I have never heard of Esteban Carreras before this night.  Mike gave one to me when I came home after summer classes ended.  In a celebration-like fashion, Mike whipped out the famed Padron 1926 No. 9 Maduro that he had been aging for six years…Needless to say, I wasn’t too excited for this unknown stick.

Mike began to tell me that this was Nathan’s (our good friend and guest writer) “secret weapon”.  This is because it is in his top five and only four bucks!

The 187 had a dark wrapper, some veins, slightly sheen, and a simple golden wrapper on the foot.  “Nothing too impressive”, I thought.  Never judge a book by it’s cover.

Five minutes in and my expectations were blown away!  The 187 had notes of dark cocoa and a slight bit of coffee.  What made it amazing was this very distinctly sweet, caramelized almond note.  This note stood above the rest and lasted during the whole smoke.  My mouth is watering again just typing this review.

Ten minutes in and the ash was strong and in a proper shade of gray; no problems with construction or burn either.

This is probably the most sweetest stick I have every tasted (not including flavored cigars of course).  I was so satisfied in fact, that I insisted to buy four of them from Mike, which he generously approved.

I rate it a 9.2 because of its very sweet flavors, great construction, and budget friendly cost.

Honestly, James