Well, to quote Porky Pig, "That's all folks."

2024 is officially a wrap, and man what a year it has been. High, lows, upheavals, new beginnings, heartbreaks and healing, along with a hefty amount of laughter and camaraderie all took place in the span of a single calendar year. And that was just a taste of what went down at the local pachinko parlor. But we're not here to discuss geriatric degenerate gambling skullduggery, so let's turn back to discussing stogies, shall we?

As Klaro's dedicated cigar guinea pig, I squeezed, sniffed, salivated over, smoked, spat out, and savored more stogies than I care to count. And do you know what? I wasn't even able to create a fraction of the Klaro cigar reviews I planned on producing. 

Blame it on crappy weather, piss-poor timing, parenting woes, influenza, cracked cigar wrappers, or the delayed completion of my cigar studio, but a fair deal of smokes that I sampled this year and deemed review-worthy had to be placed on hold. 

This leads us to the following ten blends, or "Klaro Wildcards" as I prefer to call them. Every one of them deserves consideration and at the very least is 5-pack purchase-worthy, with a select few being of the full-blown box-buy variety. Call them missed opportunities if you must, but I consider the following ten sticks as a parting gift of sorts. An offering intended for those looking to make one last cigar purchase during the fleeting final hours of 2024. Don't worry, though. We'll catch everyone on the flipside with some fresh cigar reviews and stogie news when the clock strikes twelve. Cheers, ya'll...

Warped Nicotina

[Buy 5-Pack]

I'm still unsure as to why some people consider this cigar to be so full. Bold? Okay, I could see that. Strong? Perhaps. But no stronger than most of the other criollo/corojo blends we stock here at Klaro. This blend is too smooth to be labeled as intense and leans heavily upon that winning spicy and earthy tobacco combo listed above to achieve its goal. Plus, who doesn't love a belicoso with an angelic band?

Casa de Sueños El Soñador

[Buy 5-Pack]

Translated as "The Dreamer," this unassuming medium blend from the smallest boutique cigar brand in the Klaro portfolio is just as flavorful as it is commonly overlooked. Our cigar flavor profile descriptors of sweet cream, toasted almonds, hints of chocolate, a salty effervescence, cedar, and leather aren't far off the mark either. I just found the mixed peppercorn spice from that San Vicente binder to be a bit more robust than expected, so fair warning if you aren't into a little heat. Unfortunately, my review cigar had a sizable crack running down its underbelly beneath the band. Major bummer. Just one more reason why we sell 5-packs of cigars and boxes, and not just single sticks.

Esteban Carreras Chupacabra Hellcat

[Buy 5-Pack]

Unlike the original Chupacabra Line from Esteban Carreras, this Hellcat version takes the binder and long-fillers of the regular recipe and throws a Mexican San Andrés wrapper over it all. The result is a very different cigar entirely. Rich but not overly heavy, I found this pigtailed and box-pressed smoke to be a fun treat when I sampled it. Like many other smokes from this boutique cigar brand, I found the packaging of the Hellcat to be a ton of fun, what with its footband, wax paper, gold accents, and awesome feline imagery. 

JFR Lunatic Habano

[Buy 5-Pack]

A squat, yet sizable 70 ring-gauge cigar with a pigtail cap and gold foil sleeving. Heavy on the honey and hazelnuts, while remaining grounded and granola-heavy, this stocky smoke caused me to smile ear-to-ear as I puffed on it for the better part of four hours. However, smoking a large cigar of this size in the frigid cold for that long sounds a bit counterintuitive, so I placed this review on hold until my cigar studio was complete. 

Crux Bull & Bear

[Buy 5-Pack]

Another strong cigar that surprised me in 2024 with all of its silky smoothness was this bad boy from Crux Cigars. I won't spoil the surprise but note that this blend brought forth a plethora of light pastry dough notes and lighter beer malt attributes before going macho on me and delivering those smoked hardwood tannin tastes, rainforest terroir, and rich leather aftertastes. The result is a cigar that is strong enough to be considered full, but smooth enough to justify recommending to those seeking something more medium-full and not too heavy in body. 

CAO Flathead Steel Horse

[Buy 5-Pack]

Am I the only one who starts humming Bon Jovi when the topic of this cigar comes up? Anyone? Alright, so maybe it is just me. Either way, this flat-capped, ultra-oily, in-your-face smoke is a must-try stogie for those in search of something guaranteed to help you grow body hair. Built for bikers, this smoke stuns the sense with tastes of oak, bittersweet chocolate, espresso beans, red and black pepper, and more leather than a set of ass-less chaps. Forget the little blue pill. We've got what you need to get back in the saddle right here... 

Rocky Patel Decade

[Buy 5-Pack]

This was a blend that I revisited after what seemed like a lifetime, only to discover that I enjoyed it way more than I remembered. Toasty and nutty, with sweet cream and dried fruits by the bushel, this box-pressed torpedo was a day away from getting a review, when a typhoon smashed the shit out of the island of Shikoku where I live and Japan, and this blend got put on the back burner. 

La Aurora ADN Dominicano

[Buy 5-Pack]

This cigar from La Aurora is the distant relative at the family reunion that no one really knows all that well, yet everyone vaguely recognizes when introduced. A true wildcard in its purest sense, this blend relies upon the utterly obscure  "Andullo" tobacco strain for its writer and namesake. A royal pain in the patella to produce, this leaf provides a strong smoking experience that balances aroma and sweetness with spicy, woody notes and a graham cracker finish once allowed to mature. I found this smoke to be a great burner with a brilliant draw to boot.

Jake Wyatt Icarus

[Buy 5-Pack]

Featuring fire-cured Tennessee tobacco, and a maduro wrapper out of Mexico that isn't all that dark or chocolatey, this newer blend from the king of creative two-tone cigars takes a fresh swing at blending stunner smokes with this smoky upstart. Bold and distinctly earthy from its long-filler belly, here is a stogie that is sure to become your new favorite barbecue cigars once that 6-foot snow drift on the back patio finally thaws.

Lovely Cigars The Bay City Cigar Maduro

[Buy 5-Pack]

Although I sampled the tasty Connecticut Shade twin to this blend in 2024 and liked it a lot, I found the near pitch-black maduro version to be more of my sort of smoke. Traditional in that it goes heavy on the chocolate, caramel, toffee, leather, and espresso flavors found within a Mexican San Andrés wrapper, this cigar shifts into a more horchata cinnamon spice direction as it burns thanks to its use of Sumatran tobacco as its binder. Sadly, despite having enjoyed my samples of this smoke, I was unable to get to reviewing it this year due to my focus on the No. 162 from Lovely Cigars taking precedence. Oh well, there's always next year. Or next week, come to think of it...