Last of My Kind

Last of My Kind from Nicaragua hits the palate like a velvet JDAM. Around here at CP HQ, we smoke new blends all the time – samples and existing brands both big and small, you name it, on the regular. There’s a lot of average stuff. Some are ho-hum or even pretty good, and some are awful, but every now and then there’s something  pretty special. This blend from Raymond Pages out of Esteli is one of those special ones.

Last of My Kind is a full-bodied, robust, complex cigar brimming with leather flavors, there is no doubt. But that is said of many cigars. This one is hard to do justice because it has layers upon layers of flavor and more complexity than most. The wrapper is perfect: oily, Habano, dark, toothy. Firm throughout, the cold draw brings notes of raisins and coffee. Toasting it delivers a razor-sharp burn line and very white, firm ash that holds firm. Flavor wise there is ample sweetness up front with a rich, full coating of smoke, cocoa, and molasses. As you proceed here comes the richness and complexity, with notes of leather, rye, cinnamon with a nice barnyard finish and copious amounts of smoke. In the final third it’s earthy and bready with an underlying, lingering spiciness. On one hand it may be the Man’s Man of the Man’s Man Cigar of the Year. In the cigar arms race to produce full-bodied blends enough to sprout new chest hairs or burn them off this is nothing new.

But Last of My Kind is a bit of a different breed. Full? Yes. Spicy? No doubt. But it’s well-balanced and refined which makes this the ultimate palate-pleasing cigar experience all the way to the nub. The Habano wrapper is a beautiful deep brown, toothy and oily while the fillers from Ometepe, Condega and Esteli deliver the goods. Construction is perfect, like all of Raymond’s blends. Heavy in the hand, solid and well-rolled from cap to foot. The burn is razor sharp and brings copious plumes of smoke that’ll have you communicating with the next county by smoke signals alone. This is the cigar equivalent of a 48-oz Porterhouse.  

Our staff of cigar nuts compares Last of My Kind favorably to Man O War Ruination, AJ Fernandez New World Dorado, and Plasencia Alma Fuerte in terms of cost and flavor profile.

Try more great blends by Ramon Pages: Hoofty, Record Bond and Graycliff Nicaragua Habano