satisfied. Even without as much sweetness as certain smokes in the same category, this one still manages to pull ahead and offer plenty of lighthearted smoking pleasure. 

If you are in search of a trustworthy mild-medium boutique cigar blend that develops some remarkable flavors and aromatics along the way, I suggest scoring a bundle, or hell, even a box of this blend. It may not be the most jaw-dropping Oscar Valadares smoke we stock, but it sure is a dashingly delicious one. And that is precisely why we had this little chat today...

Overall Balance & Repeatability